Cooking on a Budget: Slow Cooker Roast Beef & Oven Baked Parmesan Potatoes

Today's post is all about cooking on a budget! Things have been, for several reasons, a little tight in our budget this month. My husband and I both working for a college dining service and, therefore, hit times where our finances get a little tighter due to lack of work when the students leave campus. This month was one of them for us. So, I used a couple key strategies to making it through. First off, I bought things on sale. The main place I check for this is in the meat section. The reason I start there is because that's usually where my menu planning has to start. So, why not look to the sales to base my recipes off of. Plus, I can get the best deals there a lot of times since the protein and fresh produce are usually the bulk of my grocery bill. I am blessed to have a large pantry and upright freezer so, I often buy in bulk or take advantage of 'buy one, get one' offers. Getting two anything for the price of one is awesome on any budget. I scored a great deal on an Angus beef bottom round roast so I knew I was either going to slow roast it in the oven or put my slow cooker to work. This is another budget saver. Cuts of meat that you would roast take a little longer and a little planning, but they are tougher pieces of meat and therefore cheaper. With a little TLC and taking the time to slow roast it, you can do wonderful things taking a 'tough' piece of meat and making it incredibly tender.

The other thing I took advantage of this week was shopping in my own pantry. I purposely didn't find a recipe and make a list and go shopping for that recipe as I usually would. I, instead, used what I had and found and tweaked a recipe to work for me and what I had on hand. Just so happens, since I was off that day, when trying to figure out what to serve with it, I was able to do the same with the side dish. I took a suggestion from a Facebook friend, thanks again Nicole, and luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand. This helps my budget in a few ways. First, I'm not spending more money on product when I already have useable product on hand. Second, considering the closest grocery store is 15 minutes away and gas is $3.49+ a gallon in this area, I didn't make an extra run to pick up something I didn't have. Third, I avoided the impulse buying that inevitably occurs once I get in the store.

I'd also like to share with you a site that I came across this week and that is Foodily.com. I'm extremely excited to have found this site and I think it may be my best friend in finding recipes to accommodate my budget in the future. It allows you to enter in ingredients you have and ones you DON'T have or don't want to use and then searches all over the web for you. So you can easily get ideas for recipes for the food you already have, or don't have.

In short, with a little time searching for sales and the perfect recipes, and a little creativity adding this ingredient or taking another out, you CAN cook dinner TONIGHT! Also, use your networking. Facebook, is not used, in my eyes, for purely socializing. Yes, it's great reconnecting with old friends and being able to reach out to people so easily, but it's also a place for finding recipes and sharing recipes amongst others cooking at home just like you! So, enough of me rambling, here is my latest recipe for Slow Cooker Roast Beef adapted from a few other recipes found mostly at http://www.cooks.com/ and, for the side, Parmesan Baked Potatoes made as recommended by a friend.

Slow Cooker Roast Beef (with Carrots, Mushrooms, & Tomatoes)
Adapted from many recipes, mostly from http://www.cooks.com/

2-4 lb. any cut of beef for roasting
1/4-1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used low sodium variety)
1 lb. baby carrots

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Coat roast in flour and sear roast in olive oil, turning on all sides to brown. Meanwhile, mix the soup mix, tomatoes, mushrooms, and soup in the slow cooker. Once browned on all sides, set roast into mix in slow cooker and spoon some of the mixture over the top of the roast. Add carrots along the sides of the roast. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

 Parmesan Baked Potatoes

6-8 Tbsp. butter
1/2-1 cup grated parmesan
About 2 1/2 lbs. any potatoes, I used Red Potato
Salt & Pepper (or other seasoning), to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. While oven preheats, place butter in a 13x9-in baking dish and put in the oven for a few minutes just to melt the butter. Wash and slice potatoes into 1/4" rounds, leaving peal on. Sprinkle half of the cheese all over the melted butter in the bottom of the pan. Layer half of the potatoes in pan. Season liberally with salt and pepper. (Next time I'd like to also try garlic powder or Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning or other spices to kick it up just a little bit. Don't get me wrong, very yummy as is but I'm married to an Italian and we LOVE garlic!) Layer the other half of the potato slices. Sprinkle with remainder of the cheese and season, again, with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven until tender and golden (but not browned). This will depend on your choice of potatoes. The red potatoes took about 40 to 45 min.

ENJOY!




Red Potato

So Much to Share!

It's been a few days since I posted and I have SO many things to talk about!! First off, I need to talk about my Tuesday this week. I'm part of a group of friends and family that have formed our own "Breakfast Club". In a somewhat nearby town (Lancaster, PA) there is a smorgasbord style restaurant called Shady Maple. One of the marketing strategies there is that, if it's your birthday, you eat free with another paying adult. What better reason to get together with friends while enjoying good food and each others company. Given that this is a food blog, it wouldn't be right for me to blog about my week of food without talking about Shady Maple. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it! We prefer to go for breakfast because we all agree it is the best meal served there. Made to order pancakes of your choice... anything from bananas to chocolate chips to walnuts to blueberries to M&Ms to coconut and any combo you'd like and/or omelets made to order. Then, there are several buffet lines filled with meats, potatoes of all kinds, fruit, fresh baked desserts from the heart of Amish country, and so much more. It really is not only good food but a great time just going to prove what I believe; Good Food with Great Company is such a wonderful and important combination that should be enjoyed at all costs!

That being said, there is so much to be said for a very easy meal that's quick and delicious and something you can pull out from your sleeve on a busy week night. It gets you in and out of the kitchen quickly so you can have more time to enjoy with your loved ones around the table. Tonight, we had a very simple, juicy cheeseburger! I ran to the store before coming home from my son's daycare and picked up burger on sale and hamburger buns. Now, when I talk simple, I mean simple! All I added to the meat was 1 palmful (about 1 Tbsp) of Garlic & Onion Montreal Steak seasoning for each pound of meat. From there, I whipped out my trusty kitchen scale and made 6 oz patties. (Don't forget, if you make them thinner in the center than around the outside, it will help to make a more even patty when cooked.) My grocery store had 3 lb packs of ground beef on sale so I made extras and froze them on a cookie tray lined with wax paper. When they are frozen, I will put them in a freezer bag and have patties ready for me whenever I want. Bonus! Then, I sauteed the patties for tonight on med high until cooked through. I'm not really sure how long this was, maybe about 4 or 5 minutes on each side. If you are having trouble telling when they are done, a cooking thermometer comes in hand. Last resort, cut into the center of one to see if the pink is gone. I try not to go this route though because all your juices will run out resulting in a dry burger. Also, when forming the patties, try not to overmix them or they may get tough and let them come to room temperature before cooking so you don't shock the meat. Add a slice of cheese on top and cover the pan either with a lid or aluminum foil with the heat on low and you have a ball of cheesy goodness! As for sides for tonight's dinner, that was another quick fix too. I took the leftover chive roasted potatoes from my roast beef rollover meal and sauteed them in a little olive oil with extra salt. A little steamed broccoli and tonight's dinner came together so simply! Tonight really was an example of using things twice. I not only used up the leftover potatoes but also prepped hamburger patties for another night! Such a productive supper!!

I also want to share with you the meal we had for supper Monday night! Once again, look at the grocery stores sales, I bought boneless thick cut pork chops. From there I pulled one of the recipes in my "To Try" file. The lucky winner was Ranch Pork Chops which I found from http://tastyplanner.com/ submitted by a chef named Sonja. I thought it was delicious and VERY EASY but my husband urged me next time to cook it a little less so they would be a little more tender. I served them with cooked pasta tossed with melted butter and grated Parmesan cheese (salt & pepper to taste, of course) and steamed vegetables. Oh, and I also made Green Giants green bean casserole. (The one from the freezer section.) It's getting close to Thanksgiving and I was way too impatient to not give in to the craving. The pork recipe follows and I hope you enjoy it and all the rest of the tips I've given you! Happy cooking!

Ranch Pork Chops
http://tastyplanner.com/
Cook: 20 min     Serves: 4

1 Tbsp. oil
4 boneless pork chops, 3/4" thick
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup canful milk (I accidentally used a whole can and it was still very good)
1 pkg (1 oz or 3 Tbsp) ranch salad dressing mix

Heat oil in skillet. Add chops and cook until browned.
Add soup, milk and salad dressing mix. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 min or until done. Sprinkle with paprika.

Left overs finally Roll Over!

Almost a week ago I made a recipe called German-Style Beef Roast and told you how efficient it was because it was not only a slow cooker meal (with little prep time) but it was also a roll over meal. Well, I hope you saved that roast beef and beef gravy because here comes the new recipe. It is Roast Beef with Chive Roasted Potatoes. While the original recipe was, in my opinion, much more tender and had a slightly better flavor... this recipe was also delicious and rather easy to make. I will admit, the likelihood of me making this recipe every time I make the roast is slim. I will revisit this recipe in the future but there are other good ways to use up your extra roast beef. An example would be to shred up the beef and mix with homemade or store bought BBQ sauce. This is also good because it freezes easily for even more versatililty. You could also shred the meat to make tacos or put in strombolis. The possibilities are endless!

If you are looking to follow the original recipe suggestion and roll it over into the suggested recipe (which is also a good plan of action) the recipe is as follows. Don't be fooled by the awful picture. I accidentally left my camera at work and the only thing I could do was take a picture with my cell phone. It really didn't look as dull as the picture shows.

Roast Beef with Chive Roasted Potatoes
From Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious Oct/Nov 2010

Using up Leftovers

Yield: 6 servings    Prep: 20 min    Bake: 25 min

2 pounds red potatoes, washed and cut into 1" cubes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. minced chives
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 c. butter, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 c dry red wine or beef broth

2 c cubed cooked roast beef

1 c beef broth

1. Place potatoes in a greased 15"x10"x1" baking pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with chives and 1/4 tsp salt; toss to coat. Bake, uncovered, at 425F for 25-30 min or until tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onions and mushrooms in butter until tender. Add the garlic, rosemary, pepper and remaining salt; cook 1 min longer. Stir in wine. Add beef and gravy; heat through. Serve with potatoes.

ENJOY!