I went to my nephew's new apartment to bring him a desk...(tl;dr: post about cooking w/ leftovers)

he is in his own apartment (meaning no roommates) for the first time. Long story short: No cash until payday.

He wanted to have the girl he is dating over tonight, but since he doesn't have the cash to spend on additional groceries or take-out, he was thinking of rescheduling.

I took a look in his fridge, and I found he had options. Like:

A little more than half of a large jar of salsa + sliced leftover grilled chicken + 1/2 bag of frozen corn + 2 chicken bouillon cubes & water.

Basically, heat the water (about 4 cups should do) until simmering, add the bouillon cubes and stir until they are dissolved. Lower heat to medium/low. Add corn and salsa. Cook for a few minutes. Taste for seasoning, if it's a bit bland, add an additional boullion cube. If it's very acidic, add a bit of sugar.

If it's not spicy enough for you: Spice that pot up however you damn well please.
Black pepper, cayenne, hot sauce....chipolte. I'm not the boss of you...do what you want.

(Garnish w/ crumbled tortilla chips & grated cheddar if you are feeling particularly festive)

Olé!

1/2 bag of washed baby arugula + 1/2 red pepper, sliced - toss with Italian dressing to taste.

Top w/ a few croutons and a fried egg (I'm not going to tell you how to fry a damn egg. You know how to do that, right? Right? RIGHT?!) sprinkle with grated parmesan before serving. If you want to be very fancy: add 1 strip of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled.

Molto bene!

(Confession - the arugula, pepper & croutons were leftover from the celebratory dinner we brought over to him on Sat. night -- but it was in his fridge...)

2 eggs + 3/4 cup of milk (amt. depends on humidity, size of eggs, etc.) + 1 c. of flour + 1/8 tsp of salt.

Put everything in the blender or beat the hell out of it w/ a wire whisk, you’re looking for a smooth, thin batter.

Heat small, non-stick frying pan & use cooking spray or vegetable oil to coat the bottom. Pour enough batter in to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.

Cook until the top begins to look dry - invert and fold onto a plate. You just made a crepe..now make more crepes.

Fill them with a bit of jam, top them with a bit of fresh/canned fruit if you have some. Surprisingly enough he had a can of sliced cling peaches (not expired) that moved with him.

Whip cream = extra credit.

Très magnifique!

His reaction when I pointed out the meal options...

So, he is not canceling his date tonight and I feel victorious.

I also left 60 bucks in his fridge, because he's a good kid and I love him.

...and I am very aware of how much it sucks to have no cash in my wallet.