File this under “Things I’m Not Sure If I Should Have Eaten”

Do you know the feeling? Yeah, the one you get when you just ate something and your stomach starts churning a little bit. You start to question whether the expiration date has passed (something hard to do with leftovers) and if you need to take your computer to the bathroom so you can continue to work while waiting for the inevitable.

For me, it was the leftover chili salad. We ate it on Saturday night and took it home and refrigerated it pretty quick. Here’s the challenge, though. I didn’t heat it back up today. I mean the chili was all mixed in with the lettuce and the tomatoes and the peppers. If I put it in the microwave, everything would be a big hot soggy mess.

So am I sick? I don’t know. I guess that depends on if the nice folks at Hard Times Café (the official chili provider to Nobody Likes a Jerk) puts blue corn tortilla strips in their salads. If they don’t then I’d say that was mold and I’m bound for a trip to the DL. I guess it also depends on how quick microbes and all that icky, nasty stuff can form on chili meat? In the past I’ve vigorously questioned the safety of my Chinese leftovers, but do I have to do the same about my Cincinnati Chili Salad?

Time will tell.