Pepper Steak Using Leftover Roast

I made a venison roast on Sunday with polenta.  On Monday, I fried the leftover polenta and served it with chunks of roast in the gravy.  On Tuesday, I cooked slices of the roast with garlic and onions and served it with mashed potatoes.  Today, Thursday, there was still roast, even after several roast beef sandwiches had been eaten, but I was kind of tired of that familiar “roast” taste.  So, I decided to try something new and completely different.  I used the leftovers to make a pepper steak to serve with rice.  It was great!  The meat was so tender and it had a completely different taste.   I will keep this recipe in mind next time we have leftovers.  It was a big success.

Pepper Steak Using Leftover Roast

Leftover Roast cut into pieces

¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos or GF Soy Sauce
½ cup water
1 tsp garlic salt
½ tsp pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 chopped onion
4 stalks of celery sliced
2 Cups of peppers (red, yellow, orange, or green)
2 cups of water
4 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
Chili sauce to taste

Heat oil in a deep skillet.  Add garlic.  Add leftover roast, soy sauce, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, and ½ cup of water.  Cook until meat is heated through.  Add onion, celery, and peppers.  Cook ten minutes.  Stir cornstarch into the two cups of water until blended.  Add to the meat and vegetables.  Add chili sauce to taste.  Cook five minutes.  Serve with rice.

Ham and Baked Potato Casserole

Several years ago I was faced with a fridge filled with leftovers from a Christmas ham dinner.  There were baked potatoes, the ham of course, broccoli and celery from a vegetable tray.  I wanted to somehow throw it all together and make an easy casserole using up all those goodies.  I searched the Internet and all my cookbooks, but could not find what I had in mind.  So, I punted.  I made my own.

I haven't made this recipe for a while now because it uses cream of mushroom soup and milk.  I figured I could easily switch to soy milk, but I couldn't wrap my mind around a dairy free version of the condensed soup.  If you are not dairy free, then you could easily use Pacific Natural Foods Cream of Mushroom Soup.  So, what do you do when you are stuck?  Just don't make the recipe anymore, unless your teenage daughter begins to beg you.  Well, the begging began.

Tonight, I had the Ham and Baked Potato Casserole on the menu.  I tried to weasel out of it.  I really did, but I was nowhere close to being successful.  Alright. I acknowledged defeat and set out to make a "real" cream of mushroom soup.  Then I glanced at the clock and realized that this was going to take a miracle.  The girls had dance and I barely had enough time to finish this before they left.  Maybe had enough time.  Probably not.

I remembered seeing a recipe in Roben Ryberg's book You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free for a Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup.  I checked it out and it was everything I needed: dairy free and only took about 5 minutes to make.  Perfect.

I began to get all the ingredients together; began washing and chopping vegetables and then that pesky clock reared its ugly head and I realized there was no way to get this in the oven on time.  I chopped like a freaked-out Iron Chef contestant.  Okay, that doesn't make too much sense: they sweat, but don't panic.  Well you get the picture, I was sweating and panicking.  I finally yelled from the kitchen for backup.  "Paprika, I need you now!"

I had veggies in one pan  and started the soup in the next.  I vaguely remembered the recipe so I started throwing things together. Paprika began stirring the soup and then suddenly said, "Mom, is it supposed to do that?"  That is when I realized I was nowhere close to remembering the recipe accurately!  The soup seized.  I thought, wow, I just made glue!  I poured soy milk into the mix hoping to remedy my mistakes and stirred like my Kitchen-Aid on high!  Please, please, please.  Then presto, condensed soup.  I looked at Paprika and smiled a smile that surely read, "see I meant to do that."  I am pretty sure she wasn't convinced. 

I layered the casserole, threw it in the oven, and then the phone rang.  Dan was going to be late, change of plans.  My time constraints disappeared.  Suddenly, I had too much time!  Allspice could take the girls into dance, I had plenty of time to finish dinner and could send it along with Dan later.  I took that to mean it was time to sit back and relax with a cup of coffee after all that hard work!

All in all, the recipe was great!  I will make it again, but next time allow for more time and follow the recipe!!!  I hope you enjoy!

Ham and Baked Potato Casserole

1 onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic
2 heads of broccoli chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped
2 T olive oil
3 Baked Potatoes
1-2 cups chopped ham
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (see recipe below if making from scratch)
1 cup soy milk
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute onion and garlic with olive oil until translucent.  Add celery and broccoli. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat until vegetable are soft.

Mix the cream of mushroom soup and 1 cup of soy milk.  Set aside.

Slice potatoes and chop ham. 

Layer the casserole.  Begin with a small amount of soup on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Place potatoes in a single layer on top of the soup.  Spoon half of your vegetable mixture over the potatoes.  Add half the ham.  Pour half the soup over these layers.  Repeat the layers.

Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through.


Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
Taken from Roben Ryberg's book You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped finely
3 tablespoons of butter (I used Earth Balance to make it dairy free)
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wash and finely chop the mushrooms.  Place in a small saucepan with the butter.  Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are very fragrant and tender, approximately 5 minutes.  A little browning of the mushrooms will add to the flavor.  Combine the remaining ingredients in a cup and stir to dissolve the starch.  Add to the pot.  Stirring, bring to a boil to allow the mixture to thicken.

Use as called for in any recipe.  You can make this for little more than a dollar.  That is a great savings compared with the boxed variety.  You can save over half!

Leftovers: Salmon

Several days ago I shared with you my favorite way to make salmon baked with brown sugar and butter.  We usually have enough leftover to make another favorite: a salmon sandwich spread.  It is super easy.  I just take the remaining fish and flake it into small pieces, removing any bones.

 Then simply add enough mayo to make it creamy.  It will really depend on how much fish you have leftover.  This is just like tuna fish, except the brown sugar really gives this salmon spread a delicious flavor.

  Spoon on top of gluten free bread or rolls.  It is great on crackers too.  I like to use Crunchmaster Multi Grain Crackers for this spread.  They have the right texture and flavor to make a wonderful snack.

A quick, delicious use for leftovers.  Hope you enjoy!

Waste Not....Want Not

Our house has a saying, "Waste not, want not."  When ever there is something that is in need of being used up, Dan is particularly adept at throwing out this phrase which usually brings about a response of eye rolling and aggravated sighs.  It made me think twice the other day when I was blown away by the statistic that people waste 160 billion pounds of food each year.  That is a lot of food.  That is a lot of money spent on food.

In a gluten free household there is absolutely no room in a budget for waste, but what exactly do you do with the heels of gf bread or the two slices of cornbread that sat out on the counter and is too dry and crumbly to eat.  Make croutons and meatloaf, of course!

I keep a plastic ziplock bag in the freezer to collect my gf bread heels.  When I have enough, 8-12 slices, I make croutons.  They are simple, delicious, and definitely cheaper than buying gf croutons.

Gluten Free Croutons:

8-12 slices of gf bread (I use the heels)
Olive oil
Italian Seasonings
Garlic Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Cut your bread into one inch squares and place in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat the bread well.  Add Italian seasonings and stir adding more if needed.  You want all the pieces to looks like they have seasonings on them.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  Stir and then pour out onto a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle again with garlic salt. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven 25-30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and toasted through.

Cool completely and store your croutons in an air tight container and continue collecting bread heels for later!  You can try a variety of seasonings for different flavors.  Have fun with it!

So, what about meatloaf?  The other night I made chili and cornbread.  I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread mix.  I buy mine through Amazon's Subscribe and Save for the best price of  $2.38 a bag.  My family loves this cornbread, but there is always a couple of hunks left.  After a day or so on the counter, the cornbread is very crumbly and perfect for meatloaf.

Meatloaf:

1 pound of lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups of leftover cornbread crumbs (I just crumble the hunks until it is the consistency of bread crumbs)
1 egg
1/2 cup of soy milk or regular milk
2 T minced dry onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasonings
2 T ketchup
1 T brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl until it is combined.  Spoon into a loaf pan and top with ketchup or try this topping which has more of a barbecue flavor:

1/4 cup of ketchup
1/4 heaping tsp of mustard (prepared)
1/4 cup of brown sugar

Mix together and pour over the top of your meatloaf.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until the meatloaf is cooked through.

I make two batches when I make meatloaf.  The first, I place in a regular loaf pan.  The second, I divide between 12 muffin tins.  I bake them at the same time.  You will have to watch the muffin tin meatloaves because they will cook faster and will need to be removed first.  We eat the loaf for dinner and the mini meatloaves are placed in a ziplock bag and placed in the freezer to use later.  This is a very budget friendly meal.  Add steamed corn and a side salad for a meal which costs around $5.00.

Enjoy!