Working with Leftovers

I like to repurpose my leftovers.  By that I mean I'm not much for reheating something to serve to my family for dinner, for lunch that is fine, but no way for dinner. I guess I'm really too much of a food snob.  Also I know I can always get creative with leftovers, like this recipe for Beef Stew. My mother-in-law gave it to me years ago and it starts with leftover steak or roast.  I prefer not to use shredded beef for that - I keep that for other things.  The rest of the ingredients are usually things I have on hand in my pantry.  If you don't have enough leftover steak after one night save what you do have in a labeled plastic bag and add to it as you go.  I call it the "stew bag".  I also do the same thing with leftover chicken for casseroles etc.  The rest is super easy. 

As you can see the recipe calls for:

steak - cut into 1" chunks

2-3 peeled potatoes - cut into bite sized pieces

2 carrots - peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery - chopped

1 onion - cut into large chunks

2 cans beef consumé

1/2 can of soup's worth of red wine

2 Tbl tomato paste

2 Tbl Dijon mustard

2 bay leaves

basil

oregano 

thyme

Just dump all of your ingredients into a 2 quart casserole and cover.  Stick it in a preheated 325 degree oven for 4 hours.   I like to serve this with homemade French Bread (see this old post),  salad and of course a red wine.

This is a new Spanish wine my husband I tried recently, a Tempranillo, called Entresuelos.  It has good body, but wasn't overpowering. 

As always with love from the Midwest and Bon Appétit!,

Beth 

February's Round-Up

Even though we've started March it's early on so I fell I'm not too late to round-up February. Well one of my goals this year was to work on my creative side, not just in the kitchen. So I decided to start bullet journaling.  Now I'm not really the best at it, but I didn't want to get stuck looking at a blank journal. So I just started adding birthdays; I know I'll get more creative as I go, but it is a start.  I think I'll be using colored pencils to add the color in  the future.  I think they are just a little bit more subtle. 

I also started sketching more. So this is a close up of a little flowering plant I have in my kitchen. 

What I'm reading: This article made me smile.  It's good to know my wine and coffee habit is good for me, actually I never doubted it.

I also finished What She Ate by Laura Shapiro. If you are interested in history more than food this book is for you.  I thought it would be the other way, yet I still found it interesting.  I could easily put it down and easily pick it up a few days later. 

And of course no month is complete without a new recipe or restaurant.  This month was a visit to Madison again and a great breakfast at Bassett Street Brunch Club.  I loved my banana's foster french toast and my daughter had some of the best pancakes I've ever had.

Hope your month was equally enjoyable!

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth