Cook Once, Eat Twice

I love the thought of only having to cook one night, but being able to feed my family two different meals on two different nights.

Recipe for Dinner One:

French Dip

Super easy crock-pot recipe!

1 beef roast of your preference (I usually get the biggest one I can find with the least amount of fat)

Water

Beef Bouillon

1 package Italian seasoning mix

Rolls (regular dinner or crusty rolls - whatever)

Basically you just cook the roast for 24 hours.

I sear my roast first in a very hot skillet, just a minute or so on each side.

Then put your roast in your slow cooker and measure in cups enough water to cover the roast. I find that almost always, no matter the size of the roast or the slow cooker 5 or 6 cups will do it. Then add a corresponding number of beef bouillon cubes of tablespoons of instant beef bouillon. Also add the package of Italian seasoning. Stir it all together, and then stir it again after an hour or so, after the bouillon has dissolved.

Here's a tip - sometimes you have to move the roast around too, if there is a lot of fat in the meat it might float a little and you want to be sure it all gets cooked evenly.

Oh and you should have your slow-cooker set to "low."

Another tip: If I forget to get my roast started a full 24 hours in advance, I will often set the slow-cooker to "high" for a few hours and then turn it down. IE: It's midnight on Saturday night and I just remembered I wanted to have a roast for Sunday dinner at 3 or 4 o'clock. Set the slow-cooker to "high" and then when you wake up in the morning, turn it down to low.

After 24 hours of cooking, take your roast out and shred it. You do this with a couple of forks. Just pick it apart.

Serve the meat on rolls with a bowl of the juice from the slow-cooker on the side. This is the best French dip you will ever have!!

Now, be sure to save all of your left over meat and at least 3-4 cups of the juice too for the next night's recipe.

Recipe for Dinner Two:

Green Chile Burros

A family favorite. This freezes really well too, so I make a TON of it and freeze it individual and family servings in Ziploc bags.

1 large onion diced

2 Tbsp oil

1-2 cups of left-over roast meat (we are of course using the beef roast from French dip, but you can also use left-over pork roast meat)

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 beef bouillon cube

1 can of diced green chiles (the little cans)

2 Tbls chili powder

1 can refried beans

Saute the onion in a little bit of oil (I use Canola). Add the meat and heat it through, but be sure not to saute or fry it. Add the tomatoes plus a little water (about 1/4 of the can to get all those good tomato juices), the bouillon, green chiles, chili powder, and refried beans. Stir it all together. You will most likely find that it needs a little more moisture. That's why you saved the juice from last night. Add the juice until you get a good consistency. If you don't have any juice you can add water and more bouillon cubes.

Serve in a flour tortilla, with a little more of the filling on top also. You can also add cheese or sour cream, although I like mine plain.

And get this, once upon a time I even figured out the calories for this dish. If you use about 14 oz of lean roast and non-fat beans, allowing two small burros per serving, then there are right around 4 servings at about 332 calories per serving. Not bad! (of course that doesn't include the tortilla or any other toppings)

Tip: Because I use the biggest roast I can find (and fit in my Crock pot) I usually end up doubling this recipe, and sometimes even tripling it. Then I am able to freeze enough for anywhere from 4-6 dinners for my family of 4 (only 3 of us are eating table food though).