Well, I made it through the family visit with only one mistake foodwise-yeah!  Our niece, who has celiac’s, needed gluten free bread for my pulled pork night.  I thought I grabbed one loaf out of the freezer and then when she went to grab it, low and behold-first ingredient was whole wheat!  I had grabbed the loaf next to it.  

Otherwise the meal times went quite smooth.  Aidan helped me by making the cole slaw the second night and got the table set.  Yeah for help!  Steve manned the grill.  

Despite my usual defiance on the use of disposables-I did myself a huge favor by using them for the plates, plastic ware and only serving water bottles.

Since I usually make way too much food, Steve and I have been using the leftovers for dinners and lunches (and even a breakfast!) since then.

If you don’t count the veggies that I pre-cut last Saturday for snacks and sides, tonight will be the first “new” meal!

Last night I used the last of the rice, leftover pulled pork and the chopped veggies in a fried rice version.  It was very quick to pull together, had enough for Steve’s lunch today and it was quite delish.

The trick to serving leftovers is obviously the way you reinvent them:  soup, stews, fried rice, tacos, pasta sauce and even shepherd’s pie.  All these are terrific ways to serve all those containers in tastier ways that just zapping them in the microwave.

Frittatas also work when you have a myriad of veggies-raw or cooked.  

The best part for me?  By the time Thursday night rolled around I was exhausted from the chopping, stirring, cooking and cleaning, so being able to “throw” something tasty together just a few minutes before Steve walked in the door for the rest of the week has been such a boon!

It even made it possible to take a nap!  Do I hear a woot, woot?