Excellent leftover meal

I am not big on leftovers but I had a very hefty piece of roast beef I was contemplating what to do with. Leftover beef soft tacos came to mind but that is pretty much a usual thing around this household.

While cruising around all my favorite food blogs I came upon KaylynsKitchen blog on her Leftover Roast Beef Italian Stew. Her photo caught my eye but the recipe kept me there.

Following is the original recipe - my changes are in red

1/2 onion chopped
1/2 green pepper chopped (or more) I used red pepper because that is what I had on hand
1 T olive oil
8-10 oz. leftover roast beef or steak (about 1 1/2 cups diced beef cubes)
2 cups beef stock (or 1 can beef broth plus a little water) I used the low sodium
1 cup slow roasted tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes) I used the fire roasted Muir Glen
1/2 T dried oregano
1/2 T dried basil
garlic your choosing
1 cup mushrooms, cut in large chunks I had sliced mushrooms
1-3 T chopped fresh basil (or frozen chopped basil.) I used the frozen very handy

Cut onion and green pepper into 3/4inch pieces, and roast beef and mushrooms into 1 1/2 inch pieces. In heavy dutch oven type pot, saute onions in olive oil for 3 minutes, add green pepper and saute 3 minutes more. Add beef, stock, tomatoes, oregano, basil, and mushrooms, reduce heat to very low, and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper if desired. Add fresh basil when stew has cook to desired consistency and cook 5-10 minutes more. Serve hot.

I also had some warm crusty Italian bread that was perfect for soppin the juices.

And no I didn't take a photo - go look at Kaylyn's, looked just like that but different bowls. This is very tasty for a cool nite meal and so very easy.

Thanks Kaylyn ;)

Easy summer supper

We have a cut that Southern California butchers call London Broil. This is a term usually associated with a method of preparation rather than a cut of beef but we never said Californios are logical.

The London Broil cut, in my stores, is taken from the Boneless Top Loin. It's usually about two to three inches thick. We like it seasoned and thrown on the grill, sliced across the grain and for the sake of the beef, don't over cook!

Summer has sneaked into our lives this week with temperatures hovering in the 80s so that means lots of outdoor cooking. And because I've been trying to be "Green*" at least once a week I BBQ'd two LB steaks at once. The first night it was a simple meal of steak and a salad, one of our favorite meals. While the grill was going, I caramelized onions in a small pan, blackened the skin off some red peppers and used both in my salad. I made more than I needed and boy, was I glad I did because the next day temp soared to 100 and I did not feel like cooking.

In the fridge:

• leftover steak
• caramelized onions
• red pepper
• some cooked spaghetti
• basil

What a bonanza. I heated the pasta in olive oil with some garlic, added basil, onions, red pepper until hot and then tossed in the thinly sliced steak. I turned off the heat, covered and prepared some garlic bread. The beef was heated but still had the rareness we like and was great with the garlic bread. This took me minutes from fridge to table and didn't heat up the kitchen that night.

* I know, I blabber on about being Green and conservation but I truly believe we could all make a difference. Let us know any of your ideas for cutting down somewhere else in the kitchen.

Be a wastrel not

A while back I was hanging on the door to the refrigerator trying to think of something to do with all this leftover cheese. The holidays have left me with lots of leftovers and I know there has to be something I can do outside of freezing them to death. Freezing just postpones the job of trashing them.

We are big cheese eaters. Well maybe big because we eat cheese, but I do hate to waste so--what am I going to do with all this cheese bits? A little sliced Swiss, some cubed cheddar, how about those pieces of provolone? Then I remembered a Good Eats episode and went looking on Food Network for the recipe.

Now this isn't the first time I've had trouble finding a recipe from Alton Brown. You'd think it was easy. Type in: leftover cheese; 351 results. Damn. Cheese spread? No luck there unless you'd like to wade through 1,648 results. Type in Alton Brown, 469 recipes; three with the word cheese and nothing close. The agony is, in my mind's eye, I can see him doing this show.

Frustrated but not giving up I "Google" Alton Brown and choose a link called Good Eats Fan Page. This is a scary site but I forge ahead. After a few false starts I stumble onto a list of recipes and then finally, under Snacks--what I've been looking for but, as usual, that whack job, Brown has called it something clever, Fromage Fort. What is he trying to do keep this stuff a secret?
On a side note, this recipe will air again on Wednesday Jan 24 @ 7:00 p. ET/PT.

Here is my ancient Cuisinart, still chugging along. I promised not to buy a new one until this bites the dust but I do lust after the one almost everyone has.

This recipe is easy, tasty and salves my guilt of wastefulness. Before those cheese bits lurking in your ice box turn a lovely shade of blue/green give it a try. Wait, I now have leftover cheese spread; does the horror ever end?