The Bare Necessities

I decided tonight, as I grabbed random things from the refrigerator and the cabinets to create some semblance to a meal, that there are a few items no kitchen should be without. 

There always seems to be a good reason to have the following things on hand:

• A fresh lemon (or two) and a lime
• Milk
• Butter 
• Oil (olive or canola)
• Fresh garlic
• Fresh onion

Tonight's schmorgasboard was part stirfry, part soccer mom but 100% "refrigerator management" (a term my grandmother uses for using unused ingredients from previous meals and leftovers to create a new dish... and empty the fridge of aging items).

Part 1: fresh diced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, chopped zucchini, sliced red and white onions, a can of chicken breast (that I sauteed before adding it to the stirfry) and one special/secret ingredient... the last few tablespoons of a bottle of Kroger brand steak sauce.

Part 2: Kraft spiral macaroni and cheese (prepared as directions indicate)

As weird as it sounds, the steak sauce veggie stirfry looked (and tasted) pretty delicious next to that pile of classic macaroni. Mission refrigerator management accomplished.