Thrifty Menu: Crockpot Potatoes and Roast Beef

I had about 1/3 a pound of shaved roast beef left over from sandwiches.  It seems once we have sandwich night, no one wants to have them again for a few weeks.  I always try to purchase just enough deli meat for the occasion, but sometimes left-overs happen.

I knew I wanted to do something different, not traditional pot roast or hash.  I did some research.  What I put together was a combination of a couple different recipes. I also knew I wanted to throw it all into a crockpot.

Here's what I came up with.

Crockpot Potatoes and Roast Beef

2 medium potatoes
1/3 cup shaved roast beef
1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup butter
1/2 Tab chopped garlic
1/2 Tab flour
1/4 Tab chopped parsley
1/2 Tab mustard
salt, pepper
1/2 cup water

Coat crock pot with non-stick spray.
Peel potatoes; thinly slice.  Layer in crock-pot.

In skillet, melt butter.  Add chopped onions, garlic, parsley and salt / pepper.  Stir together and cook until onions are tender.
Add water and mustard and stir until well blended.
Add shaved roast beef and cook until covered.  If the mix is too thick, add water.

Pour over sliced potatoes in crockpot and cook on high for 1-2 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella
or provolone cheese.

Thrity Menu: Scampi

Try finding a recipe for scampi that does not use lots of expensive ingredients, such as the white wine.  Specifically, what I wanted to find was a recipe that I could conjure up without having to buy anything special............sorta the "poor man's" version.

I realized that aside from the economical point, I also wanted a recipe that allowed me to continue to be very flexible and utilize what I already had on hand.  Living so close to a grocery store, I could walk over and buy any ingredient I did not have on hand already.

Food prices have shifted upward about 15%.  Most news reports are not showing this much of an increase, but I think the news tells the story for increases just in the product, not in the distribution.  I have kept a close eye on my regular food purchases, and I see at least a 10% increase across the board.

So, thrifty mom becomes even more thrifty.  I do not want to compromise my family's food choices.  We will have to cut back on the times we do eat out now, but I can be creative to make that happen without too much of a sacrifice.  Because I have always been very good at not throwing away a single thing, I thought I'd finally sit down and put some of these tips online for others who may be experiencing a bit of sticker shock at the grocery store.

Scampi

There are a couple of variations to shrimp scampi if you research "poor man's scampi" - using chicken, popcorn shrimp or imitation lobster chunks.  What I have on hand is some flaked imitation lobster left over from a seafood dip recipe.  I did look at shrimp at the store, but at $5 / pound for the smaller shrimp in the frozen section, it was not in my budget this week.  I have about half a pound of the flakes, so to stretch those out, I will make more of the sauce to cover the pasta.

1 cup butter / margarine
3 Tab garlic (minced, chopped, dry)
1 teas flour
1/4 teas red pepper
1 Tab basil
1 Tab parsley
1 Tab lemon juice
1/4 teas nutmeg
1/2 cup milk *

Melt butter / margarine over low heat;  add all remaining ingredients except milk.  Heat to simmering, stirring often to keep from sticking.  Gradually add milk, stirring consistently.  Add additional milk to achieve a thickness you want.  I wanted my sauce to be thicker.  Stir in imitation lobster flakes and simmer on low until heated through.

Serve over cooked pasta.