Leftover Hacks with A Beef Roast

Previously on our weekly meal plan, we did a leftover hacks experiment with a whole chicken. It went well, didn’t it? That experiment inspired me to make a detailed breakdown on how to get the most out of a whole chicken, from inside out. I feel so fulfilled just thinking about how much money and time we save by following the three steps. (Classic stay-at-home mom/wife syndrome…)

Therefore, I wanted to continue my little experiment for making all of our busy lives easier, healthier and tastier as well as less expensive. A Montreal beef roast fulfilled my feelings this time because it all starts with one pan, my favorite kind of meal.

#1 One-Pan Oven Roast with Vegetables

You mix a Montreal seasoning rub for a 2-to-3-pound top round roast. Have a big family to feed? Go get a bigger roast. You don’t necessarily have to double the seasoning because the portion in my recipe is generous enough to handle a 5-pound roast. Next, chop up some vegetables and lay them out in a roasting pan with some beef broth or bone broth. Set the seasoned roast on top and roast the whole thing in your oven to your desired doneness. That’s it. Your first and foremost meal of the week is just that easy and glorious.

“Sharon, I am a vegetarian. I don’t eat beef. What can I do?” You ask.

I asked the same question for you when I attended a Culinary Health event at Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts, where they teach and explore plant-based cuisine.

No, I am not turning vegetarian or vegan. Instead, I am trying to learn what options we have to substitute vegetables for the meat in some of my recipes like this one.

The answer opened my eyes – Tempeh.

I would have never thought about this on my own. This makes total sense. Tempeh is a soy product that is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form according to Wikipedia. I ate tempeh all the time when I was in China. I had no idea that it’s commonly available in many western supermarkets, as well as in ethnic markets and health food stores. I am gonna figure out how to cook tempeh in different methods so that you can substitute it for the beef roast not only in this case but also for many other recipes.

Now that you’ve had a nutritiously balanced beef roast meal, you probably wouldn’t mind eating it again the next day. I can seriously eat it three times in a row. I also have a better idea for the leftover beef – a Thai beef salad.

#2 Thai Beef Salad

Since the beef is perfectly cooked to your liking already, all you need to do is to whisk a Thai salad dressing and roughly chop some lettuce. Feel free to get some other salad-friendly vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes or onions in there. Top the vegetables with sliced leftover beef and pour the dressing over. Done and done. How quick is that? 15 minutes, tops. The secret is the Thai dressing, which you can find in the recipe.

Hooray! The beef roast leftover hacks is not a bad one, isn’t it? Now, what’s the plan for the rest of the week? How about a burrito bowl?

#3 Grilled Chicken Burrito Bowl

I grilled 4 chicken breasts for 4 humongous burrito bowls. The truth is that I didn’t need that much chicken since the burrito bowls contain lots of yummy and filling stuff already, such as black beans, brown rice, sweet corn, and cheese. Well, having leftover chicken is always a bonus. Naturally, I used it in a new healthy meal. Again, it’s done in 10 minutes.

However, in order to wrap up a delicious meal in such a short amount of time, I suggest you do a little meal prep during the weekend. Make a list of the foods that can be snacks, toppings, dressings, or side dishes. It will make your weekday dinner prep so much easier and quicker.

Recently, this Chipotle Pecan Pesto has been my absolute obsession because it’s the new best friend of noodles!

#4 Soba Noodles with Chipotle Pecan Pesto

This is the 10-minute meal I was talking about, assuming that you have the leftover grilled chicken from the burrito bowl and you’ve made the pesto ahead of time. Actually, it will only take you extra 5 minutes to make the pesto.

Here’s the soba noodle recipe. It makes two servings.

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Here you have it – another nutritiously delicious week. Hope you find it helpful.

Until next time…