Pot Roast...Italian Style & A Leftover Make Over

Lately, I feel like no matter how well I meal plan and plan my shopping list around the sales, I am spending an obscene amount of money on groceries each week. I have been really good about coupons but I tend to save the most on personal care items and paper goods than on actual groceries.  I think a big money saver in the grocery department is to buy large sized roasts when they go on sale. 

I know what you're thinking "but Christine, I don't want to eat pot roast every night this week!".  Well, don't worry, I've got a great totally repurposed recipe for your leftover pot roast and I bet you never will guess what it is (unless you already snooped below).... Give up yet?  Yes?  MANICOTTI. 

Are you still with me?  I know, it sounds weird, but I promise it is not.  It is awesome.  I didn't even feel like I was eating leftovers.  As some of you know, I loathe leftovers, unless, of course, it's lasagna or eggplant parmigiana; both are better the next day.

So first let's start with the Pot Roast:

 

POT ROAST...ITALIAN STYLE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 T butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 4-5 lb beef roast (suitable for pot roast such as boneless chuck roast)
• 1/4 C flour
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 C red wine
• 1/4 C parsley, freshly chopped
• salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat olive oil and butter in large pot over medium heat.
• Season meat with salt & pepper and lightly flour the meat, shaking off any excess.
• Sear the meat on all sides in the butter/oil. Once all sides are browned, remove meat and set aside on plate.
• Add onions to same pan over medium heat (if pan is too dry add a splash of olive oil), cook onion 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic, cook another 1-2 minutes.
• Pour wine into pan.  Allow to cook 3-4 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and parsley. Add bay leaf.
• Add meat back to pan. Nestling it into the sauce. 
• Simmer covered 3.5 hours.
• Transfer meat to cutting board, slice meat and serve over mashed potatoes.
• BE SURE TO RESERVE LEFTOVER SAUCE IF YOU PLAN TO MAKE THE LEFTOVER POT ROAST MANICOTTI.

 

LEFTOVER POT ROAST MANICOTTI

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 manicotti shells
• leftover pot roast
• 32 oz ricotta cheese
• 2 T parsley, freshly chopped
• salt & pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat leftover pot roast in it's sauce in a sauce pan over medium/low heat until heated through. Remove the meat from the sauce and shred.  Set aside.
2. Prepare manicotti shells according to package instructions.  After straining, place on wax or non stick foil lined baking pan to cool until cool enough to handle. Preheat oven to 350.
3. In a large bowl combine ricotta, parsley, egg, salt & pepper, parmesan cheese and half the mozzarella cheese.  Fold in the shredded pot roast.
4. Fill the manicotti shells.  The best way to do this is to put the filling in a large plastic storage bag (Ziploc type bag), snip off the tip and pipe it in "pastry bag" style.
5. Ladle enough sauce to make a thin layer covering the bottom of a baking dish.  Place filled manicotti in the baking dish and cover with remaining sauce.  Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to bake another 10 minutes.



By the way, my long loved, classic Pyrex lasagna pan recently met it's demise by way of me dropping it in the sink while washing it.  I've been forced to use these very trendy baking dishes that I "just had to have" and honestly, while they are very cute, their rounded edges are not helpful when making dishes such as these or stuffed shells.  I always find myself having to go in all different directions with the shells.  Okay there is my rant against the Rachel Ray pans.

I have two questions for you today:
1. What is your favorite way to repurpose leftovers?
2. What is your favorite piece of cookware?