Just Do It

There are a few layers of meaning to the title of this post. A few of my friends are probably quite tired by now of my vowing for the past three years to start a blog about food. I've had so many excuses: "I have a full-time job, I don't have enough time, I don't have a good camera, I need to get back into writing first before I can write on a blog, blah, blah, blah." So tonight, I told myself, "Just do it." This is really about creating a journal of sorts so I can look back on the meals I have made for my husband and daughters, and me.

And this afternoon, I was feeling a bit tired, after a long and busy week. But then again, I feel tired every week by the time Friday rolls around. I was thinking of reaching for that reliable standby in our household: Trader Joe's frozen macaroni and cheese. But then I thought: "Just do it. You have the ingredients in the fridge. You can make something quick, delicious and healthy for the kids." (Hubby and I had plans for a date night in, with him picking up sushi for us to dine on after the girls went to bed.)

So I did a mental inventory: leftover poached chicken waiting to be shred, some baby carrot sticks, some old celery a bit past its prime, leeks and the treasure of them all - homemade chicken stock I had made earlier in the week.

Here's a rough outline, not even a recipe, of what I did. First, I got working on my mise en place. I sliced the leeks and chopped the carrots and celery. I heated up some olive oil in my soup pot and sautéed the leeks until they were nice and tender. I sprinkled some salt in, stirred the leeks around and then added the carrots and celery. Once they seemed tender, I added in the chicken broth, brought it to a boil and threw in some ditalini pasta. Added more salt and some black pepper along with a few squeezes of lemon juice. Meanwhile, I shred the chicken and added it to the pot after the pasta was al dente. And voila, in 30 minutes, a delicious dinner.

Verdict: Katie had seconds. Amanda ate most of it (which is a win these days). And hubs pronounced it "excellent."

In an ideal world, I would have used uber fresh veggies from the farmers market, but it felt good to use what I already had in my fridge and pantry. And it felt like quite a treat to have a nourishing meal at the end of a busy workweek.