Leftovers, Right?

      Ms. Tamara having made other plans, I was on my own for dinner last night -- alone in the house with the remainder of Sunday's corned beef.

      There was one thick slice and one lumpy end, with a strata of fat running through both.  Plenty of meat for a sandwich but awkwardly shaped.  Distinctly sub-optimal, in fact.  And yet there I was, with rye bread, Swiss cheese and high hopes....

      Sometimes you have to take things as they are, only more so.  I trimmed away the excess fat and then diced the meat.  I diced up a small yellow sweet pepper, too, then melted a little butter in a non-stick skillet.

      A slice of bread, a slice of Swiss cheese, a nice thick layer of diced corned beef and sweet pepper, another slice of cheese and bread.  Drop that into the pan for about three minutes and (carefully!) flip for two and a half more, and what happens is the cheese melts and embeds the meat in a nice matrix while sticking the entire assembly together, leaving you with a convenient, tasty sandwich.  There was enough left over to make a half-sandwich on a slice of bread cut in half, so I did.

      With fresh veggies on the side, it was a fine dinner for one.

      (P.S.: Diced corned beef is also a great ingredient to add to fried rice in place of bacon.  Try it, you'll like it.)