Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

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 li...

I served this casserole, which I made-up from leftover chili, at the first dinner party we ever hosted, a few weeks after we were married. That was a few weeks shy of six years ago now! It's always a hit. If you make the chili a bit on the mild side, but serve hotter salsas on the side, everyone can have the spice level they prefer. At that dinner party I also served a homemade tomatilla salsa verde. It turned out very well, but took hours. So now I buy salsa verde in jars at Trader Joes :) Ingredients: 1 batch chili 2 boxes cornbread mix (Jiffy, or the store brand equivilant) 3 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 pound shredded cheddar cheese Heat oven to 375. Scoop chili (preferably from the day before - it actually tastes better the next day) into 13 x 9 pan. Heat in oven for about 30 minutes. . . Remove from oven: . . . . . . .. . . Top w/ shredded cheddar: . . . . . . .. . . Combine cornbread mix, eggs and milk and pour over cheese. . . . . .. .. ... ...

2 pounds ground beef, browned 1 pound each onion and bell pepper, chopped (or two pounds frozen mixture of the two - I get mine at BJs) 6 cans kidney beans (light, dark, or both) 2 cans diced tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce (just thick tomatoes, not seasoned) 1 jar salsa (or the last bits of three different types, as I did) chopped garlic juice of one lime spices: cilantro (approx 2 T) cumin (approx 1 T) oregano (approx 2 T) ground red peppers: (chili powder, ancho, paprika, cayenne ...) (about 4T total of all types) salt (1 T) pepper(1T) cocoa powder (yes, I said cocoa powder - it really makes a difference - add a tablespoon or so) T = tablespoon Combine all the ingredients in crockpot, and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar, topped with sour cream, and possibly salsa. I served this round with a simple corn pone - but it didn't turn out as well as I hoped, so I won't bother sharing the recipe. Corn chips or french bread are also good foils. A sa...