Day One (1)....A little of this, too much of that.

Let the 7 days of creative consumption begin...

After a hearty breakfast of oatmeal in my handy dandy , oh how I love to eat anything in a jar, jar; I found myself staring into the refrigerator feeling completely overwhelmed.  I was faced with a little of this and too much of that.  What I refer to as, "kata kata (kah-ta kah-ta) .  Almost a dozen containers of leftover rice, chili, carmelized onions, tomato paste, pasta salad, coconut creme and the list goes on.  What happened?  Didn't I just clean out my refrigerator less than two weeks ago?   Don't get me wrong, I am blessed to have this "problem" and I don't take for granted the abundance of food in my refrigerators (we have one in the garage for Costco stuff and holiday overflow). The problem is,  I don't like to waste food so I realized that I have to come up with serious concoctions so that nothing ends up in the trash bin.  In addition to that I have lots of fruits and veggies that I have to use up in ways others than eating them straight from the bowl.  In spite of having a family of 6, we couldn't eat them fast enough before they would start to go bad.  There are clementines, apples, melons, a pineapple, sweet potatoes, bananas and plums, cucumbers, mangoes...you name it, I got it!  My goal is to stay away from eating out this week and try to come up with creative and maybe not so creative ways to use the little and the lot.  Let's see what day one inspired!

I had one scoop of jam left in a container so I used that in my oatmeal. #1

Old Fashioned Oats with Dream Cream(mix of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and half and half), 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds and my homemade Strawberry Banana jam.

All mixed up...so good and so filling!!

The 2nd creation, Green Sandwich Spread

Great to use in chicken salad or just to add a little zing to a sandwich
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 large garlic clove
1/2 cup of packed spinach
2 tbsps of cilantro
1/4 cup of greek yogurt
1/2 cup of mayo
2 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Put mayo and greek yogurt in blender or food processor(I use a Ninja Blender). Add lemon juice, avocado, chopped jalapeno pepper, garlic, spinach, cilantro and salt and pepper.  Blend or process until smooth, taste and modify to your liking (I added more jalapeno because I like a little more kick).  Place in an airtight container and enjoy! You might even consider letting it sit for 24 hours to let the flavors develop.

Here's my open faced chicken salad sandwich made with green spread and some leftover rotisserie chicken from last night. #3

 Half Sour Pickle on the Side(from Russian market that I bought two weeks ago).

 Put some spread on a slice of toasted bread and top with romaine lettuce, the chicken salad and some sliced tomatoes.  I added a dash of salt and pepper and ate it with banana peppers. The peppers gave it a little extra kick because my jalapenos weren't that spicy.  And they were leftovers from a party yesterday.

 I had to use a fork and knife to eat this!

Some of the bounty of fruits and veggies

And to end the day, we have Mango and Unsticky Rice! #4

This was a great way to use up my leftover Jasmine Rice and and coconut cream.

Not the neatest presentation but it's late and I'm tired.

Ingredients

3 cups of leftover cooked rice

2/3 can of coconut creme

1 cinnamon stick

3 tbsp of vanilla sugar

Toasted sesame seeds

Half of a ripe mango

Warm coconut milk over medium heat and then add rice and stir.  Do not let cream come to a boil!  Add cinnamon stick and 3 Tbsp of sugar, stir.  Let simmer on low for about 8 minutes and stir occasionally to keep bottom from sticking.  Let sit on stove for 5 minutes or cool completely if you prefer it cold.  Scoop about 1 cup of the rice(or more) into a bowl, slice the mango and place on top of rice and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.  Have a seat and enjoy!!

That's all Folks. Goodnight.