Cook Once, Serve Twice

To the old saying that man built the house but woman made of it a "home" might be added the modern supplement that woman accepted cooking as a chore but man has made of it a recreation. –Emily Post

I'm a big fan of working smarter instead of harder. When it comes to food, Mr. Bug is not a big fan of leftovers. If I am making a large recipe, I will usually freeze half of it and serve it again in a few weeks. No leftovers to go to waste and I have a complete meal ready to put on the table with very little effort. Smart. Sometimes I make leftovers on purpose and do a makeover on them, serving an entirely new dinner. This is one of my favorites. It is great for Sunday dinner and then a quick mid-week meal.

Italian Seasoned Crock Pot Roast

3–5 lb. beef roast
1 cup boiling water
2 beef bouillon cubes {or 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules}
or for dairy-free, substitute 1 – 14.5 oz. can of beef broth for the boiling water and beef bouillon
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 can {15 oz.} Italian stewed diced tomatoes

• Dissolve bouillon in boiling water and stir in onion soup mix.
• Place the roast in a crock pot and cover with canned tomatoes and juice. Pour the broth and soup mixture over top of the tomatoes.
• Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Slice and serve with Savory Rice topped with the tomatoes and broth.

Notes:
• I usually do a 3 lb. roast and this easily feeds our little family of four, plus there is enough meat left for Shredded Beef Burritos and almost always sandwiches, too.
• There is plenty of the broth and tomatoes to go with a bigger roast, so no need to worry about running short.

Savory Rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
1½ cups uncooked white rice
3 cups hot water
¾ teaspoon salt

• In a 3-quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat; sauté onions and garlic until onions begin to turn clear.
• Add rice to the garlic and onions in the pot and heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the hot water and salt to the rice and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer for 25 minutes. Stir and serve.

Makes 3 cups cooked rice

Notes:
• This is how they make rice in Brasil. Once you try it this way, you'll never go back to plain rice again.
• When cutting your onion, make sure to remove any of the layers in the very center that are a slightly different color than the rest of the onion; they may be yellow, or even green. They are bitter and will give the rice a funny flavor.
• If your garlic has started to sprout, remove any of the green shoots that have started to come out. That part of the garlic is bitter and will give the rice a funny flavor.
• This recipe is enough to go with a 3 lb. roast and have left overs for Shredded Beef Burritos. For a 4 lb. roast increase onion to ⅓ cup, rice to 2 cups, hot water to 4 cups and salt to 1 teaspoon. For a 5 lb. roast double the recipe. And use a bigger pot.

Shredded Beef Burritos

1 can {15 oz.} black beans
plus, for each burrito, you will need:
1 large {burrito size} tortilla
1 oz. shredded cheddar cheese {omit for dairy-free}
⅓ cup Savory Rice
2 oz. Italian Seasoned Crock Pot Roast, shredded
Tomatoes and broth from Italian Seasoned Crock Pot Roast
Green Sauce

• Place black beans in a small saucepan; cover and simmer over low heat to thicken the sauce that comes with the beans while you prepare the other ingredients for the burritos.
• To reheat the leftover Savory Rice, place it in a covered microwave safe dish. Place the cover loosely on the top of the dish, allowing for steam to escape and microwave for 2½ minutes on power level 6. Stir rice, and cover to keep warm.
• Shred the leftover roast beef and divide into portions for each burrito. Heat the roast beef in the microwave for 90 seconds on power level 6.
• Place the tortilla on a microwave safe place, sprinkle the cheddar cheese down the center of the tortilla. Top with rice, black beans, shredded beef, tomatoes and green sauce. Microwave for 30 seconds on high and roll burrito. Use a toothpick to help keep it closed. Serve immediately.

Notes:
• The ingredients, as listed, make really huge burritos. You can use less of any of the ingredients, dividing out what you have left between the number of people you need to feed. Specifically, 2 oz. of meat is a very generous portion, so if you don't have that much for each person, you can definitely get by with less.
• These amazingly huge burritos are only 500–600 calories, depending on the tortillas you use and how generous you are with your shredded cheese and rice.