St. Patrick's Day: Corned Beef & Cabbage, Baby!

Just add some potatoes & Carrots and you can not go wrong with this lovely dinner.  It might even make you feel a bit Irish on March 17, 2013.

I tip my Hat to the Irish

Yes, I must tip my hat to those wonderful people and this one classic that is served around America on St. Patrick's Day each year since I have been here on earth.  Mama would cook her scrumptious corned beef dinner, each and 'every' year.  I still make my plate the exact same way as I did when I was growing up.

Mustard on my corned beef, butter on my potatoes and carrots and malted vinegar on my cabbage, this combination has yet to fail and as I dive into it now, I am reminded of the warmth of Mama's kitchen.

I will cook two corned beefs this year, as I always do.  This dish only gets better, as it ages and also, I make a mean corned beef sandwich, even if I must say so myself.  At times I will make a pan of some corned beef  hash, a few poached eggs topped over it and of course bread of your choice for sopping up all that goodness.

Do not pass up this chance to surprise your family and allow me to guide you through to a corned beef meal you will serve your family all throughout the year, not just on St. Patrick's Day.

Ingredients

6 pound Corned Beef

1 pound carrots

5 pounds red potatoes

1 large head of cabbage

The package of spices that comes with your corned beef.

Of course your corned beef more than likely will not be six pounds, so please go by the cooking times on your corned beef package, I do, always.

When I am cooking my second corned beef, I will also add one pound of carrots and the spices to my pan, just as I did for the one I will be using for my dinner, just minus the carrots, cabbage and potatoes.


I 'am' Braising 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Look on your corned beef package, check the weight of your beef and also look at the cooking (time) directions and 'write it down' how long it will take to cook 'your' corned beef, important!

Once you open your package of corned beef, you will 'not' want to dive into the trash can to 'once again' check and see how long that thing must cook.

Place your pound of carrots on the bottom of your roasting pan (I use a throw away pan) and as you are placing the carrots, turn them so you have as even of a bed of carrots as you are able to achieve.

Lay your corned beef on top of your bed of carrots and sprinkle your corned beef with the seasoning packet that came with your corned beef on top and around your corned beef.

Add enough water so as the water level reaches half way up your roasting pan.  Cover your roasting pan with tin foil and seal tightly.


I use organic carrots, so I don't peel my carrots.  Now if the hubby makes a mistake and grabs non-organic carrots I do peel those carrots.  This is your dish, I am just giving you the basics, you make it your own.

Feeling 'more' Irish

Thirty minutes before your corned beef is done, peel your potatoes or if you do like the peelings on, by all means keep the skins on, just wash them before adding them to your pot.  I peel the potatoes because Mama did and I like my St. Patrick's dinner, just as she made it for me when I was a child.

You will notice that your bag of red potatoes will (almost always) have a few bigger ones than the rest of the bag, just cut those in half.  Keep your (peeled) potatoes in a bowl of cold bowl of water and set aside.  Cut your cabbage into eight wedges.  After taking off the very end of the core at the bottom of your cabbage I leave the rest of the core, I find it cooks down just fine and keeps your edges intake.

When your corned beef and carrots are done, remove from the pan, place your corned beef and carrots on a platter and cover with the tin foil you used to cover your roasting pan.  Place the corned beef/carrot broth into a stock pot, add your potatoes and cabbage, wedging the cabbage around the potatoes.  Add enough water to cover your potatoes and cabbage, bring to boil, cover and allow to simmer for thirty minutes.

After thirty minutes, place your carrots into your pot and on top of the vegetable, place some sliced corned beef, cover and simmer for five minutes.

Can You 'cut' it

I Don't know why but, cutting meat always seems to scare a lot of folks.

My friends, it is very easy once you learn the secrets.

I love my corned beef cut on the thin side.  I will see which way the lines go through the meat, this is called 'the grain'.

You want to cut across the grain', as pictured on your right.  You might have to turn your meat around a few times, as the grain is not even throughout this cut of meat.

If you cut with the grain then, it will still taste good but, you will be gnawing on that meat for awhile.

Yes, I cooked my other pan of corned beef right along with the one I cooked for dinner.  You see, I love a good corned beef sandwich and as I have stated before, this dish only gets better with time so why not have more.

I will add my carrots from my extra corned beef to the stock pot also, it seems we never have enough carrots.  Make sure to test your potatoes every 10 minutes and adjust the time you add your corned beef and carrots back into your pot.  All you are doing is warming up your carrots and corned beef.  Place on a platter and serve.

Open Wide!

What can I say, is this mouthwatering or what, I say "You bet 'your bippy' it is.".  I am sure your family too will enjoy this meal as much as mine does.  Around St. Patrick's Day is the best time to buy corned beef and that is when I will stock up, so as to warm up my family's Sunday's throughout the year.

I also would love to share with you my favorite corned beef sandwich recipe, the slaw is what makes it...

Corned Beef Sandwich: Honey, Mustard & Grape Seed Oil Slaw

For another lovely, delicious and warm meal for your family, please visit...

Lentil Soup:  Vegetarian 'or' Ham Bone!

All photographs are the property of Denise O.  Do not use unless you get 'my' written permission. All written material is owned by Denise O, it will not be 'used' (sharing my article is different, it is acceptable and appreciated) without 'my' written permission.  Just keeping it real folks.:)

Dog bloating, Torsion or Volvulus: It Could be Deadly!

A condition called torsion/volvulus or better known as bloating can happen to any dog but, it hits larger breeds and barrel chested dogs more than most.

From the research I have done, this condition is more apt to hurt your dog, if they do not slow down, when it comes to eating and/or drinking, especially after they have exerted themselves.  Stress is also not a good thing for them either, when trying to eliminate bloating from your dogs life.

Dog bloating is not 'always' preventable but, you can take some steps that just might help your dog from having to encounter this issue in the first place.

When bloating occurs, the dogs stomach will twist or as some, their stomachs will flip. When this occurs, the ends of each part of their stomach will twist on itself and close off. No food or water will be able to go in and nothing will be able to come out the other end.  

Bugg being in the category of a larger breed and also a barrel chested dog, I have taken some precautionary steps to help him all I can, to make sure this does not happen to him.


                          Let Them Play!

Bugg loves to play and play hard.  So I have him on a strict schedule.  After a good game of Alabama frizzbie, Bugg is so thirsty he would drink a gallon of water.  If I let him.  

As a 'good' and 'informed' mommy to Bugg, I do not allow this to happen.

Dogs are more apt to have their stomachs 'flip' if they gulp things too fast, before and/or after exercising.


Slow Them Down!

I give Bugg bowls of ice and not water. This slows down his consumption of water.  Bugg still gets his daily intake of water but, it is at a slower pace.

If it is a very hot day and the ice has melted or I feel too much water is being consumed by Bugg I will dump out most of the water.  

The best thing to do is, keep a eye on his water bowl, if you see that the ice has melted a bit too much, then dump out the water and add more ice to their bowl.

Remember: Slow them down! 


                      Ice, Ice, Buggah

We had started Bugg on ice since he was a puppy.  We saw the movie 'Marley & Me' some months prior to getting Bugg and we knew then, we would also have to take some extra steps with Bugg, so he might not go the way Marley did.  His dad is a 'huge' Yellow Labrador and as you can see, He does take after his daddy.

Bugg loves his ice but your dog might not like the ice at first, add a little water to the bowl at first and then gradually put less water in their bowl, leaving only ice.

                          Feeding time Can be Difficult

Bugg is well over 100 pounds. It is recommended that Bugg gets 8 cups of food a day. According to the back of the dry dog food bag. 

Not only do you have to worry about the amount of food they consume and how fast they eat it. You must also make sure your dog does not play hard one hour before they eat and one hour after they eat. 

Balancing Bugg's play time, his eating time and sleeping time is not easy but, when I see that sweet face, I know it is well worth the extra effort I have to put into his daily upkeep.

                                       Our Routine

For starters, in the morning Bugg goes outside, does his business and then comes in. Bugg has barely exerted himself at this time. So Bugg can have some ice and his breakfast.  Bugg then lays down and sleeps by my side for an hour.

If Bugg had played hard when we went out than I would make him wait an hour before he eats and wait  one hour after before he could once again play hard as he usually does.

I am very strict on this one step we must take.

Once again:  Slow them down!

I am weening Bugg off of dry food. I have noticed that he can clean out a bowl of dry in about ten seconds. So he will now have dog slop (food I make myself) and a vitamin.

When Bugg eats his slop, he is slowed down by the small grains of brown rice. This way Bugg is not able to suck his food up in a few gulps.

Remember: Slow them down.

Bugg Loves Snacks

Bugg is growing up. I give Bugg small snacks throughout the day. This will help curve Bugg's appetite during the day. 

So when Bugg does eat his meal, he is not trying to swallow the whole bowl of food, all in one bite. 

Some times Bugg is like a human toddler and he will refuse to eat, because he so busy playing and he is afraid he will miss something.

If this happens to your dog...

Do not double up on their food during his/her next feeding, the dog will be just fine.

I never give Bugg more than 2 cups of food at a time.

                I know this is time Consuming

I feel it is my responsibility to do all I can to make sure Bugg enjoys his life as one of our family members.  Remember:  'We' picked Bugg, he didn't pick us.

Bugg will be 1 years old, the end of this month and I want too make sure... 

Bugg is with us for many, many more birthdays to come.

Bugg Wants:  Food!

All photographs are the property of Denise O.  Do not use unless you get 'my' written permission. All written material is owned by Denise O, it will not be 'used' (sharing my article is different, it is acceptable and appreciated) without 'my' written permission.  Just keeping it real folks.:)