Just make it up!

Christmas is coming and life is getting crazy. We are busy putting up Christmas and painting our dining room. We generally do a hundred things at one time. That's usually when we eat whatever...whenever. Meal planning is easy to get tossed out of the window - it's just one more thing to balance. But we are making more of an effort to have a plan and not just "blow it" over the holidays.  Also, I'm still cleaning out the freezer to use up all our left overs.

This week I made some green chili enchiladas. I found some left over Mexican rice (that I had cooked a while back) and tortillas in the freezer. I had a bottle of green chili enchilada sauce and a can of whole black beans in the pantry.  Ummmm..I figured I could put it all together and make up some enchiladas. I grilled the tortillas shells and stuffed them with  rice and  cheese.  Sprinkled them with the green chili sauce and cheese and threw them in the oven. On the back of the black beans can was a recipe that was quick and easy.  I originally made it to serve as a side, but later decided to mash them up for refried beans. To serve, I put some black beans on a plate, set an enchilada on them, added some fresh green chili sauce, a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled some green onions on top.  Not to shabby if I say so myself!  Be willing to experiment! 

Another night I fried up some polenta and put spaghetti sauce over it. I bought some pre-made at the grocery store. You can buy it plain or with added spices/herbs. Polenta is an Italian dish and often times called "Italian grits".  That's probably a good way to describe it. You can make it either as a porridge consistency or more cake like.  It's used as a side dish, and a substitute for pasta, rice or potatoes.  Since I used the pre-made tube, I simply sliced it up and fried it in a very small amount of olive oil until it was crispy, served with the sauce.  I added a salad on the side.  That made a quick and healthy supper.

Don't beat yourself up if your eating gets off.   Get up the next day and try and do better.  There will be lots of special foods, candy and desserts during the Christmas season. Have a little....not a lot!