Dinner, create!

Today is the 14th. What does that mean to me? It means that it's the day before payday, which equals Bottom Of The Pantry Dinner for tonight. So I was pondering, should I make pancakes? (Greg dislikes those) Crepes? (No leftovers for Starving Greg's lunch) Fried eggs over rice? (Ditto) Aha! I have the perfect soloution! It is my very favorite "nothing to eat" meal: Sundried Tomatoes and Peas with Carmelized Onions over pasta. This is my "famous" improv dish, which relies entirely upon grocery staples with a long shelf life. I ALWAYS try to keep on hand: Onions, sun-dried tomatoes, frozen peas, frozen corn, and pasta.

After carmelizing the thinly sliced onions (sprinkle generously with salt, saute over med/high heat until golden, then turn down the heat and cook the hell out of 'em = 20 min to an hour-and-a-half) and soaking the tomatoes in boiling hot water (only needs to be done if they're not packed in oil), I chop the softened tomatoes up, throw them and some sliced garlic into the large saucepan with the onions, add some spices (whatever's on hand and looks good -- today it'll be dried oregano, marjoram red pepper flakes and thyme, and then I just happen to have some "fresh" herbs in the freezer: basil and finely chopped rosemary, possibly some scallions.)

The dried herbs are added a little before the tomatoes to soften and release their flavor, the fresh at the very end so they're still, well, fresh. Then just before I'm ready to serve, I throw in about a cup or so of the peas, corn (if I have any), and toss them with the freshlt cooked pasta. maybe I'll even throw in a lightly beaten egg or two, for protein. (It cooks right in the hot pasta/etc., and helps the "etc." to adhere better to the pasta, making every bite sure to be full of sweet and savory goodness).

If it were not for my two little men, I might even throw together a batch of rolls, since I've got plenty of yeast and flour, but I'm not feeling QUITE that domestic today.

So now, perhaps we weren't at the bottom of the pantry after all.

NOTE: This meal marks the first Real Meal that I've cooked since Elijah was born. Horay for me as I step back up to the stove!