Anyone else have massive clutter attacks?
Recently, I have been going absolutely crazy post 6pm. While I should be winding down from the stresses of work, I find myself sitting on my couch, knees shaking, analyzing every inch of my apartment. The stress keeps building and building until I end up just throwing things away. My google research of the symptoms tells me that I am having what is known to be a clutter attack. This has been happening every night. See the nature of this situation stems from the fact that I have two closets in my apartment. One pantry like closet by my door, and another closet (non-walk in) in my bedroom. Obviously the latter is meant for clothes. This means I really have one closet for things like paper towels, a vacuum, a suitcase, those extra bags of flour you buy thinking you ran out, but you really have two bags in your cabinet. Now I know some people are going to read this and call me spoiled and I admit, maybe I am. But hear me out...my apartment was built without a bathroom closet, which means I have to store things like my giant Sam's Club loot of extra toothbrushes in the closet by front door and it really really just messes with my overall feng shui. Don't get me started by the lack of a coat closet. In case you couldn't tell...when my roommates and I would assign ourselves roles in the cast of Friends... I was always Monica, for many reasons.
Before you question where I live, you must know that I love my apartment, despite its lack of necessary storage. The elephant in the room is that this was a bit self inflicted. Oh my, could you imagine having an elephant in your room? Things could be much worse. I had the choice to opt for a large laundry room, or a walk in closet. I opted for a laundry room, because my cat has to have a place to pee in a box. Now you're most likely thinking HOLD THE PHONE, you are complaining while having a giant laundry room? I am guilty. The laundry room has one small, measly little shelf. It's just not enough. If you wanted to know, I hate the show Tiny House.
As you can imagine my clutter phobia is spilling into my kitchen like a fast leak. This evening in attempts to find something new to worry about I opened my refrigerator. Help! I opened the freezer...Woof! Luckily, when it comes to food and pantry items, as long as you are within expiration date limits, you have a lot you can do to eliminate your food clutter. Even though I joyfully tossed a pair of shoes I loved in college into the donation bin, throwing away perishable food items is unacceptable. This is why "clean the pantry" recipes were invented. While a lot of times these meals are chilis, or soups, this week I had a frozen pork butt burning a whole in frozen food selection. I also had some vegetables that were slowly withering away in my fridge. With the holidays coming, I know I am going to be visiting my parents a lot to eat their food and leftovers. I know things like carrots, and celery are going to go bad in the upcoming weeks. This braised pork ragu was the perfect meal to calm my nerves. Pork butts or shoulders are an amazing piece of meat. First of all, they are cheap. Like ridiculously cheap. Second, along with the "cheapness" comes an abundance of meat. Perfect to feed a crowd. Lastly, just because it's cheap doesn't mean it lacks flavor. Pork can give you a large amount of delicious tender meant, with just the right amount of fat to give the perfect flavor to any meal. This braised pork ragu is a perfect meal to make for the holidays to feed a crowd. Serve it over pasta, like I did, or polenta. Sometimes it is even delicious enough to eat on your own, but I don't know, sometimes people scoff at eating sauces for spoonful. Make sure to sneak a few spoons for yourself before you serve.
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, fat trimmed
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 onion diced
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup water
1 28 oz can peeled plum tomatoes
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 box dried pasta or choice
Dice pork shoulder into 4 even pieces. Dry the meat with a paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in large dutch oven. Add pork and cook on all sides until fully browned. (2 - 3 minutes on each side). Remove pork from the pan and add in onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add in minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring so that garlic does not burn. Add in tomato paste and stir to coat vegetables. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add in thyme, oregano, and basil. Add in red wine and the peeled tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Add 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a simmer and add the pork back into the pot. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The sauce is ready when the pork is falling apart. I know it is ready, when I struggle to remove the pork from the sauce because it keeps falling apart. Lower the heat to low Using two forks, shred the pork until there are no large pieces. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Serve ragu over pasta with additional parmesan cheese if needed.
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, fat trimmed
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 onion diced
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup water
1 28 oz can peeled plum tomatoes
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 box dried pasta or choice
Dice pork shoulder into 4 even pieces. Dry the meat with a paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in large dutch oven. Add pork and cook on all sides until fully browned. (2 - 3 minutes on each side). Remove pork from the pan and add in onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add in minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring so that garlic does not burn. Add in tomato paste and stir to coat vegetables. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add in thyme, oregano, and basil. Add in red wine and the peeled tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Add 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a simmer and add the pork back into the pot. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The sauce is ready when the pork is falling apart. I know it is ready, when I struggle to remove the pork from the sauce because it keeps falling apart. Lower the heat to low Using two forks, shred the pork until there are no large pieces. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Serve ragu over pasta with additional parmesan cheese if needed.
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