Post-hospital pantry scrounge + Motor Maid dreamin’

We are so grateful for our neighbors’ kindness. Tough times, we help each other. While I was in the hospital recovering from the bike accident, Mr. Mike was coping with the biggest flood to hit this area since 1983, thanks to Hurricane Isaac. Twenty inches of rain in 48 hours created havoc for Black Creek. Floodwaters rose to within 2 feet of our front door – and we’re on stilts!! My cooking is limited to what’s on hand, and what I can do seated in front of the stove, because my walker doesn’t allow much mobility. But hey, you have what you need…between pantry scrounging and using recipes found while reading magazines in the hospital, we’ve been eating OK. Here are two:

cheese tortellini w browned butter + spinach

Pantry scrounging turned up cheese ravioli, which worked fine in place of the tortellini. We had one very ripe tomato, a holdover from pre-accident shopping. I did not use frozen peas because we made a tossed salad – other veggies needed to be used up. However, the flavor was surprisingly good. And it was easy to make with a broken wrist. The next night I used this recipe:

black bean & zucchini chili + chili stuffed peppers Note: recipes came from Real Simple

More scrounging revealed a zucchini and red peppers were in desperate need of attention. There were black beans and enchilada sauce in the pantry, so the above recipe inspired our scrounge chile stuffed peppers. No meat was defrosted, so I just ignored it and used the beans, zucchini, onions, and enchilada sauce. Chili spices were added to the enchilada sauce, a quick simmer, and then stuffed it into the pepper halves. They were baked according to instructions. Very tasty. Remember – what you need is what you got. It is right in front of you. Thanks to all who sent well wishes for my recovery – I truly appreciate them and believe they do speed recovery.

Now, here’s another look at MMs in Spartanburg SC. I’m dreaming of next year’s convention in Bend Oregon!