As I stand and stare resolutely at my grocery list, there – nestled among the regulars, i.e. milk, eggs, bread…sits the rather esoteric and somewhat vague item…”dinner”. That’s it. Dinner. No details, no elaborations…just, “dinner”. I have to take, what I like to call, my “thinking-trip” to the market. What that translates to is, my “I-don’t-know-what-to-cook,-so-I-need-to-go-to-the-market-and-stare,-and-hope-that-I-become-inspired-by-something-I-see” trip. Sometimes, when I am in this mode, unsuspecting friends might give me a call, just to say hello. Much to their chagrin…I pounce on them…”What are you making for dinner!? I don’t know what to cook. Inspire me!” They usually stutter and sputter along for a moment or two, disoriented by my unnatural segue from their question of “Hi, how are you?” and my answering with a desperate question about their dinner plans. Recently I did this to my friend, Victoria. Knowing me well, she bounced back, unfazed and without missing a beat said, “I’m fixing steaks”! Oooooh, that sounds good…(I am easily swayed hen I am desperate).
Steaks are good. The problem with them is that they are a one-shot meal usually. That, and I just don’t make them very often due to the whole reduction of red meat in my diet, and frankly, they are expensive. If I am going to shell out some bucks for a splurgy meal – I need to get a couple meals out of it! My weekly “dinner” list is still a skosh shy of being complete. I am looking for that magical meal that could translate into multiple meals. I call them, “Stretchy Meals”. Not only do they stretch a dollar – they stretch your imagination! It’s a bit like food Scrabble. How many meals can I make out of this…fill in the blank.
Becky’s Pork Butt & Beer is one of the first Stretchy Meals submitted to this project…I will post that recipe next!