no-grocery challenge

for whatever crazy reason

 last week when i 'desperately needed' to go to the grocery store, i decided that we are far too wasteful.

 i looked at what we had in the freezer and pantry and i told my husband that i wanted to try to make it 15 days without buying groceries.

i was actually surprised that he seemed okay with it.

so... several interesting, but surprisingly good dinners later, i thought that i would share one of the 'freezer leftover recipes' that i came up with. 

we may never have these leftovers in the freezer and pantry again, but i really loved this recipe and might make it again... with some minor adjustments.

peanutbutter pasta & potsticker meatballs

i do realize that this picture actually doesn't make it look appetizing, or even close to as delicious as it was

but it was rather incredible despite its randomness.

i was fortunate enough to have 1/2 a batch of pork wonton {potsticker} filling in the freezer 

[recipe below]

so, i just thawed it & rolled it into meatballs and browned them in a skillet with a little olive oil.

pretty sure that the meatballs were my husband's favorite part of this meal.

next i sauted in 1 T. olive oil:

3 cups chopped cabbage

1 medium onion, chopped

2 small carrots, julienned

cook the vegetables until softened then reduce heat to low.

while the veggies were cooking i started boiling my pasta [al dente]. 

my husband prefers any long, skinny pasta over the smaller shapes, but i only had about 1/2 serving of whole wheat linguini, so i used that and about 1/2 lb. of whole wheat rotini noodles.

i also added about 1 cup of frozen edamame beans to the pasta while it was cooking.

next make the sauce:

1/3 c. peanut butter 

(i used creamy, but crunchy would be good as well) 

2 t. lime juice

3 t. brown sugar

3 t. soy sauce

3 t. worchestershire sauce 

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

1 t. curry powder

1/4 t. ground cloves

3 cloves garlic, minced 

once above ingredients are heated through, gradually add 

1 1/2 c. half & half

*do not boil*

mix cooked pasta with sauce and veggies.

stir in 3 T. chopped cilantro.

hope you like it. :)

oh, and my husband's only complaint was one that i could have predicted, 

he didn't care for the rotini noodles. 

**potsticker filling {meatball recipe}**

1/2 c minced cabbage- pour boiling water over cabbage and let sit 1/2 hour

3/4 lb. ground pork

4 t. soy sauce

dash pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2 t. minced ginger

2 egg whites

2 T. chopped green onion

mix above filling ingredients and chill 1/2 hour before using