So, I’ve been cooking.

This sounds like a recipe for disaster. Ok, that was a bad pun. But, since I’ve been on a very tight budget, I’ve been strapped to my kitchen cooking with what I have in my cabinets. Here are some of my favorite left-over/cabinet creations.

Gnocchi with olive and tomato sauce: I had some left-over olive, roasted red pepper, artichoke heart and garlic mix from the best sandwich ever that need to be used or tossed. I also had some Colavita Gnocchi that had been in my cabinet since I returned from Argentina with a new found love of the potato pasta goodness. And, of course, no overstocked cabinet is complete without canned tomatoes. The olive mix was finely chopped and cooked with the tomatoes. Gnocchi stirred in. Served on a bed of fresh spinach. Yummy!

Chicken Shawarma: If I had know it was this easy, I’d have been making this for years. Yogurt, black pepper, red pepper (thanks to rebeckspe, I was stocked), Tapatio, garlic, and a healthy dose of mace. I had to go get the mace, which turned into an adventure. Wild Oats did not stock it, so I headed to Spice Boys. Dang, that place is wonderland. In addition to the mace, I left with some chocolates with a lavender ganache. Seriously good shit. But I digress. Mix all that stuff together (minus the chocolates) and toss in cubed chicken. Marinate over night. I baked it on grill pan in the oven, but next time I’m going to try it on the BBQ (in my grill cage silly).

There was some other stuff in there, but I’m boring myself and can’t believe you are still reading. That brings me to tonight. I’m down to finding uses for the frozen vegetables in the freezer. They’d go well with some Japanese Noodles from Trader Joes (how long have I had those??) and Sisters’ Spicy Peanut Sauce (had that since I hosted craft day). So, I, um, burned the broccoli. And now my whole apartment completely reeks. If you have burned broccoli before you know the unholy stench that it creates.

Well crafters, what can I do get rid of this smell? I need advice, badly.