Clean out that fridge and make dinner!

Today seemed a good day to clean out the fridge; see what can stay, and what definitely should have gone a long while ago. If it moves on its own, and even talks to you, yeah, it's time for it to go. Luckily, I didn't have to evict anyone from the fridge, but there were a few items, a cup of this, a 1/2 cup of that while still good, were taking up room that I needed.

Hold on, I thought, I have this 2 lb sirloin roast in the freezer, and this would be a good time to get creative with it. I also had left over, a half small box of mushrooms, and didn't want to just toss them. Pulling out the 4 qt crock pot, setting it on low; I got started.

Simple Stew

Ingredients:

2 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 lb roast
1 cup sliced red onion
1 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
2 Tbsp sliced garlic (stored in olive oil)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
4 medium potatoes, cut into 1" pieces and parboiled.

Preparation:

Set 4 qt crock pot on low; pour in beef broth, add flour and black pepper; whisk till flour is well incorporated. Place roast into broth; place other ingredients, except the potatoes, on top of, and around, the roast. Cover, let cook for 6 hours.

Remove roast and break apart; return meat to crock pot and add in potatoes. Let cook for another 2 hours.

Makes 6 servings.

The final result was...DELICIOUS!!! The tastes of each item came out by being enhanced by the other ingredients mixed together. The sauce was so rich, and greedily soaked up by leftover biscuits I had made for breakfast. I most heartily recommend you try this recipe, but most of all, before throwing out anything from your fridge or pantry because there is very little left, a little creative thought just might end up going a very long way.

Mary Cokenour