Chicken with Rice Pilaf, Baby Bella Mushrooms and Asparagus

Veggie Soup!

Navy Bean Soup with Ham!

Corned Beef Stock; Turned Soup!

While there wasn't a lot of corned beef left, there was still drippings that contained potatoes, carrots and cabbage!

So after looking at a few recipes and reading up about how to use corned beef stock, I decided to go with a navy bean and northern bean soup to test out!

This is my first time cooking with dry beans! I am still learning along the way and reading up!

Using plenty of water to cover, I soaked both packages of beans together in a huge bowl overnight, and through part of the next day. 

1 lb. dry navy beans. soak, drain, rinse, cook.

1 lb. dry northern beans. soak, drain, rinse, cook.

After soaking beans overnight; to cook beans, use 6 cups water to 2 cups beans. Plus 2 tablespoons olive oil. Lightly boil for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours until texture is as desired. 

Corned beef stock containing:

carrots

cabbage

red skin potatoes

about 4-5 cups water added to the original stock.

Basically what I did was...

In a dutch oven, or large cooking pot, bring remaining stock to a boil, add in water. Boil on medium high heat, stir occationally. 

In a large separate stove top pot, boil beans until almost tender, but still slightly under cooked. Drain, then add to stock. Stir well. Reduce heat to a light simmer. 

Cook until all the flavors mix together well. About 5 hours.  

Beans will soak in the flavors overnight, and will taste better the day after, and the next three days. The soup should stay good for at least 4 days with the beans in it, or it might get mushy.

My cabbage basically became part of the stock liquid, I have not seen anymore cabbage pieces since it was cooked for so long! My carrots also became very very soft. 

St. Patrick's Day, Corned Beef and Cabbage!

Ingredients

One 3-pound corned beef brisket (uncooked), in brine
16 cups cold water
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
4 whole allspice berries
2 whole cloves
1/2 large head green cabbage (about 2 pounds), cut into 8 thick wedges
8 small new potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), halved
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Serving suggestion: Whole-grain mustard or horseradish sauce (recipe follows)
Horseradish Sauce:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons jarred grated horseradish (with liquid)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper



Horseraddish Sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons jarred grated horseradish (with liquid)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.



Place the corned beef in a colander in the sink and rinse well under cold running water.



Place the corned beef in a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, add the water, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice and cloves. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Cover and transfer pan to the oven, and braise until very tender, about 3 hours and 45 minutes.



Transfer the corned beef to a cutting board and cover tightly with foil to keep warm. Add the cabbage and potatoes to the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.



Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cabbage to a large platter. Slice the corned beef across the grain of the meat into thin slices. Lay the slices over the cabbage and surround it with the potatoes. Ladle some of the hot cooking liquid over the corned beef and season with pepper. Serve immediately with the mustard or horseradish sauce.

Horseradish Sauce:

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, zest, and 2 teaspoons salt. Season generously with pepper to taste. Refrigerate the horseradish sauce for at least 30 minutes before serving.

My recipe changes a bit, I am not a huge fan of the cloves or all spice myself so I use a lot less than the recipe calls for. 

Recipe Retrieved From: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/corned-beef-and-cabbage-recipe.html (2014)

Sweet Chili Baked Chicken Kabobs

Prep time: around 15-30 minutes.

Cooking time: 30 minutes.

1 package grape tomatoes- whole

1 package baby bella mushrooms- whole

1 softball size sweet onion- cut into small wedges

1 medium green bell pepper- cut into small, thicker slices

1 medium red pepper-cut into small, thicker slices

2 chicken breasts-cut into small chunks

1/2 jar of Franks Red Hot - Sweet Chili Sauce- as marinate, dressing, flavor.

Venison Bourgogne

Meatballs

Easy meatballs for a tomato sauce! This is a simple recipe for some really good tasting meatballs, mix it all up and fry in some canola oil until browned and add into your sauce!

For the Meatballs:

1 teaspoon flour

1 egg

1 baseball sized sweet onion

1-2 lb ground beef

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon orageno-to taste

1/2 teaspoon basil-to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon Thyme

To Fry:

about 4 tablespoons canola oil.

1 large skillet.

Slice onion thin, and then dice them small. 

In a large bowl combine egg, flour, spices, onion and beef, using your hands, mix well. 

Warm up skillet. Add in canola oil, keep stove top at about a 4 or 5 for a good hot for a good fry.

Roll meatballs into whatever size you like, I usually go with about half my palm size. Place in warmed pan, about 6 at a time for even heating. (This took me two batches.)

Fry meatballs in canola oil.  About 4-7 minutes per side. Once the meatballs are browned, you can place them in the sauce and cook them longer for tender goodness!

That is all! 

Also, you could add in fresh garlic to the meatballs or some cheese.

Since I had my sauce simmering next to the meatballs, I added a few cloves of finely chopped garlic into the empty pan when I was done frying. (Drain and wipe the pan out so there is only a tiny bit of grease left.)  I just stirred and cooked the garlic until it was fragrant. About 1 minute or so.