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Even Leftovers Can Be Lovely

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    When I travel to Tennessee to visit with Ty it is no secret that we like to cook new meals. We do our best to make these meals special by trying new dishes and paying attention to the details of the recipes. Most of the time we cook way too much for one setting. This time was no different. We had leftovers nearly every meal which we consumed the next day at lunch or dinner. Two of my favorite leftover meals are shown here. A Steak Salad with leftover Grilled Bourbon Steaks added to a fresh garden salad and a Penne Pasta Bowl made with our Slow-Cooker Italian Sunday Gravy. Both of these recipes were from The Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook.
      What makes these leftovers taste so good? I believe it is the attention to detail when we are preparing each original dish! The execution needs to be good so you will find me reading the recipe over and over, reading any tips that may be included and making sure that I understand all steps. (I'm sort of slow comprehending!) When I do that, even the leftovers turn out good!
    While pondering this I am thinking that it seems life too is full of leftovers. We definitely have those special moments, days or events that we prepare for. We plan to go out for dinner, to attend church, to go for a doctors visit or to meet with friends. We pay attention to the preparation for these events whether big or small. But what about the days in between? How do we ensure that the leftovers are good?
     Have you ever heard: what are we doing for supper, or what are we going to do this weekend? Or my favorite: I'm bored what is there to do? Have you sat in a room watching television with a group of people, be it family or friends, and looked around and all of them are on their smart phones? But don't try to turn the channel! Okay, I'm guilty of this too. I know it is not practical to think that every day is going to be like the special days and events we have but I do believe the "leftover" days will be better if our preparation for the special events is more thorough. I certainly didn't mind the leftovers from the meals made by Ty, Samantha or me this last week. In fact I looked forward to them. 
     I don't know what makes your days special, a great meal, a visit from family or friends, a walk in the park or time spent doing crafts? What ever it is, plan the time as best you can and live fully in that moment.  Then maybe the leftover days between events will be filled with expectations or the satisfaction of the good time just spent. Since my southern family seems to like to try new meals, I expect I will be preparing for my next visit trying to find something new to make! The pictures in this post are some of the "leftover" meals from my last visit South. 

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