One Saturday Last Spring

a.k.a. Vicki's Better Butter Chicken

It was an unusually warm spring day, so we planned to barbecue country-style pork ribs for dinner, with sides of salad and corn-on-the-cob. We picked up the provisions at the supermarket that we didn’t have at home. Spontaneously, I decided to invite friends to the barbecue, and they couldn’t come until Sunday. With the day's plans thwarted, we needed to implement a Plan B.

First: What's in the fridge?

Leftover rice and chopped veggies from last week -- throw it out.
About ½ cup of white rice from chicken on Tuesday -- hmmm…
Leftover grilled NY strip steak, but not enough for two.
Pieces of chicken and steak to top dinner for the dogs -- too gristly.
Leftover oven-fried chicken from Tuesday night -- hmmm…
Take-home container of butter chicken from Indian restaurant from last Sunday night --another -- hmmm…
In the vegetable drawer:
- A withered half tomato -- throw it out.
- Withered onion slices from who-knows-when, but not slimy -- hmmm…
- Wrinkled grape tomatoes no good for salad, but fine for cooking -- hmmm…
- Two bags of baby carrots; one labeled “petite” -- hmmm…

Ingredients: use the ones highlighted and also

1/2 cup rainbow rice blend
2-3 tbsp. peanut oil
fresh ground salt and pepper
chopped salted cashew

My husband is often a little skeptical about a dinner prepared from my restaurant doggie bag, particularly if I’m mixing different ethnic and/or cooking styles.

Preparation:

Cut up leftover oven-fried chicken and leftover butter chicken from Indian restaurant and warm on medium heat in Indian curry sauce.
Since ½ cup of leftover rice isn’t enough for two, cook ½ cup of rainbow rice blend and add the leftover rice to it when it’s almost finished.
Cut wrinkled grape tomatoes into halves/thirds and wrinkled onion slices into one-inch pieces.
Cut about two dozen petite carrots into one-inch pieces no thicker than ¼ inch.
Sauté onions in two teaspoons of peanut oil; add carrots when onions are turning golden; add tomatoes when you can smell the aroma of the carrots; sauté for a few more minutes and set aside.
Serve chicken in curry/vegetable sauce over rice; top with chopped cashews.
Yummy, after a little salt was sprinkled over all.