Making Leftovers Taste Less Like "Leftovers" (Meal Planning with Versatile Recipes) + Bean and Hominy Chili

I am by no means an expert at meal planning but over the years I have picked up a few habits that make weeknight cooking less tiresome. Namely planning and cooking recipes that can be used a second time with a totally different spin on the presentation making the leftovers taste less like "leftovers." I know a lot of people dislike leftovers but I love them! They are great because they make a great lunch the next day, and or dinner on another weeknight. 

One of my favorite combinations of meals that I have found include chili one night and on another night that week, Navajo Tacos. I have several chili recipes that I enjoy, including Chipotle Chocolate Chili from the Our Best Bites blog when I want a really spicy chili,  Jalapeño Popper Chili when I want a white chicken style chili, and Bean and Hominy Chili from the cookbook Kitchen Confidence: Essential Recipes and Tips that Will Help You Cook Anything by Kelsey Nixon. I checked out Kitchen Confidence from the library because I was intrigued when I realized that I had attended Girl's State with Kelsey back in high school, and I am so glad I did because there are several great recipes in this cookbook.  

Other weeknight recipe combos that make for several great meals include: 

Night 1: Cafe Rio Style Pork Salads      Night 2: Cafe Rio Style Pork Burritos

Night 1: Refried Beans without the Refry made into burritos      Night 2: Nachos

Night 1: Salmon Burritos     Night 2: Union Grill Salmon Pasta Salad (Sometimes I plan for salmon the same week we have Cedar Plank Burgers so that I can have my husband grill the burgers and the salmon at the same time.) 

Additional recipes that can be used multiple times throughout a week, but aren't a meal by themselves: 

Pioneer Woman Salsa  

Bean and Hominy Chili

Adapted slightly (I hate chunks of stewed tomatoes so I puree them before I add them) from Kitchen Confidence: Essential Recipes and Tips that Will Help You Cook Anything.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 (15.5-ounce) can white hominy, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1. In a large soup pot on medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and poblano and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and cayenne (if using). Cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant and toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the hominy, black beans, kidney beans, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

When we have Navajo Tacos for dinner I make a quick batch of scones or fry up a can of pre-made biscuits (I learned that trick from a co-worker at my first teaching job) and add leftover chili, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, cheese, and anything else that sounds good.

Summer Reading, A Recap

I read a fair amount of books this summer despite the fact that I always wish that I had time to read more. Some were new to me, some were repeats being read aloud to my five year-old for the first time. I enjoyed all of them, although a few stand out as notably exceptional.

The Royal We  by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan - I LOVED this book. I read it while in San Diego and it was impossible for me to put down. The storyline was compelling and I just kept wanting to know more. I am still wanting to read more, despite the fact that the story is over. The basic plot of the story follows a similar storyline to the courtship of Prince William and Princess Kate. The protagonist in this story is an American girl named Bex,and while there are many similarities to the real royal couple, there are several aspects of the story that don't fit with the life of William and Katherine which make the story similar but different enough that there is room for suspense and guessing. One of the most interesting themes of the book is the theme of all that one has to be willing to give up and/or accept when they are in love with someone of fame/responsibility.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I just finished this book and it was very compelling and relatable. It follows the story of a murder at a school trivia-night and all of the events leading up to it. The parents that the story follows are parents of new Kindergartners. I started this book the week my daughter started school (not realizing at the time that this is what the story would be about) and it made me laugh in parts because of the current realities of starting this whole school stuff.

Slim By Design by Brian Wansink - A very interesting read. There were scorecards throughout the book so that you could track how you were doing. I loved that it made me think more about the reasons behind why things are sold in smaller packages, why buffets are set up in certain ways, etc. I also love that the book pointed out useful strategies.

Mindless Eating, Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink - This book was written in similar fashion to Slim By Design and there are parts where the details overlap. Also a great read, although if I had to pick one I would pick Slim By Design to read.

Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage by Molly Wizenberg - A very fascinating autobiographical sort of book about the beginning of a popular pizza joint named Delancey. I had never thought about all of the details that go into making a restaurant success full, nor had I ever realized that I would care to know such details, but it really was a fascinating book and I would highly recommend reading it. I also loved that there were recipes interspersed throughout the book.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes - I read this book while we were on a vacation because I had heard it was a good "wanderlust" themed book. In the story a single mom and her kids travel to Scotland with a complete stranger, a very wealthy one (who's life has started to fall apart) to help the lady's youngest daughter participate in a math contest. The hope is that she will win and earn a scholarship to attend a prestigious math school. This was also a very good read.

Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas - Mindless, easy summer reading. I loved the tv show Veronica Mars so of course I have to read the novels that have started to come out. Although I wouldn't say the writing is amazing, it is an interesting read.

Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life by Gretchen Rubin - This was a fascinating book. I love that she considered Churchill from so many different angles and points of view. So many people forget to question the things that they read, looking for bias and deciding for themselves what is fact and what is opinion. I love that Gretchen points those things out and tries to look at every aspect from multiple angles to paint her own picture of who the thinks Churchill was as a man, a leader, a husband/father/son, etc.

Blackmore by Julia Donaldson - I was very sick for a few days and all I could do was lay in bed and try very unsuccessfully to sleep. While I was laying there I listened to this as a book on tape. It was a sweet story and fun to listen to, although I don't think modern takes on the Jane Austen style romances will ever quite match.

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - A very fascinating fictional novel about children refugees in the countryside of England during WWII. While it is historical fiction, the details are well researched and it is a new perspective on WWII. Read it, you won't regret it! It is a young adult novel so a very quick read.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo - I thought that this book was pretty interesting, although I am rather glad I read it during my week in a condominium so that I didn't get the urge to start tearing into stuff and decluttering. I think there were quite a few good pointers in the book but I think I would actually have to apply the concepts before I can decide whether it is realistic and the best approach. I have read a lot of cleaning, decluttering, and organizing books in the last few years and I'm not sure which ones I would say are the best.

The Betsy Tacy Treasury: The First Four Books (including: Betsy-Tacy; Betsy, Tacy, and Tib; Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill; and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown) by Maud Hart Lovelace - My daughter got these books for her birthday and we read them aloud to her. The whole family LOVED THEM. The books are so relatable and funny. I was a huge Little House on the Prairie fan as a kid and these stories sort of reminded me of those. The girls in these books are spunky and just so much fun.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling - My five year-old is obsessed with Harry Potter so we are reading these aloud. No explanation needed because of course everyone should read Harry Potter at least once in their life. (Hint to my husband who still refuses.)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  by JK Rowling

I also started the book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande but I had several other books waiting to be read and so I ran out of time. The first 50 pages were very interesting, although I am in a bit of a light/fun/fiction phase right now because of it being summer. Perhaps I will try this again in the fall or winter.

Instax Mini 8 Take 2 (A Day at the Beach)

     I wrote a few months ago about my experiences with the Instax Mini 8 on my trip to Europe and how I was ultimately not impressed enough to keep the camera. The results were very inconsistent, more than half of the photos were disappointing and while there were a handful of fun photos that felt fun and "vintage," it seemed like the better way to spend my money would be on film for my film slr camera. I did note in that post that I did like some of the photos and wouldn't mind trying it again to be sure before I wrote it off entirely. Well the opportunity arose when I saw the camera steeply discounted to the point that I was willing to buy it. It is in pink this time, which is cute but I miss the yellow. I had a trip to the beach coming up and it was the perfect opportunity to give the Instax Mini 8 another chance.
     There were a few things I loved about it this time. First I loved that I could take it into the water with me and not feel like the world was over if I dropped it. While I toted my dSLR along to the beach, there were certain limitations with how far I was willing to walk into the ocean before I felt like there was a chance it would get wet. I seriously need a waterproof case. The other thing that I really loved is that the slightly blurry images and softer colors feel like they were just meant for the beach! Also, my girls and their cousins absolutely loved the instant satisfaction that comes with holding the photo in your hand right after it was taken. Because the experience was so much better we will definitely be keeping the camera and pulling it out each time we go on vacation, to keep the experience more unique and meaningful.
     I don't know how much of the improvement has to do with me having more experience with the camera, or if the first camera was really not working. The different light modes seemed to work better this time, although I have come to the conclusion that there are just some lighting situations that the camera doesn't do. Situations with low contrast end up not so great, as well as sometimes bright lighting situations.
      I LOVE the pictures that I captured with the Instax 8 on this trip. Some of them more so than the photos that I took with my fancy camera. My absolute favorites are the first two images here. The first because it captures the personalities of both of my daughters perfectly. My youngest digs right into the sand and has a lovely, and very sandy time each time we visit the beach. My older daughter is in love with the water and the sun. While she wasn't the main subject of the photo, I love that she ended up visible in the background. The second photo, of my oldest daughter boogie boarding is also perfect because the blur helped capture the motion that naturally goes along with the activity.