I like to do a bit of cooking and puttering in the kitchen in the first part of the week. I may even do a bit of baking. But, unless we’re expecting company, my fun in the kitchen only lasts until Wednesday or Thursday. That’s okay though. Weekends are made for leftovers. I like to kick back a little toward the end of the week, pull those little glass dishes of leftovers out of the fridge, heat ’em up and enjoy a few good meals without all the fuss. 
I’m not particularly adventurous as a cook anymore, tending to keep things rather simple. ‘Naked Chicken’ appears quite regularly on our table. Quite literally, chicken thighs baked with only a bit of seasoning. A side of broccoli and a baked potato are the usual accompaniment to this simple fare. Sometimes I’ll pull out my recipe box or a cookbook and get a bit more ambitious in my cooking endeavors.
Earlier this week I had a hankering for chili, so busied myself making a pot of my award-winning Chocolate Chili. [Really! My favorite chili recipe was featured in the February 1990 issue of Midwest Living magazine. My one and only claim to culinary fame.] Over the years I have tweaked this recipe, adding more tomato, fresh mushrooms, a bit more brown sugar, and varying the spices and types of beans. Even if I halve this recipe, you can’t make just a little bit. There are just three of us in our household, so I rarely make it. In my opinion, chili is better on the second day. By day three, I’m tired of it. It was nice having my sister here helping us eat this particular batch of chili.
Sunday night’s dinner helped us use up three of those dishes of this and that, including a little leftover chili. As I brought the rewarmed dishes to our dinner table, mom sat in her usual spot examining our mini smorgasbord and exclaiming as to how delicious they smelled. After our prayer of thanksgiving to God, we each took a dab of this and a dab of that. Mom chose a few spoonfuls of scalloped potatoes and a bit of sausage. Though the dish had made its first appearance on our table a few days ago, Mom relished her first bite and exclaimed, “Mmmmm! I haven’t had this in ages.”
To my sweet Mom, who cannot recall the events of five minutes ago, tonight’s leftovers were a delicious, once in a great while blue plate special.
Another of the ‘graces’ of Alzheimer’s.
Barefoot Lily Lady 