What to do with leftover tough roast

I'm writing this post mostly because I cooked a roast yesterday and even though I thought I had done everything right, it turned out tough. Gosh I hate tough roast. I would rather not eat meat at all than eat tough meat. The problem is, I am not a waster. You probably aren't either. So, I thought I would peruse the web to find out what other people do with leftover tough roast.

Well, to my dismay I found practically nothing. Most people posted on their blog that they would try to re-cook it a different way to tenderize it. If you have been cooking for any length of time at all, you will know this won't work. Once it's done, it's done. All you can hope to do now is find a way to use the meat that is palatable.

Now I will interject a note here. I did find 1 or 2 comments on how to use the leftover meat. Some said that you could slice it thin against the grain and make meat sandwiches. That does help somewhat, but my kids won't eat chewy meat and if you can imagine taking a bit into that meat sandwich and when you pull your mouthful away from the sandwich, the bread, tomatoes, etc stays in your mouth but the tough meat just yanks itself back into the sandwich. You know what I mean. My kids won't touch that. I won't either.

A suggestion to cube it and use it in stew will work with some meats, but if the cubes are too tough to grind between your teeth, you can imagine the empty soup bowls being handed back to you with all the discarded meat remaining in the bowl. Not a success.

Well I will tell you what my dad used to do with leftover tough or dried-out roast. He had a meat grinder. You know, one of those that clamped to the side of the table and you put the food down into the hopper and then you turned the handle while the food was forced past a cork-screw shaped blade and came out the other end in tiny little pieces resembling fine-crumb cooked hamburger. It would all fall down into a strategically-placed bowl on the table. Then, he would run a dill pickle or two through the meat grinder. The dill pickle would then get stirred into the meat, and mayonnaise added to make a nice sandwich spread consistency.

I remember this so tasty and we just loved it in our sandwiches. I think I have an old meat grinder somewhere in the basement...but the truth is, it's so much easier to do it with a food processor and still works great. Most people don't have one of those old meat grinders anyway.

So here's what you do: Take the meat and cube it into chunks for ease of processing. Drop them in and process into it's small tiny shreds of meat. You choose how much to process, but don't go overboard and process it into powder.

There is a lot more you can do with it than just make meat sandwich filling. If you do want sandwich filling, only chop enough pickles to make what you can use right away. Don't process your pickles; they will turn to water. Just mince with a knife. Then add the mayo.

If you have a lot of meat shreds after processing, separate into 1/2-cup or 1-cup baggies and freeze some. Here is a list of ideas of what you can do with this transformed-to-lovely, already-cooked meat:

• sandwich spread
• taco meat
• add to casseroles
• add to soups/stews
• add to spaghetti sauce
• add to chili
• make into hash
• add bbq sauce for beef on a bun
• make a beef pie
• use your imagination

Have fun with this. It is a great way to use a piece of meat that just didn't want to melt in your mouth.

Packed lunches

Whether you have 1 lunch to pack every day, or 7, you will love having a quick, easy and cheap way to get this done!

The first thing to do is plan ahead. Make a list of items you need. Lunch kits, containers for food, thermos, water bottle, etc. Also, you need a plan of what to pack into that lunch kit. You can save a ton of time and money buy not buying prepackaged convenience foods to pack into the lunches.

I keep a couple of great lunch cookbooks handy as well as a list of lunch food ideas I have made myself.




This great cookbook will keep a fabulous assortment of quick easy cheap meals right at your fingertips. This book receives a 5 Star rating from me for it's easy, kid-friendly foods. Being vegan makes it easy on the budget as meat is often the expensive trump card. However, protein is very important and high quality non-meat proteins are used.

If you're really going cheap on packing lunches, I don't recommend the lap-top lunch boxes (pictured on the front of the cookbook) because they really do cost more money. However, if you are in this lunch-packing business for the long term, then I suggest you do invest in good quality lunch kits that will last a LOOOOONG time.

If you are interested in learning more about the laptop lunchbox system, you can find it through this link:

Laptop Lunch Systems

Preparing as much of your packed lunches as you can the night before will really save you time in the rush of the morning. Have family members all participate in peeling carrots, buttering bread, filling water bottles, etc. Gget the family into a routine the night before or (after school if evenings are busy), so that they expect to be helping to pack lunches. This way they also get more input as to what and how much they will eat. This saves a lot of food going to waste. And saving money is what we're trying to accomplish here, while serving and eating nutritious food.

For more ideas including which lunch kits are the best for your time and money, see Kids Healthy School Lunch Ideas here:

http://kids-healthy-school-lunch-ideas.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-lunch-kits-hands-down.html

A Slight Change of Plans

We have reached the #21 meal of our 100 meals under $10. I am going to digress for a short while, and revisit this goal later. I would like to cover some other topics, such as easy weeknight meals, soup meals, favorite meals, big meals, real meals (we'll find out what that means later!), winter meals, and a plethora of other meal topics that I am just itching to write about.

I will not forget the promise to deliver 100 meals under $10. In fact, I will continue to post several recipes for that category each month.

I have taken a long holiday from posting here, as you can see, and with the kids back in school I want to really ramp things up.

I would like to hear feedback from readers who have tried the ideas on this page: Join A Cooking Club

I reply to every response, and if you would like to vote on your favorite way of organizing a cooking club, I will post the results.

$10 Dinners part 14

21. Pizza potatoes, jellied salad, garden-fresh greens
Pizza potatoes are easy to make. You start with a "crust" of mashed potatoes. You will want to use a 9x13 pan and put them in 1-1 1/2 inch deep. You can either use leftovers, or make some fresh, or mix from a package. Then you layer on your favorite pizza toppings. You can use tomato sauce if you wish but we usually skip it. Layer on sliced meat or leftover bits of meat, sliced onions, tomatoes, grated cheese, mushrooms. Whatever you have. Then pop it in the oven long enough to melt the cheese and warm the potatoes if they're cold.
Jellied salads aren't our favorite to eat very often but sometimes, especially on a hot day, we enjoy lime salad set with grated carrots in it. Add a bowlful of garden-fresh greens if available.
This yummy meal is very inexpensive, and fills hungry tummies at the same time.
Cost is approximately $7.00-$8.00 depending on toppings and amount of cheese.

$10 Dinners part 13

19. Curried Lentils with Cucumber sticks and Biscuits

This is a new curried lentil recipe I received the other day and it was fantastic! Lentils are a powerhouse of nutrition, very filling, and very cheap! Just how we like it!

Shopping List:
Lentil Curry ingredients: 1 medium onion, 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, 1 apple, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 cup lentils, 2 cups water, 1/2-1 tsp curry, dash of fennel seed. Also 1-2 large cucumbers, and biscuit ingredients or package mix.

Combine the Lentil Curry ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes.

While that is cooking, make up the biscuits and slice the cucumbers into long fingers.

The lentils can be scooped up with the biscuits or eaten alongside.

Total = $6.00

Note: There are countless other ways to prepare lentils if curry isn't your favorite. We often enjoy a hearty bowl of lentil stew. Basically you can add lentils to any favorite stew combination to make it more filling and stretch the meat farther. They also add a very interesting texture sensation. Lentils can also be used to make lentil loaf and lentil patties.

20. Easy Quiche and tossed salad

This makes one pie plate of quiche. If you have a family of hungry appetites, or want to have some planned left-overs, then make double the recipe to make two pies. This is a good use-up-whatever-you-have-recipe!

Shopping List: Handful of mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese, grated; Cooked, chopped chicken or ham (or leave out), chopped veggies as desired, or leftover frozen. 3 eggs, 3/4 cup Bisquick (or make your own), 1 1/2 cups milk. For tossed salad: Use or buy whatever you want to make it colorful and interesting. Salad dressing to pass with salad.

Put the cheeses, meat, and veggies in lightly greased pie plate. Toss together. Mix the eggs, bisquick and milk in a blender. Pour over the cheese mixture and bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.

While that is cooking, make your tossed salad. Use whatever you have and serve dressing on the side.

Total: $4.50- $7.50 depending on what you put in your quiche.