It all started with a roast...

There are two tricks to making Leftover Makeovers work for your family. One trick is to cook a little extra of one or two foods to incorporate into another meal later in the week. The second trick is to cook one larger quantity and reinvent it into new dishes later in the week (without repeating the same flavors over and over.)
A roast is the perfect way to employ trick number two. Cook a 4 to 5 pound roast, then create two more meals from the leftover meat. You can roast chicken, beef, venison, and pork relatively easily.
So, how do you plan a week’s menu? First, take an inventory of what you already have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. This step will ultimately cut down on your weekly grocery bill. Plan a week of meals based on what you already have and try to limit your grocery list to the weekly purchases of milk, cheese, eggs, bread, fresh produce, meats, etc. Here’s a recent menu:
Day 1: Mexican Pork Roast, sauteed cabbage, green beans & corn, wild rice mix
Day 2: Spaghetti & Meat Sauce, green salad, garlic toast
Day 3: Yakisoba
Day 4: Tacos
Day 5: Chicken Spaghetti Alfredo with Broccoli

Look at Day 1, 3, and 4...these meals are all created from the pork roast. Day 2 and 5 use the “cook extra once” technique to save preparation time. At this point you can tweak the menu depending on your family’s tastes and preferences, as well as what you already have in your freezer or pantry. For example, whenever I make meat sauce, I triple the batch and cook it in the slow cooker. Then, I freeze the cooled sauce in quart size freezer bags. This makes Spaghetti & Meat Sauce a “go-to” meal in my house that can be thrown together quite quickly and easily. Plus, I stock up on pasta whenever it’s on sale, so it’s a pantry staple. Taco shells are another thing I keep in our pantry because, odds are, I will have the ingredients on hand for tacos, as well.
For this week’s menu, I focused on the pork and cabbage. Boston butt and pork shoulder roasts go on sale frequently, so it’s a good economical choice to feed your family. And, it doesn’t always have to be barbecue! Cabbage is always a thrifty choice, and a little goes a long way.
It might be best for your schedule to cook your roast over the weekend. Then, on busy weeknights, all you have to do is assemble the cooked pork into new delicious meals. Or, your Tuesday may be the day you need to come home to dinner all done and waiting in the slow cooker. You have to look at your week’s activities and decide which meals would be best on which nights. But, obviously, you can’t have the tacos until you’ve cooked the pork roast!
So, on Day 1...you get home from work and the roast is all done because you assembled it and put it in the slow cooker before you left that morning. All you need to do is cook the cabbage, steam the green beans, and prepare the rice mix. These are quick stove-top preparations that you could easily tailor to your family’s tastes.
Day 2...Boil your pasta and make your meat sauce OR thaw your previously-made meat sauce and heat it OR open the jar of your favorite sauce and call it done! Toast your garlic bread, toss the salad, and supper is served. Here’s how tonight’s supper helps you a few days later...When you are boiling your pasta for tonight, throw in about 8 ounces extra. This pre-cooked pasta will make Day 5's supper come together in a snap.
Day 3...Yakisoba is a traditional Japanese dish that means “fried noodles”. Now, I don’t use fried noodles, I use ramen noodles. They cost $.22 per packet; quite economical. Using leftover pork roast and veggies from Day 1 makes for easy preparation of this meal.
Day 4...Shred the remainder of the pork roast and add a touch of salsa and a sprinkle of chili mix to create a taco filling. There’s no real recipe for this, just add little bits to taste. And, honestly, I didn’t add a thing to the kids’ or my husband’s shredded pork...it was already seasoned well. I just wanted a little something extra. You can steam broccoli as a side dish for Yakisoba or Tacos, just steam a ½ pound extra for Day 5's meal.
Day 5...Now you are going to use that cooked pasta to speed this meal along. This step helps save time and clean-up which is truly my least favorite part of cooking!

So, there it is: a week of meals with a few tips and tricks to help you better use your time and talent in the kitchen. Try it and see if it is easier to plan out your meals. When you go to the grocery store with your list, stick to it. You will see that you won’t spend as much if you are focused on one week of meals and the groceries for just that week. I’d love to hear your success stories after planning out a few of your family’s meals. Happy Eating!

Mexican Pork Roast

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 chipotle peppers, minced
½ c. water
½ c. chicken stock
1 t. chili mix
½ t. salt
½ t. ground cumin
½ t. dried Mexican oregano
1 boneless pork shoulder roast (4 lbs), trimmed and cut in half

In a large skillet, saute the onions, carrots, and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker; add chipotle peppers, water, and broth. In a small bowl, combine chili mix and next 3 ingredients; rub over roast halves; place in the slow cooker. *see note* Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until meat thermometer reads 170 degrees in center of roast. Transfer roast and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm. Strain cooking juices and skim fat. Pour into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Serve with roast and vegetables.

*note* Sometimes, when trimming this roast, the meat will "chunk up", depending on the marbling of the meat. So, just firmly smash the seasoned pieces of pork together and place in slow cooker. To test doneness, place the meat thermometer in the center of the largest piece of meat about 15 minutes before end cook time.

Yakisoba

1 pkg (3 oz) Ramen noodles (oriental, pork, or chicken flavor)
1 T. Olive oil
½ medium onion, chopped
1 c. carrot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. minced ginger
6 c. chopped cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 c. cooked pork, cut into bite-size pieces
1 c. cooked peas (or corn, peppers, broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, mix of your choice)
½ t - 1 t sesame oil
dash nutmeg
1 T soy sauce
ground black pepper
sliced green onion, toasted sesame seeds, and/or chow mein noodles to garnish

Prepare ramen noodles as directed, except drain when cooked. You may use the seasoning packet or discard if you want to reduce sodium.
In wok or large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Saute onion, carrot, garlic, and ginger until onions are transparent. Add cabbage, stir well and continue cooking over medium high heat until cabbage begins to wilt. Add pork, peas (or vegetables), cooked ramen noodles, sesame oil to taste, nutmeg, soy sauce and black pepper to taste. Stir well until heated through. Serve immediately with desired garnish and/or additional soy sauce, hot sauce.


Chicken Spaghetti Alfredo

8 oz spaghetti, cooked
½ to 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced (one pound peeled, deveined shrimp can be substituted)
1 1/4 c chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c Italian dressing
4 t flour
4 oz. Neufchatel cheese, cut into small cubes (low-fat cream cheese)
4 T Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
4-6 oz cooked broccoli
pinch of nutmeg
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Place sliced chicken in Italian dressing and garlic. Let marinate 20 minutes. Over medium-high heat, cook chicken and marinade in large skillet. Stirring occasionally, cook 4-6 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Mix broth and flour together. Slowly add broth mixture to cooking juices stirring constantly. Add Neufchatel cheese and 3 T Parmesan cheese to skillet, stirring until smooth and thick. Add pinch of nutmeg and return chicken to skillet, along with cooked spaghetti and broccoli; toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 1 T Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

A Southern New Year's Day Feast

Growing up, Mama always served black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, and turnip greens on New Year’s Day. Now, I can honestly say, I really didn’t like the menu as a kid, but now I love to make it and tell my kids the reasons for serving each of the traditional foods. For years, I thought we had to eat these dishes just because Mama said so, but the foods eaten on New Year’s Day were chosen generations ago as symbols of good luck and prosperity. Superstitious? Yes, and steeped in Southern tradition. Delicious? Absolutely, so get cookin’ and dig in!

Black-Eyed Peas...For many years, black-eyed peas have been eaten on New Year’s Day in hopes of bringing good luck in the coming year. Many cultures eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day and even the ancient Babylonians ate the dried legumes hoping for good luck. When Sephardi Jews came to Georgia in the 1730s, they brought with them the practice of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. And, by the time of the Civil War, many non-Jews were eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, as well, hoping for better times. Black-eyed peas are traditionally cooked with ham or salt pork, as the hog symbolizes prosperity. Nowadays, we still cook the black-eyed peas with ham or the ham hock because (many times) we have it left over from our Christmas meal.

Rice...Rice-growing in the U.S. began in the South in the late 17th century. A ship's captain from Madagascar gave a Charleston farmer rice seeds that flourished in the South Carolina lowcountry's swampy soil. The "Carolina Gold" rice proved to be a cash crop for struggling farmers and built wealth for the region. Rice symbolizes wealth and black-eyed peas bring good luck, so eating Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day should “fare ye well” in the new year. Hoppin’ John is an inexpensive dish to prepare and is a lovely Leftover Makeover for your Christmas ham and cooked rice. You can use canned black-eyed peas in this dish, but soaking your dried peas overnight and then cooking them with the ham hock will save you money and create a more flavorful dish.

Stewed Tomatoes...I have no idea why stewed tomatoes are served on New Year’s Day. When I tried to research and find the reason for this dish to be eaten on New Year’s, I couldn’t find one. I suppose it’s because tomatoes have such an abundant yield in the summer that most people canned their own tomatoes to preserve them for winter eating. And, on January 1st, there would (most likely) still be plenty jars of tomatoes in the pantry. My grandmothers made this sweet dish very simply, cooking 1 quart of tomatoes slowly with sugar, butter, salt & pepper. Then, they would add chunks of bread at the end to soak up that delicious sauce and thicken the dish making what my family calls “stewed tomatoes.”


Greens...Greens of any kind are thought to bring good luck and prosperity because the leaves represent paper currency. In many parts of the world, cabbage is a New Year’s Day food since this leafy vegetable is in season. But, I grew up eating turnip greens on New Year’s Day. Turnip greens are the leaves that grow on the turnip plant as the root vegetable grows underground. They were prepared very similarly to the black-eyed peas, being boiled with ham hock. Turnip greens, collard greens, and kale are plentiful and inexpensive this time of year, so they are a natural choice for New Year’s Day. Plus, eating them is believed to bring wealth, as they symbolize money. So, why not start the year with a little bit of green?

When my New Year’s Day plate is full of Hoppin’ John, stewed tomatoes, and turnip greens with a side of cornbread, that says good luck and prosperity to me. May 2010 bring you the blessings of health and wealth with good eating, too!

Hoppin’ John

1/2 lb. dried black-eyed peas
1 T. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small ham hock (or 1/2 c. chopped country ham)
1 qt. water
4 c. cooked rice
1 T. fresh chopped parsley
1 T. chopped ham (for garnish)

Cover the beans with cold water and let them soak overnight.
In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and ham hock. Cook until the onions are transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the soaked peas and the water; cook, covered, until the peas are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the ham hock and strain mixture, reserving cooking water for another use. Return cooked peas to pot and fold in the cooked rice. Salt and pepper to taste. (Do not add salt to beans while cooking, as they will be tough.) Stir in parsley and top with chopped ham. Serve with hot sauce.


Stewed Tomatoes

1 (28-oz) can whole, peeled tomatoes
1/4 c. sugar
4-5 slices of stale bread
salt & pepper to taste

Drain the tomatoes, reserving the liquid. Hand crush the tomatoes into a large saucepan. Add the sugar and the reserved liquid. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally and being careful not to let it burn, for about 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Tear the bread into chunks and drop into tomato mixture, stirring well until most of the liquid is absorbed by the bread. Remove from heat and serve.


Turnip Greens

2 T. olive oil
1 ham hock (or 1 lb. smoked salt pork, cut into chunks)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 qt. vegetable stock
1/2 t. red pepper flakes, crushed
1/2 t. salt
2 T white vinegar
2 lbs. fresh turnip greens, washed, stems removed and roughly chopped (or your favorite winter greens)
dash of ground nutmeg

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the ham hock (or salt pork) and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth and next 3 ingredients scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pot; add the turnip greens and stir to combine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until greens are tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the ham hock (or salt pork) and add a dash of ground nutmeg. Stir well and cook 3 minutes more. Serve with cornbread.

Leftover Makeover for Cranberry Orange Chicken

The week before Christmas week is always the busiest week of the year for me. There's shopping to do, gifts to wrap, cookies to bake, friends to visit, family to see, mantles to decorate, trees to trim, on and on. All this is in addition to my normal life of schlepping kids wherever they need to go, overseeing homework, keeping the house tidy, taming the laundry beast, and cooking for my family. The secret to a successful Christmas is to plan and organize. Santa's not the only one who needs a list to get through the season. I need quite a few lists, actually.
I make a menu plan each week, but special attention was given to this particular week because I didn't want to spend much time preparing supper each night. So, this is the perfect week for Leftover Makeovers. First, I cooked a fun Cranberry Orange Chicken in the slow cooker. I made sure I had plenty chicken, rice and broccoli left over, so I could throw together the Chicken Fried Rice later in the week. I included butternut squash and broccoli in the dish because those veggies are in season now and, therefore, plentiful, fresh, and less expensive. But, you could use carrots, peas, green beans, or your family's favorite veggies as a substitute. Chicken Fried Rice is a recipe that I never make from "scratch" on the night I serve it. In other words, it is always made with leftovers. The trick is that I plan to have the leftovers.
This recipe calls for 2 cups of cooked diced chicken. That chicken could come from a roast, a rotisserie deli chicken, grilled chicken breasts, or baked chicken parts. As long as you have 2 cups, you'll be fine. In fact, if you'd prefer to decrease or omit the meat altogether, you can. Just increase the substantial veggies. You want approximately 6 cups of rice, veggies, and/or meat (all combined) to create the right consistency for fried rice.
Try this Leftover Makeover by cooking your rice, broccoli, butternut squash, and chicken early in the week for other meals, then toss together the leftovers for this easy and filling one-dish meal.

Chicken Fried Rice

2 T peanut oil
1 c. butternut squash, diced
1/2 c. red pepper, diced
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 c. broccoli, steamed & chopped
2 c. cooked, diced chicken
2 c. cooked, cold rice
1 egg, beaten
3 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
1/4 t. salt
black pepper to taste
chopped green onion, optional
toasted sesame seeds, optional

Heat peanut oil in wok (or large skillet) over medium heat. Saute butternut squash, red pepper, and onion until squash is nearly tender. Reduce to medium and add broccoli and chicken, heating through. Stir in rice. Make a well in rice mixture, add egg and scramble. Stir scrambled egg into rice mixture. Add soy sauce and sesame oil, stirring well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped green onion and toasted sesame seeds, if desired.


*note* You can use a variety of cooked meats in this recipe, if desired. Slivered ham, sliced cooked beef, cooked shrimp, sliced cooked pork all work well as a substitution for the chicken. Or create a veggie meal by substituting the meat for chopped cooked cabbage.

Cranberry Orange Chicken

2 1/2 to 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts
8 oz. whole cranberry sauce
2/3 c. Orange marmalade
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/4 c. flour

Mix cranberry sauce and remaining ingredients. Pour sauce evenly over chicken in slow cooker. Don’t stir. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 5 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken with steamed broccoli and rice topped with the sauce.

A Spicy, Sweet & Smoky Treat

The smoky, spicy taste of the chipotle pepper adds a unique, Southwest flavor to many dishes. Experiment with the amount of pepper you use to determine just the right kick. I find it difficult to remove seeds (which decreases heat) from the chipotle, so I just use one pepper in most of my dishes. Using more than one will increase the heat and flavor.
I add a chopped chipotle pepper and adobo sauce to chili, casseroles, veggie beef soup, cornbread, even macaroni & cheese. Chipotle peppers can be added to any dish that could use a smoky, spicy, Southwestern kick. If your family likes the flavor, experiment a little by adding one chopped chipotle pepper with a little adobo sauce to your favorite dish.
I buy chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the can. Generally, I only use one or two at a time. So, what do I do with the rest of the can of peppers? I line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Then I place each pepper with a little bit of adobo sauce about 2 inches apart on the wax paper. Top the peppers with another sheet of wax paper, press lightly, and freeze on the cookie sheet until firm. Remove from freezer and cut squares around each pepper making individually frozen peppers for future use. Stack frozen peppers (still pressed between wax paper) in a gallon-size freezer bag and freeze until needed. This same method works for pesto; freeze in tablespoon or 1/4 cup portions.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Biscuits

5 T cold butter, cut into small cubes
2 1/4 c self-rising flour
1/2 - 2/3 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. sweet potatoes, cooked, mashed, and cold (or sweet potato casserole *see note)
1 chipotle pepper, chopped
zest of 1 lime, chopped
juice of ½ of one lime

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Add buttermilk and remaining ingredients stirring the mixture just until moistened. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for about 1 hour. On lightly floured surface, pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch round biscuit cutter. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden.

*If you use leftover sweet potato casserole, you may want to decrease the brown sugar a bit so that your biscuits aren’t too sweet (as if there is such a thing!)

*These unbaked biscuits freeze well up to 3 months. Chipotle Sweet Potato Biscuits can also be used as toppers for pot pies or casseroles. Simply top the unbaked casserole with the cut dough and bake. Try them as a topper for your Turkey Pot Pie after Thanksgiving!

Orange Roasted Turkey

The recipe I've posted for Orange Roasted Chicken can be used to roast your Thanksgiving turkey! Simply double or triple the recipe, depending on the size of your turkey. Oven roasting bags are available in "turkey-size", as well. Be sure to cook your turkey until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180 degrees.
And, here's a simple Cranberry Sauce recipe that pairs perfectly with the citrus infused turkey.

Cranberry Sauce
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. shredded coconut

Mix together and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

I have to thank my sister-in-law, Sarah, for the Orange Roasted Turkey recipe. She cooks our family's Thanksgiving turkey this way, and it is always juicy, moist, and flavorful. Give it a try and soak up the compliments for a job well done!

Venison is IN

If you ask my daddy what his favorite day of the year is, you would expect him to answer with Christmas Day, his birthday, his anniversary, or the first day of vacation. While those days, and others spent with his family, are important to Daddy, his FAVORITE day of each year is "the third Saturday in November." Many of you will know immediately that that date is the beginning of deer hunting season (rifle/shotgun) in Virginia, and every die-hard hunter looks forward to that day each year. This year, it happens to be the 2nd Saturday because the actual rule, as stated by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries www.dgif.virginia.gov reads "the Saturday prior to the 3rd Monday in November." So, deer hunting season is in full swing here in Virginia.
Now, what does the first day of hunting season have to do with my cooking blog?? Well, I have been eating deer since I was knee-high to a duck, and if there is one thing I do know how to cook, it's deer meat. Many people think deer meat is gamey. That is true if the meat is not handled properly. I can't stress this enough. The hunter really has to know what she/he is doing when field dressing, skinning, processing, butchering, and soaking the meat. Deer meat, often called venison, is actually a tasty, low-fat, naturally hormone & preservative free source of protein that is abundant in The Old Dominion. I don't like gamey- or wild-tasting venison...I don't know of anyone who does. If you know a hunter and you trust that she/he processes the deer meat safely, try cooking with venison. I cook with venison in many recipes, as I often substitute deer meat for beef. The fresh meat should not smell yucky; it should just smell like meat. If it has a funky smell, it will taste funky; so don't bother cooking it. From properly processed deer meat, I make maple-glazed meatballs, barbecue, pot roast, venison stew, venison veggie soup, spaghetti sauce, and my new favorite is my sister's jagerschnitzel.
You want an inexpensive meat for your family? Venison is your answer. Each year, Daddy kills a doe and has the meat ground (except the choice loin, which is sliced or kept whole). The cost of processing the meat this way is approximately $60. The average deer will produce around 35 pounds of meat. That's $1.71 per pound. Venison is quite economical, plus deer meat is a healthy choice for those looking to cut fat in their diets and still eat meat.
Find a friend who hunts or contact a local hunt club, and see if you could purchase venison for your family this winter. Hunters for the Hungry www.h4hungry.org is an organization that provides venison to hungry families throughout Virginia. Visit their website to learn more about this Virginia charity, and to see a list of deer processors in Virginia. Any hunter will be happy to guide you in finding a nearby processing facility if you want a deer ground or processed into stew meat, roasts, and steaks. Especially when it is ground, venison is a versatile meat that you can use as a substitution for costly ground round.
When I went away to college, the home-cooked meal I craved was Fried Venison. My mother would thinly slice the tenderloin, dust each cutlet in flour, salt and pepper, and fry them in vegetable oil. Then, she'd make an onion gravy and mashed potatoes, too. This meal says "home" to me because my Daddy is never happier than when he has spent his whole day hunting. Coming in from the cold to this home-cooked meal, he regales us with all the hunting stories of the day. He spares no detail as he tells us of the big, old buck who outsmarted him again. Good luck this season, Daddy!
Here's the recipe for Jagerschnitzel, which is German for escalope. It's very similar to my childhood favorite, but I've made it a little healthier by using peanut oil (and less of it) and I added mushrooms to the gravy to make it heartier. And, yes, this recipe works well with pork, chicken, or veal, too!

Venison Jagerschnitzel...simply put, this is a venison cutlet with mushroom gravy


1/3 c. chicken breader (I use House Autry)
1/4 t. coarsely ground pepper
1/2 t. seasoned salt
4 (4-oz.) venison loin steaks, pounded to 1/4-in. thickness
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. dry unseasoned wheat bread crumbs
3 T. peanut oil (or vegetable)

For Gravy:
1 T. butter
1/4 c. finely chopped sweet onion
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 c. beef or venison stock
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. seasoned salt

Garnish:
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 T. fresh chopped parsley

In a shallow dish, combine chicken breader and next 2 ingredients. Place eggs in a second shallow dish and bread crumbs in a third shallow dish; arrange three dishes in order. Dredge venison steaks in chicken breader mixture to coat. Dip steaks in eggs; then dredge in bread crumbs. In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1-2 T. oil over medium heat; cook steaks 4-6 minutes or until browned, turning steaks once and adding oil as necessary. Remove steaks to serving plate and keep warm with tented foil. To make gravy, melt butter in skillet; add onions and cook until transparent. Add mushrooms and wine, stirring to scrape bits off bottom of pan. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. In 4-cup measure, combine stock and 1/4 c. flour. Gradually stir stock mixture into skillet. Cook 8-10 minutes or until gravy is thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/4 t. seasoned salt. (adding salt before now will make mushrooms tough.) Serve mushroom gravy over venison cutlets and smashed potatoes. Top with fresh chopped parsley and fresh lemon wedges for squeezing.

Hubby's Favorite Steak & Potatoes...a New Way

There is something classic and all-American about a grilled steak and mashed potatoes. My husband could eat this meal every night of the week. He may just vary the potatoes...sometimes baked, sometimes fried, sometimes mashed. So, grilled steak is generally a weekend meal for us and often a steak is leftover, as are a few servings of mashed potatoes. I don’t like to re-heat the steak in the microwave for fear of overcooking it, and leftover mashed potatoes just aren’t as good as the first night. For a quick weeknight meal, I turn those leftovers into creamy, hearty Steak & Potato Soup. The measurements for the steak and potatoes are approximate. Just use close to that amount in what you have leftover. Try it the next time you have steak (or any cut of beef) and mashed or baked potatoes leftover.

Steak & Potato Soup

2 T olive oil
3/4 c. onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. flour
4 c. water, divided
2 ½ c. mashed potatoes
1 T fresh thyme, chopped
½ t. salt
1/4 t. ground pepper
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
2 c. milk
2 c. steak, cubed

In Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is transparent. In small bowl, combine flour with 1/4 c. water, stir until smooth; set aside. To onions and garlic, add remaining water and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil and slowly stir in flour mixture, stirring constantly for about 4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Reduce heat to low. Add milk and steak being sure not to let soup return to a boil. Stir well and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Side suggestion: cornbread & green salad