Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Season squash with salt and pepper on the flesh. Place squash flesh side down and roast in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove and scrape the squash into a bowl, set aside. This can be done a day ahead of time.
Heat an ovenproof skillet to high and add the olive oil. Cook beef for 5 minutes, breaking up with a spoon. Add onions, red pepper, italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper, until beef is no longer pink.
Stir in tomatoes and squash and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
Top with cheese and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
This is a great weeknight dinner. Cook the squash ahead of time and it's really fast to make. The squash melts into the casserole. Great for those picky veggie eaters, they won't even notice they are eating veggies!
What to do with the leftover prime rib? Why not make the absolute best ragu? This was absolutely delicious and a great way to not waste such expensive leftovers! Enjoy!
I made a 13 pound, 5 rib prime rib on Christmas for 9 people. Needless to say, there was quite a bit leftover. What to do with it? There wasn’t enough of the lean rare pieces in the middle to make a family meal, I had been thinking maybe stroganoff. I knew I would make beef stock and French onion soup with the bones but what about all the meat?
Then, I thought, if I saved the lean pieces and ground it up, isn’t that just the most amazing ground beef? Then the idea of leftover prime rib Bolognese was born. It was totally delicious, I had all the ingredients on hand and bonus, there was enough leftover to freeze for Lasagna Bolognese.
2 Pounds leftover prime rib, beef roast (ground in the food processor) or 2 pounds ground beef
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Oz of pancetta or bacon chopped
1 Large onion, chopped fine
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped fine (I use the food processor)
3 Celery sticks, chopped fine
3 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper (optional)
6 Oz can tomato paste
1 Cup white wine
1 Cup milk
Instructions
Heat a dutch oven on high and add the olive oil. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until it starts to crisp and renders some fat.
Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the celery, carrots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, thyme and crushed red pepper if using. Stir well for 1 minute until the tomato paste becomes fragrant. Add the wine to the pan and simmer for 3 minutes until it starts to reduce.
Add the milk to the pan and stir well.
Add the ground prime rib to the pan, season with salt and pepper and stir well. Place the lid almost all on the top of the pan (crack it a little or it will overflow) and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for one hour.
Adjust the seasoning if needed.
Serve with your favorite pasta. I prefer fresh pappardele or fettuccine.
Leftovers can be stored in the freezer for 6 months.
OMG. Have I ever mentioned I am a sauce girl? Once or twice? Blue cheese & beef are a match made in heaven. This sauce is the most amazing, easiest thing EVER. You must make this!! Continue reading Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Sauce→
So, last night I was craving steak. I wanted to do something different, so I went to Epicurious to see what delicious concoctions they might suggest for Filet Mignon and I came across this one. Continue reading Filet Mignon with Madeira Mushroom Sauce→
Blue Cheese + Medium Rare Filet Mignon + Red Wine = Heaven? Yes, in this case it does. This blue cheese topping is fantastic. It’s super quick and easy to make and just takes a nice grilled steak to the next level. It’s also a great topping for burgers or crackers. Continue reading Grilled Steaks with Blue Cheese & Chiles→
I like to have theme nights for food and I recently decided that Friday nights were going to be “Sandwich” night for a while. It pushes me to try new things and it’s fun. Ok, I get my idea of fun may not be yours LOL.
So last Friday I made the “Rachel” which is a play on the Reuben but with pastrami. I hate sauerkraut so Cole slaw stood in. This is a great fancy grilled cheese. The salty pastrami with the slightly sweet Russian dressing, crunchy slaw and melted cheese work in harmony! Continue reading Rachel Pastrami Sandwich→
First, I know I haven’t posted for 2 weeks. In my defense, I have been busy and last week I was on vacation, so I wasn’t cooking that much and I was certainly trying to stay away from my laptop.
I’m back! Still busy (sitting at my desk waiting for an important work document to arrive) but figured I could squeeze in a few minutes to post the absolutely freaking amazing delicious mushroom Brandy Sauce I made Sunday with Filet. Whenever we go on vacation, I am dying to get right back into my kitchen when we get back. Usually I am inspired by something amazing I had on vacation, but no I woke up Sunday and knew I just had to have Filet for Sunday dinner. Probably because I had a lot of fish on vacation. Anyway, it’s 4:16 and as I look at this picture of the Filet, I am getting really hungry. The sauce was so good, but I know I already said that! I will say the sauce is supposed to be for four people but Bill and I pretty much finished it ourselves, so if you are making this for 4 sauce lovers…………double it! Continue reading Filet Mignon with Brandy Mushroom Sauce→
Chili, is there anything better on a cold winter night than a piping hot bowl of Chili? I posted my age-old favorite Chili recipe a while ago. That is my go to Chili recipe but when I saw this one in Bon Appetit’s Fast Easy Fresh, I knew I had to try it. You see, I LOVE Chipotle Chilis. Love, love, love them. I like it hot. The original recipe had you add 2 Chipotle peppers. I started with 3 and ended up with 5 :). I also added the tomato paste and brown sugar as it needed a little sweetness to balance the chilis. Other than that, I was pretty true to the recipe. When I served mine I added avocado, low-fat sour cream, a little cheddar cheese, raw red onion and a few big spoons of hot sauce which Bill found a little perplexing. I told you I like it hot! 🙂
I have had this cookbook for a while, but recently spent some time going through it again and have about 20 recipes tagged with a stick it note. The recipes are all meant for quick, healthy weeknight dinners, so you will see more of them here for sure! Continue reading Chipotle Chili→