Leftover Do-over

I never know what to do with leftover roast beef. It is really all I can do to eat it the first time, but my husband really likes it. And he will eat some of the leftovers in sandwiches, but really, how many sandwiches can one man eat? Plus, I get tired of staring at it in my fridge.

I decided to have a do-over and make it into something I would really like. I love asian style food: chinese, japanese, thai, ect. So I present to you my leftover do-over: Asian Beef and Noodles

Asian Beef and Noodles

1-2 cup cold cooked beef, sliced thin
1 pack spaghetti noodles, cooked
1/2 cup onion, minced
1 clove garlic, grated or minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tbsp honey
1 serrano pepper, minced
1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
cilantro

Heat heavy frying pan. Add olive oil, meat and onions. Heat until hot and brown. Add garlic and cook until tender. Mix water and cornstarch; add. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro and cook slowly for 10-15 minutes. Top with cilantro.

Another Not So Salad, Salad Post

Ok, if you've read this blog for long, you know my relationship with most salads. I don't do them. I don't like most vegetables which kind of creates a problem since most salads include them. I do like the "not so salad, salads" as I call them. You know, the ones that are called salads but don't include anything remotely like lettuce. Today I have one such recipe for you!

One great thing about this time of year at my old job was all the great food that was brought into the office. My new job (as a stay at home mom) doesn't quite afford the same advantages. ;) Of course there are many other perks! I do miss that yummy food though. One of my favorites was brought by one of my supervisors. It is the perfect combination of tart and sweet. I could easily eat the entire bowl! So, when I needed a dish to take to the in-law's for Christmas I turned to this quick and easy recipe.

Grape Salad
Source: A Former Co-Worker

2 lbs green grapes
2 lbs red grapes (I just used all green grapes because I like them better)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1 (8oz) sour cream
4 ozs chopped pecans (optional)
2 T brown sugar

Wash and dry grapes. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Add grapes and mix gently with a spatula or large spoon. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans, mix again and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Coffee. Not Just An Amazing Beverage!

I love coffee, but I rarely brew it. I even have an awesome coffee maker. It's just that I am really the only one who drinks it. The hubs can be persuaded every now and again to have some, but usually it is just me. And I hate to brew just one or two cups at a time. So, my awesome coffee maker sits unused and my coffee sits in my cabinet.

Well, that coffee did not sit unused tonight! However, the poor coffee maker will have to wait a little longer. That is because this recipe uses coffee grounds, not the brewed concoction. On my quest to find a roast beef recipe I LOVE I made a coffee and cocoa crusted beef roast. I've heard of this combination used with beef before and finally found time to try it myself. I scoured the internet and read several recipes and decided I'd just use those as jumping off points. None of them actually called for roast beef. They were usually for a beef tenderloin or a ribeye steak.

So here is what I came up with:

Coffee and Cocoa Crusted Roast Beef

1 2lb. eye of round beef roast
1/4 cup coffee grounds, finely ground (I used a mortor and pestel to get mine more finely ground)
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat a sautee pan over high heat. Mix all ingredients except roast. Pat all sides of the roast with the mixture. Using tongs, sear each side of the meat in the hot pan. Then place roast in a roasting pan and cook covered for an hour and 20 minutes for medium well. Remove from oven and let rest of 10 minutes. Remove meat to a cutting board and slice. Pour pan juices over the sliced meat.

It had a nice flavor and we really enjoyed it. We had twice baked potatoes and biscuits to go with it. Now I plan to find something new to make with the leftover roast because the one thing I dislike more than plain roast, is leftover roast.

Run, Run As Fast As You Can...

You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man! My nephew loves this line from one of his books, so when he and my sister came over one day we made gingerbread men. We took a quick time saver by using the Pillsbury slice and bake cookie dough. Instead of slicing and baking, we rolled it out and cut out the little men. We then iced them with a simple mixture of powdered sugar and milk. They were fantastic and so much easier than making them from scratch! I highly recommend the Pillsbury gingerbread dough, especially if you need to save time when baking with children. Do you know any two years olds who are good at waiting??

100!!!!

I don't have a recipe for you, I just wanted to cheer about having 100 posts! (Does it count if the 100th post isn't even a real post??) I'm not sure when I'll be posting again with all the holiday craziness, so in advance: Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I have a wonderful husband who got a new job that he loves. I have a beautiful, perfect, healthy baby boy. I have the best family a girl could ask for. And I am thankful that I managed to bake not one, but two items for thanksgiving without screwing them up!!!

For Thanksgiving with my family I made pumpkin cookies. I've been wanting to make these since I started my food blog and just never got around to it. My nephew, who is 2, was very excited because he loves pumpkins and he loves cookies. (I don't think he realized the cookies were made with pumpkin.) I tried to make them in the shape of a pumpkin to get even more smiles out of him, but it didn't work. These are strictly drop cookies, people. The directions say to drop them, and this is what you should do. Don't be like me and waste your time trying to press sticky cookie batter into a pumpkin cookie cutter. It just doesn't work. Other than my lack of a pumpkin shape, these turned out perfect!! I don't think I've ever said that in regard to baking before. This is a major milestone! The recipe can be found here.

These cookies are soft and cake-like, not overly sweet, and have a wonderful cinnamon-spice taste. YUM!

For Thanksgiving with the in-laws I made a strawberry cake.

I took a little help from the store and used a box mix, but I made it my own by letting a strawberry puree soak into the cake and I made my own cream cheese icing. This was actually the first cake I have ever iced! I was pleased with myself. :) (I have to thank my sister for the tip about using a butter knife to make the design on the top.) This cake was pretty easy and tasted really good!!!

If At First You Don't Succeed, Try Try Again!

I have yet to succeed in making a roast that I actually enjoy eating. Don't get me wrong, I'll eat it if it is my only meat choice. I've blogged about an attempt or two on here, and now I'm trying something different. I used McCormick Crusting Blends.
It was better than my previous attempts. The crusting on the ends was a little mushy, but overall, I liked it. I plan to try crusting something else soon.

I also made roasted potatoes with shallots and garlic to go along side the roast. I roasted the potatoes in a separate dish, but added them to the roast before serving.

French Onion, Pepper and Herb Crusted Roast

1 eye of round roast, 2 lb.
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup McCormick Crusting Blends, French Onion, Pepper and Herb flavor

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Marinade roast in worcestershire sauce for 30 minutes to an hour. Coat roast with the crusting blend. Bake in the oven for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes to be cooked medium.

Roasted Potatoes with Shallots and Garlic

6 medium sized potatoes, cubed
1 small shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, each clove sliced about 3 times to create chunks of garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place cubed potatoes into a baking dish. Add the shallots, garlic and oil. Toss to coat everything evenly with the oil. Add salt and pepper and toss again. Bake in the same oven as the roast for approximatly 45 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. (Normally I would bake these at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes, but I decided to just stick them in with the roast to save time.) Toss potatoes about half way through cooking. If you want them a little more brown, turn on the broiler at the end.