Leftover Steak Fajitas

Wait! You say ... someone who frequently talks about frugality has leftover steak? Well this steak was purchased in 2+ pound packages at under $2 pound, so YES - leftover cooked steak.

Slice the leftover cold steak into slices. Marinate in lime juice, cayenne or chili powder and garlic (fresh or powdered). Allow to marinate for at least a few hours.

Slice onions into thin slices, and cook at a high temperature until lightly browned. Add a bit of garlic (I just love those garlic ice cubes from Trader Joes!), and cook a minute or two longer. Remove from the pan.

Add the peppers (this half a pound of frozen bell pepper slices, thawed and drained), and cook until a bit of color is singed onto the edges. Remove them from the pan as well.

Bring the pan back to very hot, then sear the steak slices JUST BRIEFLY to warm and color.

Serve with refried beans or black beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole ... whatever you have on hand in your fridge and pantry. Serve with tortillas (if you like, warm them on your oven stone for a minute).

A very quick dinner from leftovers!

Chicken Corn Chowder

Chop one large onion and sautee:

Use microwave to thaw frozen corn:

Chop onions. To make a large dice, first cut off the ends and remove seeds, and then cut in two:

Force the two halves to lay flat:


Cut into strips:

Cut the strips into squares (sorry for the blurry picture)

Add the peppers (I used a mixture of green and red for visual interest) to the pot, along with chicken stock or canned chicken broth. I added cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper, and ancho chili powder. If you're not trying to be careful of the heat level, you can add hot sauce as well.

Add the chicken in the last two minutes, so it doesn't dry out. I added half of this chicken meat - so the meat of one chicken.




Serve with salsa or hot sauce for anyone who wants to add more heat.

20 Minute Shrimp and Grits

This is NOT the same as the slow-cooked-all day miracle that is shrimp and grits. But it was pretty tasty.

The 20 minute time was accomplished by:

1. using already slow-cooked grits in a package from my beloved Trader Joes:

2. using frozen already cut peppers and onions from BJ's:

3. Microwaving things.

4. Using thawed already cooked shrimp (bought on sale, of course!):

5. Using marmalade from a jar. (ok, if you factor in the time MAKING marmalade, this would be 500 minute shrimp and grits. But that was back in March. It doesn't count).


Microwave the frozen onions and peppers until they are cooked. Meanwhile pull the tails off the shrimp and set aside. Open the tube of cooked grits, and pour into a bowl. The grits go into the microwave after the onions and peppers.

In a pot, pour about a cup of white wine, 1/2 pint of marmalade, cajun seasoning (a tablespoon?), a tablespoon or two of molasses, and bring to a boil, then immediately turn down. Add pepper/onion mixture and keep stirring occasionally.

Shred some cheddar cheese, and mix into the grits.

Add the shrimp at the last second - just long enough to warm the shrimp all the way through.

Scoop grits in a bowl, and spoon shrimp mixture over top:

Nachos!

Sometimes you just crave melted cheese. Without paying take-out prices.

Preheat oven to 450. Layer on pan:




Corn tortilla chips, preferably not very salty




taco meat (leftover from the taco salad. shredded chicken, leftover or canned would be an alternate protein)



black beans



shredded cheddar



Bake for 3-5 minutes. Watch them!!



Then add:

tomatoes (I used multi-colored cherry tomatoes from my last CSA box)




sliced peppers, hot or not:


then salsa (GREAT way to use up the last of jars in your fridge) and sour cream:

Taco Salad

I happen to have lots of wonderful tomatoes on hand this week. I also found 80/20 ground beef at the grocery store at a really good price. It was already on sale for 2.69 pound, but then this package also had a $2 off coupon .... so I paid under $5 for two and a half pounds of ground beef. So what better to make with tomatoes, corn and ground beef than a taco salad?

ground beef (I used a 2.5 pound package, but had lots leftover)

2 large tomatoes

2 large onions (I used Vidalia)

1 bell pepper

2 ears corn

salad greens

tortilla chips

taco seasoning (in a packet or from a jar)

2 limes

cilantro

garlic

Brown the beef in a pan. Using a spoon, drain off the fat. Mix the taco mix with about 1/2 cup of water and stir into the beef. I also added a few cubes each of garlic and cilantro. Dried cilantro would work just as well. Roll two limes on the counter before juicing them over the beef:

Peel the two onions. Cut off the ends, cut them in half, and then slice into half moons. These go into another pan (following a splash of oil):

Stir frequently. Remove the browned onions to a bowl.

Turn the heat back up on the pan. Cut the kernels off the two ears of corn (a light sawing motion with a serrated knife seems to work well). Throw them in the hot pan just long enough to warm and give a touch of color:

Meanwhile wash your salad greens. Wash and cut the tomatoes and bell pepper.

Have another veggie you want to add? By all means chop it up! Jalapenos, olives, shredded carrot, cucumber, zucchini, canned beans ... all would be lovely additions to the party. I used guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheddar and salsa as toppings. If you happy to have a cherry tomato, it makes a great "cherry" for your fiesta sundae.

Open Faced Turkey Meatball Sandwiches with Fresh Tomatoes and Peppers

Someone asked me recently if I could do a meal in twenty or thirty minutes. So I decided to set the timer and see if I could!

Ingredients:
1 onion
2 bell peppers
1 bag (16 oz.) frozen turkey meatballs
3 large tomatoes
handful of fresh basil
salt, pepper
oregano, garlic, thyme
2 rolls, or 4 slices of toast

First I set the timer:

Then I started the pot on the stove, and added some olive oil.

I peeled an onion, chopped it in half, and sliced the halves into slices:

Into the pot went the slices.

Then I roughly sliced the bell peppers:

Meanwhile, the meatballs went into a bowl and into the microwave. (just to warm - these were fully cooked ones. I think these came from Aldi. Other stores carry similar products)

Stir the onion and peppers, and season with salt and pepper.

Then chop the tomatoes:

Add the tomatoes to the pot, along with about 2 teaspoons of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, and a few cloves of garlic (or the frozen or dried equivilant).

I cut the meatballs in half. Then add them to the pot.

Add some chopped basil (or dried).

Scoop mixture over an opened roll. Top with some shredded cheese.