Recipe Round #2 - Roast Beef to Beef & Noodles

Here is a warm, cozy dish your family will love.  This is perfect to snuggle up to a steaming bowl on a chilly day.  Its also the kind of meal you will love because it makes use of your leftovers, stretches those grocery dollars a little farther, and its quick and easy for you!  It makes a large amount again out of that same roast so you can feed a crowd or freeze it in single portions for lunches or future meals.

Start with your leftover Rosemary Roast Beef and veggies.  Take your meat and chop it into thin strips about 1/4 inch wide and 1 inch long.  Take your veggies and broth and place them in a large pot or deep skillet.  Use a potato masher to smash the veggies but make sure you don't mash them too finely.  You still want a lot of chunks rather than a smooth puree.  Add the meat, 2 cups of water, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning.  Heat on medium-high covered until bubbling.  Stir occasionally.  Meanwhile, cook your pasta.  I used homemade egg noodles I got at the local farm market - 2 packets that were each 8 ounces.  You could use 16 ounces of macaroni, penne or store-bought wide egg noodles as well.  Boil your pasta until almost cooked.  While the pasta is still a little under-done, drain all but about 1/2 cup of the pasta water out and dump your pasta and the 1/2 cup of pasta water into your beef sauce.  Stir until water is mixed in and pasta is well coated in the sauce.  Cover and continue cooking about 5 minutes until the pasta has absorbed the excess liquid and is soft.  Turn off heat and stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and 2 tablespoons of butter.

The funny thing about this when I made it was that the kids don't like the cooked carrots the rest of the time but never even commented about them being mashed into small chunks in this dish.  Both asked for seconds.  Enjoy!