Recommendations for Recipes Sought

[gnomi]

So, for Shabbat dinner, we're hosting a bunch of folks, and I've started doing the cooking because there are a lot of things to be made from scratch. However, I think I may have slightly overbought a couple of ingredients that won't last forever (in other words, produce). The things I know I have that are extra are celery (can't just buy the three or four stalks I need for the recipes, alas) and green pepper (I didn't know until I'd chopped all of it that I probably have about 1/2 c. too much).

I also have extra can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes and a bunch of other random ingredients in my pantry.

So, I turn to you lovely folks. Can anyone suggest a recipe that incorporates the above ingredients (not necessarily the diced tomatoes, but for sure the perishables) and that isn't overly time consuming to make?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

[thesilia.livejournal.com]

i agree with you, in principle. i'm a roux purist, but i adore making it in the microwave. it's just so darn much faster. i draw the line at using roux from a jar. :) often, however, after microwaving the roux to near-doneness, i'll transfer it to a pan and finish it in the traditional way so that i can add my trinity. once the onions are translucent, i brown any sausage or uncooked meat/poultry that's going into the gumbo. if you don't use smoked sausage, you really want to add some smoked paprika to the soup to give it that rich flavor.

i agree with gilana that you can burn it, and you can also do it lighter by cooking for less time. for example, if you wanted a blonde roux to put in a bechamel sauce or something like that, you'd just shorted the initial cook time to 3 or 4 minutes.