I usually follow the recipe below to a T. This year though, I just did the corned beef and cabbage - I left out all the other veg...
See how good it turns out?? Mmmmm....
I got this recipe from a dear family friend who made it for my husband on a St. Patrick's Day many, many, many years ago. Only, I cheat a bit...
This little baby is the secret to
Corned Beef and Cabbage heaven. I get "Bill Bailey's" brand of corned beef that is preseasoned (found at Costco)
Add that to my recipe below - and you will be one happy leprechaun!! I have made this for several years - and have had many corned beef and cabbage raised Irish boys in my kitchen professing their love for this tasty meal...
Corned Beef and Cabbage
4 lbs corned beef
2 1/2 quarts cold wter
1 lb red potatoes (8) peeled
1 head green cabbage cut into wedges
2 med onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup carrots, diced
2 bay leaves
1/2 t dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove corned beef from the package. Put it and the juices and seasonings in your biggest stock pot and cover with the water. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Skim off and discard any impurities (foam). Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes per pound of beef (that would be 6 hours for this recipe). The last 30 minutes add veggies, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Remove the corned beef from the pot and cut into thin slices. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Serve a few slices of corned beef along side all those delish veggies and
Irish Soda Bread.
Next - Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes (Julienne Cut). I buy the 2lb size. I divide about half the bottle of julienne cut tomatoes into these neato Rubbermaid 1.2 cup size containers. The cool thing about these containers is that they have screw on lids - so you know it has a good seal. Then, I take the other half of the tomatoes and use my immersion blender to blend them up and divide them between the same 1.2 cup containers. I put one of each the julienned and blended containers in my fridge and the rest go in the freezer. They only take a couple of hours to defrost in the freezer to be used. I use them for appetizers and for most anything I use tomatoes in - marinara sauce, lasagna, stuffed chicken, etc. 
I like to make my own breads - but I don't always have time. That is where these babies come in. Le Petit Francais Baguettes. I buy them in the frozen foods isle in a box of 10. Each pack has 2 baguettes. You get them out of your freezer and thaw them on your counter for 15 minutes. Then cook at 400 degrees for 8 minutes - what could be easier? Oh - AND they are fat and sugar free:) 
Hummus. Yummus. This is my favorite kind. I often add a bit more pine nuts to it - b/c I love a bite. 
There you go!! 
