Recycled Beef Casserole

Recycled Casserole


If you have frozen any previous meat, regardless of whether it is roasted , slow cooked or casseroled you have the basis for a really nice meal.

 It may be that you have a singe lamb chop left, some slices of beef or some pieces of chicken, not enough for meal on its own but just sitting there getting frost damaged with so much potential.

 If, like me, you are bad at labelling then you could end up with a lucky dip casserole but so long as you are not mixing fish and meat you should be fine.



Today while rummaging through the freezer I discovered I had some slices of steak and the remnant of a slow cooked beef dish so decided to combine them into a beef stew

 I started by cooking off a small chopped onion, garlic, celery and a carrot util it was soft and starting to brown.
This mix is used a lot in latin countries as a base, what the Italian call a "sofrito".
The steak was raw so I seared it in some olive oil over a high heart and chopped it into bite size pieces. These I added to the previously cooked onion mix. The slow cooked beef was in a rich gravy which I added along with the chopped up piece of beef.

 I deglazed the pan with a diluted beef stock cube as the mix was far too thick, N
if I had had any open I would have probably added some red wine to the casserole along with a generous slurp for myself. 
(Note to self, stop watching the box set of Keith Floyd's cookery programmes)

 That is about it really, will heat it up later this evening for dinner and what is not eaten will probably become a Malaysian style Beef Rendang curry later in the week.
Not a fancy meal but should be tasty enough and uses up  some leftover meals that would otherwise just sit in the freezer.
Time to look for some leftover vegetables to accompany this casserole or maybe just some crusty bread for dipping.

Note: When I heated this up and tasted it I added some oregano and a dash of port to give it depth of flavour but  make your own adjustments to your tase.

Disclaimer: The suggestions and tips on these blog pages are meant to be used in conjunction with common sense. Keeping your family healthy is the priority. Do not use food that is unfit for human consumption and always follow sensible food hygiene guidelines.

  

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/food-leftovers-safety.aspx


Always be careful in the kitchen, we accept no responsibility for any accidents caused as a direct or indirect result of preparing any of these dishes. 

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