Comfort Food from Leftovers

 I had this big prime rib roast sitting in my deep freeze for a while now and I was getting concerned that it had been in there too long. Since my husband's birthday was around the corner, I decided it would be the perfect occasion to make it since I have no idea when I would have a crowd at my house large enough to justify making it. (Thanks China and your fucking diseases!) I knew I was going to have a ton left over but I figured that too many leftovers was a better alternative than letting it get freezer burned and wasted. For dinner, I made us a nice classic steak house style dinner with creamed spinach and baked potatoes. Hubs was a happy birthday boy. Then came the leftovers. I came up with this riff on shepherds pie/French onion soup and I have to say it was a hit. It incorporated the leftover meat and the leftover creamed spinach. I was concerned that Hubs would turn his nose up at the spinach but surprisingly he tried it and also really liked it. While I don't have a traditional recipe per se, here is what I did.

1 -  I took a couple pieces of left over rib and cubed it up and simmered low and slow in beef broth to which I had added and envelope of onion soup mix and a dash or worcestershire sauce. Once the beef was shreddable, I shredded it into bite sized bits and thickened the liquid with a slurry of cornstarch and water to make a nice rich gravy.

2 - Next I cooked up a bag of extra wide egg noodles until al dente. 

3 - Next I took two 4-inch ramekins and placed a layer of leftover creamed spinach on the bottom of each one. If you don't already have leftover creamed spinach on had, green giant makes a frozen version that is pretty decent. On top of the spinach I placed a layer of egg noodles. Then, I ladled the beef and gravy mixture over the noodles being sure that all the noodles got hit with some of the gravy. This required some gentle shifting around with a fork to distribute everything evenly.

4 - Finally I topped it all of with a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese and baked it all in a 350F oven until the cheese was melted and bubbly and the casserole was nice and hot throughout. Delicious!