I work in a local deli. Every week, I am able to bring home sliced deli meat (usually roast beef) that is perhaps a day or two too old to be sold to the public but is still good. Other than sandwiches, any ideas for using this meat for meals?
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These ideas mostly work best if you cut the meat into little squares or strips. Since lunch meats are already cooked, best to add them toward the end of the cooking process. Since many lunch meats are salted, you may want to reduce salt.
Add to scrambled eggs with onions & other veggie leftovers to create an omlet.
Add to pasta with veggie marinara to make a meat sauce.
Add to veggies & stir fry.
Add to leftover Chinese/Indian take out for additional meat.
"Marinate" meat in vinegar & oil salad dressing overnight in fridge, and then add to lettuce & tomato salad.
For beef slices, layer in an oven/microwave dish with (store bought jar of gravy) & warm. Serve on bed of noodles or rice.
My fave use of roast beef is for French Dip sandwiches dipped in Au Jus and also opened face hot roast beef sandwiches with gravy on top. Oops..you said no sandwiches.
Roast beef hash is excellent. On a salad would be good. Diced up and combined with barbecue sauce and served on baked potatoes would be good.
Here's a few more ideas: www.cooks.com/
Is an open face sandwich truly a sandwich :)
After all we pour concoctions over noodles, rice or potatoes (all starches like bread) and we call them entrees.
Soups!
Throw the meat in any type of soups, homemade or canned.
Throw in a crock pot with a can of cream of mushroom soup, (or one of your favorites) and cook for a few hours. Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles. My dad would put this over homemade bread.
As much as I know free food is great, be careful about not adding more salt to the already sodium loaded deli meats. At least try to mix in zero salt foods when using up the meats to keep it as healthy as possible for you.
One of my favorite meat salads just happens to be roast beef salad. You make it the same way you would tuna salad, chicken salad or any other meat salad. Just grind or finely chop the meat and add any other veggies you like.
Chop it up and simmer it a little while in water..or maybe you might need to add some beef broth cubes too......then make a beef gravy out of it for on potatoes or rice....
Chop or grind it and use as a hamburger type substitute in all sorts of your favorite recipes :-) Since your name is Pizza Mama, maybe as a pizza topping? It's freezable, too :-) You're a lucky lady ;-)
Buzz it in a blender and you have soup makings.
SPEEDY STROGANOFF:
Cook some egg noodles and drain. Add one can of cream of mushroom soup, some onion soup mix, a pint of lite sour cream, and your chopped beef.
Agree with Kaelle. Roast beef hash is so easy to make. Add a tossed salad & garlic bread & you have a great evening meal. Hopefully you will have leftover hash for a week-end brunch of Poached egg on the hash (which can be done in the microwave) served w/English muffins.
Make some beef gravy add mushrooms if you like then just heat some roast beef and serve with mashed potatoes and a green veg. It's an easy dinner and you can freeze some plates up
Toss it in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce, for the best BBQ beef sandwiches. How about creamed, chipped beef? Puree and use in spaghetti sauce for real meat flavor.
How about for a different take on the sandwich, a "Philly" Cheesesteak? You can heat up the meat while sauteing onions and peppers, and top with cheese.
If you bring home ham, how about making Macaroni and Tomatoes? Make up a boxed mac & cheese dinner as directed. While the macaroni is boiling, saute some onions and small dices of ham in butter. After preparing the mac & cheese, add the sauted ham and onion and 1/2 to one can of diced tomatoes, drained. (Depends on how much you like tomatoes). It's delicous. If you like it spicy, you can use a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. You can add extra cheese if you like. If you want you can also season with a bit of chili powder and/or garlic powder.
And most any deli meats can be used to make "Chef's Salads".
Or to mix into your ramen noodles.
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