This Half Made Homemade is for the boys. No, not just Steven and Chris but all the boys out there -- and anyone who's a big fan of the pre-cooked pot roasts available in the refrigerated section of your local supermarket. We're taking the pot roast out of the box and turning it into two dishes: a decadent poutine and a succulent pulled beef baguette. All this in the time it takes to fry up some onions and garlic. Beware: if you're counting calories and fat, this HMHM is not for you.

Steven's Roast Beef Man-wich (Serves 2-4 ordinarily, or 1 hungry Steven)

Ingredients:

1 pre-cooked beef roast
2 tbsp oil vegetable, olive oil, whatever you have
1 tsp minced garlic
1 small onion, sliced
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
1-10 oz can reduced-sodium, gravy (or any pre-mix gravy you have on hand)
1 small tray pre-sliced Cremini mushrooms (optional)
1 green or red pepper, sliced (optional)
1 baguette, split (you can substitute hotdog buns, Kaiser buns or whatever you have on hand)
1 bag, pre-shredded cheese (we used a 1/2 mozzarella 1/2 cheddar blend)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to broil (high or medium-high), or 450 degrees Fahrenheit. If broiling, adjust the oven-rack to the top rung of your oven.

Heat a 12" skillet over a medium heat, add the oil and saute the onions, garlic and herbs (about 4 minutes) until soft and lightly coloured. While this is happening, slice up your pre-cooked roast and reserve. Once onions are soft, add half of the meat (or however much you want to eat), warm it through and break up the meat with the end of you spoon. Add the gravy, just enough to make the meat nice and moist (you can use any extra to dip you man-wich!). Warm through and turn off the heat.

Slice and split you baguette or bun, spoon a good amount of the meat and gravy onto you bun. Sprinkle on as much shredded cheese as you like. Pop the opened bun onto a baking sheet lined with a non-stick silicone mat or tinfoil, broil or bake just until the cheese is melted.

Tips:
Not all pre-cooked roasts are created equal: It's very important to check and compare the nutritional labeling on different brands. Many are extremely high in fat, including trans-fat, dripping in cholesterol and very high in sodium so not an option for the heart conscious.

Extra bits and pieces: Jazz up your sandwich by adding sliced sauteed mushrooms or fire-roasted peppers. Sun-dried tomatoes will add flavour but stay away from lettuce; the broiling will make the leaves limp and unappealing.

Substitutions: use your favorite kind of pre-cooked roast (or left over roast meat). Beef makes for a meaty sandwich but pork would work well also, turkey or chicken are lower fat options.

Poutine (Serves 2-4)