Beef Pot Pie

Last week, after going back and forth on how to use some leftover Spicy Shredded Beef, I decided to make my first Beef Pot Pie.  Some of you may remember that I made my first Chicken Pot Pie last winter.  Just like then, I asked for advice from my dear friend Lisa (from Extraordinary Life).

Her suggestion?  Follow the same basic recipe that I used for Chicken Pot Pie, but trade out the chicken and chicken broth for the shredded beef and beef broth.  The result?  Mmmmmm!

I already LOVE the Spicy Shredded Beef recipe from Cutting Back Kitchen!  In fact, we enjoyed it twice this summer already!  Now, I'm looking forward to preparing it again so that I can make this pot pie with the leftovers again!  I'll be keeping a look out for a sale on roasts!

Beef Pot Pie

Ingredients: 

• 2 large potatoes, diced
• 1 large stalk celery, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/3 c. butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 c. beef broth
• 1 c. milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 c. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1.5 - 2 c. pre-cooked shredded beef
• pie crust (I doubled this recipe)

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
• Cook potatoes, onions and celery in a large pot of water, until potatoes are tender.  Drain, set aside. 
• Melt butter in the same pot used to cook the potatoes, onions and celery.  Add flour, milk and broth, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.  
• Stir in salt, pepper, shredded beef and vegetables.
• Cook until heated through.  
• Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Top with pie crust.  Cut slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape.  
• Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is thick and bubbly.  

Mmmm!  So good!  

Sure, this definitely isn't a traditional summer meal, but it was a great way to stretch that leftover shredded beef!  I love frugal meals like this one and now after this tease, I'm really starting to crave soups, stews and pot pies!  Can't wait to make this again!  

Are you interested in joining me in a Decluttering Challenge?  Follow the link to learn more!  

500 Item Decluttering Challenge

I know, it's Tuesday and I normally have a recipe to share on Tuesdays, but as I mentioned yesterday, I haven't been cooking too much the past couple of weeks.  Instead, I've been working on getting rid of some clutter from around the house.

You may remember that I challenged myself to remove 500 items from my home this past Spring.  While I failed to follow up on the blog for the final 2 weeks of my challenge, I was successful in the challenge itself!
At the end of the month, I managed to sell, donate or throw away more than 500 items!  That's what really matters, right?

I wish I could say that after those 500 items were gone from the house, that this place was spotless and immaculate (with the occasional goldfish cracker between the sofa cushions and fruit snack on the floor) but sadly, it's still looking like the makings of a Hoarder's episode in my basement.

With Grace now being the perfect age for arts and crafts, I need to toddler proof our basement so we can crack out the finger paints, markers, glitter...all of that messy stuff I don't want in my living room or kitchen!  Currently, we do that stuff outside, but when the weather turns cold we'll need to do that stuff inside.

In addition to an arts and crafts station for Grace, I need to clear out some space for me to "work".  When we first moved into this house, Joe set up a wonderful craft area for me downstairs.  And, for about a year, I really enjoyed working in that space.  When I was pregnant with Grace, I had really bad morning sickness that prevented me from venturing too far from the bathroom.  By the time the morning sickness was over, there were other issues that prevented me from spending much time on my feet.  Fast forward to now, my craft area is filled with stuff I just don't know what to do with.  Stuff that should be packed away in the attic, sold on ebay, or just needs to be thrown away.  That is my goal now.

By the end of August, I'd like to have another 500+ items removed from the house!  I'll keep y'all posted on my progress each week...on Tuesdays.  My goal is 100 items per week.  If y'all want to join in, I can set up a linky and we can all share photos of our 100 items before they leave the house!  Let me know!

Menu Plan Monday 2012 ~ Week of July 23rd

I can't believe I skipped menu planning last week.  I was absorbed in de-cluttering the house and never got around to working on my menu plan.  Even this week, I'm later than usual in working on my plan.

I have a few projects that I want to work on as soon as the weather gets a little cooler.  In order to do that, I need to find my craft table under the piles and piles of junk that keep finding their way to my craft space!  Joe keeps reminding me that the junk didn't get there by itself, which I do realize.  Just too often, I have a box or basket of items I just don't know what to do with so I quickly drop it onto my craft table to be dealt with later.  Later is now!  And all that stuff I don't know what to do with is either going into a yard sale pile or being donated.  That will be my focus for the next couple of weeks!

Dinners will have to be simple for the next couple of weeks.  Leftovers, crock pot meals, pre-cooked meals from the freezer will be on the table at meal times until I get myself organized!

• Bacon, Potato & Egg Skillet.  I diced up some leftover grilled potatoes especially for this meal.  Since we're all out of bacon, I'll dice up some ham to add to this easy breakfast-for-dinner meal!  

• Spaghetti with Crock Pot Tomato Sauce, Fried Zucchini.  We picked 2 zucchini from the garden over the weekend and another will be ready any day now!  I've got to start using it up!  

• Spaghetti Squash Casserole.  It's been a while since we've had this meatless meal, so when I saw a bin of spaghetti squash at the grocery store the other day, I just couldn't resist adding one to my cart!  

Fried Zucchini

• Beef Pot Pie or Beef Vegetable Soup.  Last week, I made Spicy Shredded Beef in the crock pot for the second time.  The first time we made it, it didn't shred and we enjoyed thin slices on club rolls with some horseradish sauce.  Mmm!  This time, I was able to shred the roast and after 3 meals, we still had a little bit left, so I popped it into the freezer.  I figure I'll just add some veggies and a little gravy or broth and make either a pot pie or a soup.  So, we're seeing 4+ meals from one small roast!  

• Leftovers and sandwiches (or maybe burgers) will round out the rest of the week for us!  

Now that you know what we're eating this week, let us know in the comments what's for dinner at your house this week!  Or, if you need more menu planning inspiration? Follow me over to  Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie! Or, if you like what you see here, you can check out my past menu plans.


You can also find this week's menu plan linked to On the Menu Monday hosted by Yvonne at Stone Gable.

Don't forget to enter our current giveaways!  Links can be found at the announcement below our header!

GroopDealz Giveaway

Good morning, friends!

I know, I know!  I'm a bit too cheerful for a Monday morning, huh?  Don't let my greeting fool you, after a wonderful weekend I'm suffering from some Monday Morning Blues myself!

What better way to chase those blues away than with a giveaway?!  Yep!  We're hosting another giveaway! This one has a shorter running time than the other two we have posted (follow the links at the top of this post to enter our other two giveaways) but that's okay...it's super easy to enter with the rafflecopter form!  (This is my first time using this type of form for giveaways!)

First, let me tell you about the prize!

GroopDealz, a daily deal site that features wonderful boutique items at a much more affordable price, is offering this beautiful Bubble Bib Necklace (shown below) at an awesomely low price!  They are also allowing me to give one away to one lucky reader!  The winner can choose one of the 12 fabulous color options for their prize!

So pretty and such fun colors!  The green and the navy are my favorites!



To enter, use the rafflecopter form below.  Enter your email address to "register" with rafflecopter (so we can contact you if you win!) then follow the steps to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply in order to claim their prize otherwise a new winner will be selected.





Disclaimer:

• This giveaway has been sponsored by GroopDealz, although I have been monetarily compensated for sharing this giveaway, all opinions are honest and my own.  

I'm the Weekend Company over at Everyday Mom's Meals

Today was a busy day, but I wanted to quick drop in to ask you all to stop by and visit Krista over at Everyday Mom's Meals!  She's got a wonderful blog filled with everyday recipes!

I had the chance to be her "weekend company" on her blog and I shared one of my favorite everyday meals with her readers!  Be sure to stop in and say HI!