Some meals have "seasons" & I think beef briskett goes along with Passover like corned beef goes along with St. Patrick's Day. The supermarkets think so too since it these cuts of meet go on sale to coincide with the respective holiday. Place price aside, & brisket is the perfect cut to make in the slow-cooker. It's a tough meat that benefits from the long braising time.

This meal was oh so good.
This was break apart, delicious.
Don't wait for a holiday, make it for dinner soon.

<3 Lishie
 

Slow-Cooker Brisket & Onions 

slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 5 medium carrots, cleaned & peeled
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 first cut of beef brisket* (4 lbs.), trimmed of excess fat
• Coarse salt & ground pepper
• 2 c low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 TBSp chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, lay the carrots on the bottom. Season brisket with salt & pepper & place, fat side up, on top of the carrots in slow cooker. Place onion & garlic on top. Add broth. Cover & cook on high until brisket is fork-tender, about 6 hours. Remove brisket & thinly slice against the grain. Serve with onion & some cooking liquid; sprinkle with parsley.

I served with herb-buttered noodles, alongside.

*Lishie (& Martha) tip- For this recipe, look for the leaner first cut, or "flat cut."

Open Faced Sandwiches w/ Russian Dressing

Need something really simple to make, yet hearty? Well, this is ridiculously simple & very filling & tasty. All you need to do is either 1) get deli-sliced roast beef or 2) slice up leftover roast beef. That is all. If you want to go the extra mile, add the Russian dressing. Open Faced Sandwiches remind me of NYC deli. Have you ever gone into a NYC deli & ordered a sandwich? Usually they are heaping high with enough meat to make three regular-sized sandwiches! I can never finish one. If you make these at home, you can control the portion & still have the taste. YUM, just serve with a pickle. 

<3 Lishie

Open Faced Sandwiches
nice, crusty bread
deli-style sliced roast beef
sliced provolone
Fire up the broiler. On a broiler pan, place the sliced-open crusty bread. Optional- Spread some 
Russian Dressing on the slices. Pile as high with roast beef & provolone as you dare. Broil for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted to your liking.

Corned Beef Hash Omelette

Need more leftover inspiration?! I have it!!!

It is said, the most basic dish to cook is the omelette, to really know how to cook. But it is so easy, it only takes a tiny bit of patience & the basic omelette is so versatile! Add anything to it & you have a full meal!

I took leftover corned beef, potatoes & cabbage & put it to good use... breakfast!

<3 Lishie

Corned Beef Hash Omelette

• 1 pat of butter 
• 2 eggs per person (or egg white equivalent)
• 1 tsp of milk (per each 2 eggs)
• 1 c Corned Beef Hash

Whisk your eggs and milk. Season with salt. In a non-stick skillet, melt butter over low heat. Pour in egg mixture. As the omelet cooks, tilt the pan & gently "pull" in the edges in toward the center with a spatula. Shake pan gently to distribute the uncooked portion.


Once the omelette looks nearly cooked, add the corned beef hash into the center & fold the egg over the mixture to form a half moon. 
*Lishie tip~ I'm hesitant to add salt to the already salty corned beef... but do so if it is your taste! 

Corned Beef Hash

Ohhh all of that leftover corned beef, potatoes, cabbage... What to do?! Plenty!!! Fresh corned beef hash is delicious & versatile. Have it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. It's so good. 


Enjoy!
<3 Lishie

Corned Beef Hash

• 1-2 TbSp oil (I use canola)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 c finely chopped, cooked corned beef
• 2-3 c chopped cooked potatoes, preferably Yukon gold
• any leftover cabbage, chopped
• fresh parsley, chopped
• pepper, to taste

On medium, heat oil in a skillet . Add the onion & cook until translucent.
Mix in the chopped corned beef and potatoes. Spread out evenly over the pan. Increase the heat to high or medium high & using a spatula or back of a wooden spoon,  press down on the mixture. Do not stir! Allow the skillet to sizzle, "hash" to brown. Peak under- if browned, fold-flip over sections in the pan to brown the other side. Press down again. Continue to cook in this manner until the potatoes & corned beef are nicely browned.Remove from heat & sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Add pepper, to taste.



*Lishie tip~ I'm hesitant to add salt to the already salty corned beef... but do so if it is your taste! 

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Potatoes

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am Irish but we do not go all out for the holiday. We do however, celebrate with food, family & our town's parade. I love me some bag-pipes! My hubby is Italian so we have the best of both worlds. Funny though, corned beef is more of an American phenom adapted from the Jewish immigrants & that makes me happy too!


Whatever your background, corned beef is delish & easy! Give it a try with this no fail recipe. And watch out for the little leprachauns. More importantly, keep a lookout for their gold! And if you are like me, the rainbow IS the gold ;) 
Enjoy!
<3 Lishie

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Potatoes

• corned beef, in brine
• 4 quarts water for beef brisket 
• 2, 12-oz bottles Guinness beer
• 1 cabbage, cut into 6 wedges with root attached
• 9 medium potatoes, halved 
• 3 small onions

Remove beef from brine. Rinse under cold water to remove any spices that may have stuck to it. Place into a large pot & add enough fresh water to cover the beef. Add in the in the Stout (Guinness). Bring to a low boil & then place it on a gentle simmer, place the lid on it &  cook for 5 hours. The last hour of cooking, add the cabbage, potatoes, & onions. Re-lid it &  let simmer until the vegetables are tender.


Serve with rye bread & golden mustard. YUM!


*For the slowcooker, add the beef with the liquids & the lid (of course) on low for 5 hours. Add in the veg at the last hour as well. 

Recipe Swap: Crock-Pot Asian Beef & Noodles

I am absolutely loving this recipe swap! It's really exciting to see what recipe I'll get & from which friend! This week's theme was "Asian" & I got my friend Lauren's (over at Lauren's Kitchen) Crock-Pot Asian Beef & Noodles recipe! I made some changes in the recipe to better serve my family's needs as I've blogged below.  Lauren's recipe has a much easier & faster prep time than mine but both are tasty! I took her advice on the saltiness completely to heart & tweaked a lot of ingredients. I like to choose what vegetables go into my stir fries & we're not big fans of frozen veg, so I changed the frozen up for fresh. Another big difference is with the Ramen noodles. Delicious as they may be, they have way too much sodium for us so I substituted with fresh, Chinese noodles (found by the wonton wrappers in your grocery store).

Oh! & I only have a 6 Quart Crock-Pot:

My hubby thought the veg looked so "pretty" in there- he said to take a pic!
Fresh, goodness! The "before" shot ;)

Crock-Pot Asian Beef & Noodles (Adapted from Lauren's Kitchen)

• Cooking Spray
• 1/2 head of Broccoli
• 1 large Onion
• 2 red Peppers, chopped into large chunks
• 8 oz. package of snow peas
• 1/4 cup button Mushrooms, quartered
• 2 lbs. Stir fry Beef/Beef Round
• 1/2 cup reduced sodium Soy Sauce
• 1/4 cup Sesame Oil
• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon
• 12 oz. Water
• 2 TBSp. Corn Starch
• 9 oz. package Chinese Noodles
• 1/4 cup Scallions, chopped

Spray Your Crock-Pot with cooking spray. Place the first five ingredients (all Veg.) in the bottom of the cooker & lay the beef on top.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice & zest, & water. Dissolve the corn starch into the liquid. Pour the mixture over the beef & veg.


Cover & cook for 5 hours on high or 9 hours on low.


10-15 minutes before cooking time finishes, carefully incorporate the Chinese noodles & scallions into the crock-pot & cover again. Allow to finish cooking.

Not-so-pretty (it blinked!) but it was tasty

The beef was so tender & flavorful from the crock-pot cooking! But, I have to say, it's doubtful I'll make it again soon. The negatives for our family? The veg was too mushy & it's color was "stewed" out. Now this may be my fault for subbing fresh in for frozen! But we love fresh veg with "bite" to them. If I were to make it again, I'd tweak it so that I'd slow cook the beef in 3/4 of the sauce then add the different vegetables at varying times which, in effect, defeats the purpose of a crock-pot meal! LOL Also, I'd use the scallions as garnish instead of placing them in the pot. Still, the meat & the noodles were delicious with the sauce & I was happy to try something new- me, cooking/eating-wise & the family, taste-wise.

Thank you, Lauren!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Crock-Pot Brisket & Cabbage, Potatoes & Carrots

It's March 17th- St. Patrick's Day! Our town has it's parade on Sunday & we'll be eating corned beef with my mother-in-law. Tonight I made a brisket with the fixin's adding carrots for the little one. This is a very Irish-American meal but it is oh so yummy. 

Crock-Pot Brisket with Cabbage, Potatoes & Carrots

• 4 Carrots, Cleaned & cut in thirds
• 5 Potatoes, skinned & halved
• 1 large Onion, skinned & quartered
• 2 & 1/2-3 lb. Brisket 
• 3 TBSp Pickling Spices
• S & P
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock 
• 1/2 half Cabbage, cleaned & shredded

Line the bottom of the slow cooker with the carrots as if they were a roasting rack.  Place the potatoes & onion pieces around the carrots. Place the brisket on top of the carrots. Add in the pickling spices. Pour the chicken stock over the brisket. Add in enough water to cover the meat. Place the shredded cabbage over & around the brisket. Cook on Low 8 Hours. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

*Lishie tips- make a corned beef hash from the leftovers . Or  a cottage pie: Cut up the leftover brisket, cabbage &  carrots into little pieces & mix together. Add a little worcester sauce. Place this mixture into a small casserole dish. Take any extra potatoes & mash them & place them on top of the meat mix. Sprinkle with some shredded cheddar cheese. Place under the broiler till the cheese melts & it's golden brown on top. 

Stroganoff Sandwiches for Fat Tuesday!

Today is the day before Ash Wednesday, Fat Tuesday & while I can't throw all caution to the wind food-wise, I most certainly can make a tasty red-meat dinner! We tend to only eat it once a week anyway, so I planned wisely. I decided to make sandwiches because they make Stroganoff less stuffy & more fun & we can eat 'em watching tv if we like! But I smartened them up (or so I thought) by using sirloin. I served roasted cauliflower & broccoli on the side. Here's my variation:


Beef Stroganoff Sandwiches

• 2 TBSp olive oil
• 1 TBsp butter
• 1 lb. thin sirloin, sliced into thin strips
• S & P
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1 large shallot or 2 small shallots
• 1 cup chicken or beef stock
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• 1 TBSp lemon juice
• 2 TBSp freshly chopped dill

Heat the olive oil & butter in a large skillet on medium-high.

Sprinkle the sirloin strip w/ S & P then coat in flour, shaking off the excess flour. Add carefully to the hot oil/pan. Mince the shallot over the meat.  Cook meat 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally. Add the stock & cook until it thickens, about a minute. Then stir in the sour cream, lemon zest plus juice & the dill.

Serve in crusty, yummy French rolls with your preferred topping. Some suggestions: arugula or watercress. Or you can eat the sirloin over egg noodles.


Hubby & I were just "eh" on this one. Next time, I'll use angus ground beef over noodles. Or, serve it on smaller, less "bread-y" rolls. And, as you'll see directly below, it is NOT pretty looking! HA!

Not photogenic at all!
So Dreadful looking in pictures.

*Lishie tips- You can cut the sirloin into strips before or after cooking it. But, like I said, if you are going to make sandwiches, perhaps you should try 1 lb. of ground beef instead.

*Lishie facts- Fat Tuesday, or mardi gras, is a legal holiday in New Orleans, LA. It occurs 46 days before Easter, the day before Ash Wednesday.