The Leftover Queen Does “Chopped”

Last week I was trying to clean out assorted leftovers from the refrigerator. I removed all the assorted containers and plastic-wrapped items and looked at what I had to work with. It struck me that I was in my own episode of Chopped but without other contestants and the judges. (Also without the $10,000 prize money.)

The Chopped Basket

leftover steak, food for my family

Courtesy of food for My Family

I had a few more ingredients as well.  In my Chopped basket were:

  • A piece of cooked steak (medium-rare)
  • One hamburger (medium)
  • A quarter of a cabbage
  • Half a sweet onion
  • A container of baked beans
  • A container of mashed potatoes
  • Two limp carrots

I pulled out the grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer and set it up. Then I trimmed fat off the steak and ground up the meat along with the burger.  I diced the onion and threw it in with the meat. Finally I mixed in the mashed potatoes along with salt, pepper and a dash of Worcestershire Sauce.  Now I had a bowl of roast beef hash.

roast beef hash, Robyn Cook, Leftover Queen

Courtesy of Robyn Cook’s Blog

While hash patties browned in the skillet, I shredded the cabbage and the carrots into another bowl.  I mixed a dollop of mayonnaise with a squirt of coarse-grained mustard and tipped in some sweet pickle juice. Whisked together, it made a quick-and-easy coleslaw sauce.

The leftover beans went into a pan to heat up and dinner was ready: roast beef hash with beans and coleslaw.

No Points for Presentation

It wasn’t pretty—I took no pictures. You’ll have to make do with these photos I took from the Internet. Also, it made so much hash that I didn’t top it with an egg, which would have been good.

This was a real diner meal and the presentation wouldn’t have won me any points on Chopped. But dinner tasted great and it eliminated a slew of leftovers that were crowding the fridge. I think I would have won the main course round.

I did miscalculate one thing, though. I now have some leftover coleslaw.

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About Aline Kaplan

In my professional career I created marketing and communications functions for a number of big public companies and for small, VC-funded start-ups in the high-technology industry. Now I do marketing consulting work. I also write and publish science novels and short stories. I’m a docent for Boston by Foot, giving historical and architectural walking tours of Boston.

One thought on “The Leftover Queen Does “Chopped”

  1. I do this at least once a week – my kids even nicknamed one of the dishes “Garbage Soup” but it was one of their favorites!

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