On the subject of planning ahead vs winging it at the last minute - we buy our meat in bulk where possible, it's farcheaper. We ordered a side of lamb a few months ago, we've been eating our way through it and also making room in the freezer. I dug out a bundle of off-cuts, the bones, scraps of meat (mostly fat) etc from the shoulder they boned out for me. I thawed it all out, roasted it all yesterday and then from the amount of lamb fat it produced, I roasted some vegetables for lunch. They tasted wonderful but were too greasy for me. husband was exclaiming in delight over the roasted butternut pumpkin especially. I did have a piece - it was crisp-crunchy on the outside, creamy inside.
Meanwhile I put the now-roasted bones & scraps into a pot with some chopped carrot and half an onion, to make lamb stock. I let it simmer for a couple of hours then let it cool. I picked out all the fat (stored it separately, husband can use it as cutting oil in the workshed), removed and reserved the lean meat from the bones, threw out the stewed vegetable and reserved the stock in the fridge.
This morning I topped up the bottle with the rest of the fat from the chilled stock (it set like Turkish Delight, there was so much gelatine in it) and put the lump of stock in a pot with the reserved meat, some more chopped carrot, some waxy potato and some frozen peas. I let it simmer for an hour or so, husband had it for dinner and now feels spoiled.
While that was cooking I got busy with a chicken dish. We'd picked up some chicken thighs last night and I wanted to do something tasty, so I finally settled on my own version of coq au vin, which I call "chook in a truck". I used white wine instead of red, plenty of fried bacon, some leftover mushrooms rapidly drying into wrinkled old age and an abundance of flamed brandy poured over the browned chicken. I overdid the brandy a bit, there's a big difference between flaming half a cup, and flaming a couple of tablespoonsful. However, the kitchen is still standing... but after simmering the dish for a few hours a lot of fat has come out of the meat so it's in the fridge waiting for the fat to set so I can 'clean it up' for dinner tomorrow night. I did have a piece of the meat tonight, after I mopped up some of the fat and removed the skin. It tasted good. However, for the recipe proper, we'll have to wait until tomorrow night. I knew I'd be busy for a few days so I have meals planned ahead.
I worked around the meat I had and used whatever other ingredients I had to hand, including what fresh herbs I have growing outside. When a recipe calls for bouquet garni, I adapt it depending on the time of year and what is available. When the herbs are dying back for winter, I will sometimes use dead stalks from tarragon, for example, because in a bouquet garni the look doesn't matter, the flavour can still be extracted from a dead stick. Fresh basil gives up its flavour too readily and shouldn't be added to cooking except at the last minute, but a few dead tarragon stalks added earlier will give a similar taste. I ALWAYS have fresh bay, so I use it fresh instead of dried. Got to be careful to not overdose, though.
Enjoy your dinner!
Marg
No wonder you are still slim as a sweet young thing and I look like a Grandma! 
DDD
