It’s a few mushrooms left over from last week’s pizza. A couple carrots that survived the Chicken Pot Pie. A stranded bag of tomatoes. A sack of snap peas wasting away in the produce drawer. They’re the gang of forgotten veggies, and they’re up to no good. Give them enough time together and there’s sure to be trouble. Before you know it they’ll be hanging out on shady looking corners in your fridge producing smells you can’t even describe and getting more deadly by the day.

It’s a dangerous game, friends. I used to give that gang of veggies free reign. When I finally uncovered them again weeks (months?!) later they had transformed from their colorful perky vegetable selves into a dark and mushy substance covered in white fuzzies. Appetizing, I know.

So into the trash they went. The forgotten veggie…lost forever.

But I’m turning over a new leaf! Leftovers need love too! Speaking of which, wouldn’t this be a refreshing ad campaign this time of year? Give me some veggies I can believe in! Save the leftovers! Vote Vegetables 2012.

Can you tell living in a swing state is slowly driving me mad?

But I digress.

Here’s the thing. Those few mushrooms and handful of cherry tomatoes may not seem like much on their own. But when you throw all of them together, they can make a really delicious, substantial, and…wait for it…healthy meal.

This is my new solution to the rotting veggie dilema. Throw them all in a large skillet together with some sesame oil and garlic (ginger is also wonderful…if I would’ve had some on hand it definitely would have been going in this pot). Saute them up until they’re nice and tender and colorful. Add some sauce. I used a mixture of rice vinegar, soy sauce, and Sriracha, but  you could go sweet by adding some brown sugar or Hoisin sauce or go Teriyaki style with some…well…Teriyaki sauce.

Add some noodles (use rice noodles to make it gluten free!) and you’ve just made yourself a fresh, healthy, quick, and simple dinner. Plus you’ve used up that gang of forgotten vegetables. PLUS, you’ve saved yourself from having to clean up a juicy mold mess in your fridge. That’s what I call a win.