Leftovers: Roast and Mashed Potatoes Morphs Into Vegetable Beef Stew

I really dislike to waste food, especially if I've been the one that prepared it in the first place or paid good money at today's prices.  With our reduced family size (from four to three most nights) I still have a difficult time periodically preparing too much food.  Often I just freeze the leftovers or someone takes them to class or work for lunch, or I eat some of it for lunch as well.

I'm trying to get better at "morphing" one night's meal into another day's lunch or supper.  This week I made flank steak with onions in the crockpot similar to THIS recipe  plus garlic mashed potatoes and carrots on the side.  Sometimes I make a pot pie out from leftover beef (another blog post some other time).  I decided to make beef stew this time.  [I had been to the dermatologist that morning and had two freeze sprays on my face + one biopsy, so I needed some comfort food.]

Remember to layer the flavors first by sautéing onions and garlic and then adding the other ingredients.

Add whatever you have on hand.  The items that I added were:  diced tomatoes, corn, green beans (all canned but fresh is even better), leftover garlic mashed potatoes, leftover glazed carrots, frozen chicken broth [I had cooked a chicken a few weeks ago and froze the broth], the leftover flank steak ...

...and my secret ingredient Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix.  This makes any soup taste GREAT.  The fact that most of the ingredients had been cooked previously REALLY layered the flavors.  If you are sick, use chicken instead of beef and LOTS of vegetables.  I call this my "Get Well Soup" and make it every time anyone is sick (as well as when we just want a good soup).  :)

I let it all simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours ...

and served it with cheese toast made from homemade bread and fresh red grapes.  Just slice a few pieces of cheddar cheese and put on top of the sliced bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Remember to moisten the baking sheet with Pam or something similar.

I put about 4 chunks of meat into the freezer and there was still a little bit of the roast shreds and gravy left in my casserole dish.    It went right into a Tupperware lidded bowl to freeze for next time.  :)

Our dinner for the evening.

My husband and son each had THREE bowls of this stew and said it was really, really good.  My husband even said  I could make money selling it.  :) :) :)  This pot  of stew would normally make enough for about 12+ large bowls of soup if my family had not been so hungry!  After we ate, there was enough for all of us to have a bowl for lunch the next day.

Enjoy!