OK, maybe you won't think its the best, maybe yours is but yesterday I fixed a meal that would rival any restaurant I've been to. Menu:
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Coleslaw
Green Beans with crispy bacon
Leftover Beef Roast and 1 lb beef stew meat
Dessert: Fresh Fruit mixed with Dole Tropical Fruit
I had 2 leftover bits of roast beef in the freezer. Both were a bit tough.
I decided to buy some stew meat that was on sale and since the last 2 meats I had bought at this local store were tough I decided to get some Meat Tenderizer as well.
I bought "Spice Supreme" brand Seasoned Meat Tenderizer and sprinkled it over both sides of the stew meat. I put the meat in the fridge and left it overnight. The next morning I put the stew meat in the crock pot and set it to cook for 3 hours on low.
I poured some KC Masterpiece original Barbecue sauce over the top of the meat and added some water to the bottom of the pot. I left the house and when I got home the crock pot had switched to "warm". I checked the meat, it was pretty tender but I wasn't quite satisfied with how done it was so turned it back on low for 2 hours. I figured what the heck, I'd go ahead and throw those 2 pieces of roast beef in with it while I was at it. I added a bit more barbecue sauce and left it. When I came back to the crock pot later in the afternoon I couldn't believe it. The roast beef was as tender as the stew meat and yum...it was all delicious. I put the whole thing in a storage container and put in the fridge for later. Later I ate some of the meat but not a lot, I decided to save it for the next day and make the rest of a super meal when I had time. Later I froze it.
Two days later I got out the meat and let it thaw. I put it in a 8X2 pan and poured a bit more barbecue sauce over it and put it in the oven at 300 degrees until hot and then turned down to 200 degrees to stay warm until everything else was finished.
I had bought some Angel Hair Coleslaw veggies (you know the packaged prepared stuff?)
I wanted a certain kind of coleslaw sauce but couldn't find the brand I used in South Carolina (my favorite) so grabbed one and hoped it was good. WOW...Litehouse brand Coleslaw Dressing & Dip. Super stuff. It comes from Sandpoint, Idaho...where my dad grew up. (not why I bought it but....) That stuff is delicious. I mixed it up with the cabbage and put it aside in the fridge to blend the flavor of the mix with the cabbage. Soooooo good!
Green beans were canned but I like to buy that already cooked bacon, put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and you have a couple very crispy thin slices of bacon. Crumble it over the canned green beans, add some salt and pepper and bring to boil, then simmer until the rest of the meal is finished. (My version of Southern Green Beans that hopefully are a little more healthy than the original version that I dearly love but shouldn't eat.
Then I cooked the potatoes and using the juice from the roast beef (saved in the freezer days earlier) and a package of Brown Gravy Mix as well as some corn starch, I made a delicious gravy for those potatoes. Turned out sooooo good.
Dessert was 1/2 cantelope that wasn't all that ripe (that had me worried so I cut it into small chunks and hoped the rest of the fruit would sweeten it some). 1 small watermelon that WAS ripe. 1 can Dole Pineapple in its own juice and a jar of Dole Tropical Mixed Fruit (I highly recommend this fruit). I mixed all the fruit in a bowl with a little of the tropical fruit juice (not a lot) added some green and red seedless grapes and sprinkled some chopped date pieces over the top. Then I sprinkled 4 packages of Splenda over the whole thing, tossed it all together and put it in a plastic container that seals tight. When I was ready to serve that fruit, I turned it upside down so the juice would moisten the whole bowl full of fruit. Delicious!
What a great meal. I'm writing this, not because I think everyone should try my meal (but feel free)....but because I wanted to remember how I made the whole thing because I'm definitely going to be making this combination again and I don't want to forget how I made it.
If you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
