I’ve said for years that some of the best cooking is just using the ingredients you have on hand. Unless you’re really trying to replicate a specific dish or looking for an exact flavor, make do with what you have! Just put things together that you like. My Mom was queen of opening the cabinets and creating dinner – and trusting her instincts when it came to cooking. After all, the very worst thing that could happen would be that it’s terrible and you throw it out and call for Pizza.

That being said, I had a flank steak that’s been in the freezer for a while, and I wanted to use it up before it became a freezer burn-unit victim. I do try and clear out the freezer once in a while. I have a habit of buying what looks good at the time without a clear picture of what I want to do. It’s great to have a stocked freezer (and pantry!) but ya have to use the stuff!

I have been negligent in getting gas for the grill, and I seem to be in a rut when it comes to flank steak. I almost always end up with a variation of my Oriental Flank Steak. I like it a lot, but, at some point, one has to move on… No gas for grilling. I needed an idea. Back to the fridge.

In the fridge was a pound of bacon, a head of escarole, lots of mushrooms. Stuffed Flank Steak, of course! My stuffing was right in front of me! I chopped 3 slices of the bacon and cooked about half way. Added about 8oz of sliced mushrooms and cooked about half way. Added the escarole, S&P and a shot of garlic powder and cooked until the escarole was really wilted.

While it was cooking away, I butterflied the flank steak. It was still partially frozen, which made for very easy cutting.

I then spread the filling on the steak, rolled up, and tied with kitchen twine. Browned it in the pan and into a 350 oven for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I quartered some baby yukon gold potatoes, drizzled them with olive oil, s&p, and garlic powder, and in the oven they went, too.

Frozen roasted corn from the freezer, and dinner was ready in no time! Start to finish, one hour. And most of the time I was in the office doing other stuff!

Now, I usually make a bread-type of stuffing when I do something like this, but I used the only good bread for the bread pudding last night. I had the other stuff on hand, and I was NOT about to head back to the store – OR – chop up the baguette I brought home from work today. Grocery shopping day is tomorrow, so I can get my Senior Discount! (Don’t ask…) 😉

And there’s leftover bread pudding calling my name right now…..