Waste Not, Want Not: A Week of No Shop Quick Comfort Meals…Part One!

Posted on Jan 7 2015 - 8:10pm by Brenda Meehan

Clean out the fridge and waste not-want not while you work on another New Years Resolution + cook up great comfort food! As the decor is “un-decked”, cleaning out the fridge is on-deck…and with that comes being constantly on the prowl for yummy leftover recipes. 

beefcollage

With so much grocery shopping over the holidays, I find myself being challenged to create that delish dish without going to the market. And so…we have three tasty meals in one! At a family get-together for cousins/readers Monica and Hans, we crock potted French-Dip Sando’s…which was also one of the most popular 3P recipes of 2014! Click HERE if you missed it!

beefsandwich

This crowd pleaser also provided luscious beef leftovers for midweek comfort food. With the soup pot on the stove, and my head in the fridge hauling out veggies on the verge…our family-friendly very beef and veggie soup is simmering.  This savory shredded beef makes for fast broth! 3P Tip: Be sure to baggie-up and label any leftovers you won’t be eating/cooking with right away…they can be stored in the freezer for safe keeping until a craving strikes. 😉

beefvegetablesoup

Leftover Very Beef and Veggie Soup: (This is a completely casual, “empty the crisper drawer” soup that can be customized to any taste!)

Ingredients: 
– approx. 2 lbs of leftover shredded beef
– 32 oz beef broth
– 6-8 cups chopped leftover veggies of your choice. We chose carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green onion, and celery
– 2 cans diced tomatoes
– 4 cups water
– a touch of onion powder + salt and pepper to taste
– optional: a few small dashes of Magi seasoning 

Directions:
1. Combine beef and all veggies into a large stock pot.
2. Add beef broth and water.
3. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer for minimum of one hour.

But wait…there’s more! I split the leftover meat in half – and once the soup was on it’s own (I remembered watching my Welsh/English grandma also put leftover meat through a meat grinder so that Shepherd’s Pie was always in the make!) With this in mind…since our beef was already shredded…how simple would it be to cook up our own version of this mouthwatering main course meat pie? Also using up extra potatoes and frozen corn on hand…served with a simple salad + boiled and buttered carrots from a leftover veggie tray. Dinner was served! 3P Leftover Hint: Chopping up parsley is a fabulous fresh element to lots of sides and soups, and helps use up this often leftover herb.

shepherdspie

Super Simple Shredded Beef Shepherd’s Pie:

Ingredients:
– approx. 2 lbs of leftover shredded beef
– 2 cups frozen corn
– 6 medium size potatoes, peeled and quartered
– 8 0z neufchâtel cheese
– 1/2 cup or so of milk

– 2 tbs butter
– 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

– salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

1. In a 9×13 baking dish, spread leftover shredded beef. Warm in the microwave for a few minutes, draining any excess liquid.
2. Boil peeled and quartered potatoes.
2. Blanch frozen corn in hot water, drain well and layer on top of shredded beef.
3. Once potatoes are cooked through, drain them well. Mash lightly with neufchâtel cheese, butter, and salt + pepper. I like a “lumpier” mash, so I’m careful not to over-mix. Spread potatoes over top of corn.
4. Add about a 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese on top, and bake at 350 for 45 min.

Whew…one crockpot roast = 3 meals and a clean fridge! You can’t beat that. Once you’ve had a chance to clean out that crisper…hit us up with your favorite meal “sequels” and we’ll be sure to try them out!