Cashew Pork

Here’s a perfect example of how to make a great hit while improvising a menu based on what you find in the refrigerator.

We had several left over pork chops; not enough for a meal by themselves, but way too good to waste.

Prowling through the fridge, I also found a bowl of leftover white rice, and an assortment of vegetables in the crisper. There were some zucchinis that were beginning to look a little wilted. We also had plenty of onions and tomatoes, so I started to think of some kind of stir fry, served over the rice.

So I chopped up the meat from the pork chops while the cut up vegetables (zucchini, tomato, onion, and bell pepper) were roasting in the oven.

To give the pork an oriental flavor, I added a little sesame oil to some vegetable oil in the skillet, and quickly warmed the pork without cooking it to death. I heated up the rice in the microwave (I had to add a little water), and poked through the pantry to find some nuts to scatter over the dish. Lucky — I found cashews!

Now to get a little more oriental flavor, I added some Teriyaki sauce to the pork (I could also have just used soy sauce, I’m sure). I tossed in the roasted vegetables and nuts and there it was.

Now as spontaneous and recipe-less as this dish was, it was a huge hit with the family. Just goes to show what a little imagination can do with some simple leftovers. Oh, and I saved the delicious pork chop bones to gnaw on as an appetizer the next evening.