No room in the fridge!

After a very busy weekend, we ended up with a lot of  leftover ribs and chicken kebabs in the fridge, so I only needed to prepare a few meals for the upcoming week. Still, after grocery shopping, it was evident that there was no space to fit the fresh food, let alone our prepared meals. As JC celebrated his 40th Birthday Saturday - or should I say, tried to avoid celebrating it - our refridgerator is full of beer! Silver gifts from his friends who have stopped by to either drop them off or share a few.

My creativity in packing and storing were definitely called upon today! The stuffing for the lobster rolls did not turn out with the abundance I'd hoped for. I had convinced myself that all the other goodies that were going into the mixture were going to help fill up the bowl.  The good news is that it fit into a very small container. The bad news, though, is that we will have very small sandwiches or I'll have to make another batch. It was my first time working with lobster tails. Now I know what to expect!

Along with that, I stuffed into my bursting refridgerator a ziplock bag of chicken legs marinating in soy sauce, white wine, green onions, and garlic. These will be delicious once they are BBQ'd and served up with a "faux" fried rice with corn and basil.

Finally, I made some burger patties. This week's selection: Spicy Poblano Burgers! They are mixed up with some delicious cumin, paprika, and corriander along with fresh cilantro and roasted peppers. Into the freezer these went to wait for us to grill them up on Friday.
 

For the recipes, go to MyRecipes.com and search for these:
Asian Marinated Chicken with Corn and Basil Faux-Fried Rice
Spicy Poblano Burgers with Pickled Red Onions and Chipotle Cream
Picnic-Perfect Lobster Rolls


Now, let me warn you, that you may take a look at the recipes and think they are too complicated. Let me assure you, that if you can set aside just a little time and focus, they come together in a snap! I once was a afraid of recipes with too many ingredients, or too many steps, too. But, you can adjust the steps to fit your need, and adjust the ingredients to suit your style. I made many swaps today!  I decided to make lean beef burgers in place of turkey burgers. I opted out of the pickled onions (although I have made them before and they really are very good), but I will make the chipotle sauce on burger night. I switched up chicken thighs for drumsticks and swapped out oven cooking for grilling. I used chenin blenc instead of sweet rice wine in the chicken marinade - because that was what I wanted to drink while I cooked! Give these recipes a try, and even with your own subsitutions, you won't go wrong.

My fridge is full and I am all ready for the week. Unfortunately it won't take long before I hear one of the kids say, "There's nothing to eat!" So, for now, with my chenin blanc in hand, a toast to a full refridgerator - to family, friends, food, & wine. Happy eating!