Horseradish Mustard Sauce

I haven't ever served this before with my Corned beef, but I'm gonna this year! I added some brown sugar and horseradish mustard to it, 'cause it seemed a little bland or something.

I added the sugar and horseradish mustard after I had it all mixed up, so there ain't picture of that for you. Sorry.

Here it is all mixed up and ready to go sit in the fridge.

1/2 C. sour cream
1 T. prepared horseradish
1 T. prepared regular mustard
2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. horseradish mustard

Combine everything in a small bowl and refrigerate. Serve with corned beef.

Spicy Corned Beef

I have made this for St. Patrick's Day every year that I have had access to my cookbook sine I got it in 2003. It's an awesome cookbook, bought back when I had extra money laying around to buy frivolous things like cookbooks. Ha. I bought the 2003 Holiday & Celebrations cookbook AND the 2004 but then in 2005 I met Reece and started spending money on a wedding instead. Pretty good trade don'tcha think? Now I don't really care. I'm more into family or church cookbooks. Or ones that Reece gets from truckstops 'cause he's bored. :D I wanted to get these recipes up soon enough so you could make them for supper tonight if you wanted... but life happened. And I have a phone that rings.

I rinsed off my corned beef. Just 'cause. I really didn't like the looks of the slimy stuff that the meat was packed in. Yeah it says you're supposed to cook in in that... but I'm adding my own good flavors to the stuff so I don't need all their weirdness, thanks.

You need 3 lbs. of corned beef, onion, carrot - if you can eat it-, celery -or celery seed if you're like me and you're out of the real stuff. *sigh*- and pickling spice. Stick all that stuff in your dutch oven and start boilin' it!

I only make half a recipe 'cause we don't need 6 lbs. of meat to feed the carnivores at my house. So if you need to feed lotsa people double it back up again. :D I'm just talking here to use up some time while my pot comes to a boil ya know...

There. It's boiling. Now cover it and don't let it boil over on your stove. Dutch ovens get really mad when they start boiling over. Mine had a hissy fit and threw water all over the world yesterday just before I took this picture. Scared my eldest daughter. Let it boil for several hours, until the meat feels tender when you stick it with a fork. While you wait, mix together the brown sugar and mustard.

When the meat is tender, place it in a baking pan and spread the brown sugar mustard over it. Pardon me... I read the directions wrong and started scoring the wrong way and then started doing it the right way so I ended up with weird chunks of meat falling around. Then dump on some sweet pickle juice and stick it in the oven.

Bake it at 325 degrees for an hour. And don't be dumb like me and start reading things online and talking on the phone to a bunch of people and forget to baste it once in a while. Oh yeah. You should also take it out of the oven WHEN THE TIMER GOES OFF not a half hour later.

Here's the recipe:

1 (3 lb.) corned beef brisket
1 small onion, quartered
1 small carrot, cut into chunks
1 celery rib with leaves
1 T. pickling spice
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1 T. prepared mustard
1/4 C. pickle juice

Place corned beef in a dutch oven and cover with water. Add the onion, carrot, celery & pickling spice. I actually didn't HAVE any pickling spice so I just used the packet that comes with the brisket. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2  1/2 - 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Transfer to an 8X8 pan. Score the meat with shallow diagonal cuts. Combine the brown sugar & mustard and spread over the meat. Pour the pickle juice over it and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, basting occasionally. YUM-E.

Irish Soda Bread

This bread is actually really easy!  No waiting for 30 days and 30 nights for it to raise. No kneading for 30 days and 30 nights. You just gotta wait 30 days and 30 nights for it to BAKE. Oh well... it tastes good!!

First you put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & soda in a bowl. Mix it all together, then cut in the butter.

When the butter is all cut in, add the raisins and caraway seeds.

Beat an egg in a smallish bowl... and mix together with buttermilk.

Pour the egg & buttermilk into the flour stuff.

Mix together to make a sticky dough, dump onto a well floured flat spot and knead 10 or 12 times.

Shape into a ball and brush with beaten egg. Cut a X in the top of the ball to ward off evil spirits. HEY! Don't yell at me! That's what the legend of Irish Soda Bread says!

Bake it and then let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes before you take it out and stick it on your wire rack. While you're waiting, take pictures of something else you're cooking and kill the battery on your camera so you have to wait for 30 days and 30 nights to take the final picture.

Here's the recipe while my battery charges:

4 C. flour

3 T. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. soda

6 T. cold butter

1  1/2 C. raisins

1 T. caraway seeds

2 eggs, beaten

1  1/2 C. buttermilk

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & soda in a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Add the raisins and caraway seeds. Stir until combined. In a small bowl beat the eggs. Take out 1 T. of beaten egg and set aside. Add the milk to the bowl of eggs; stir into the flour mixture. I use my hands to get everything all mixed up well, but you don't have to if you're scared of dirty hands. ;D Turn onto a well floured surface and knead about 10 times. Shape into a ball, place in a well greased 9" round pan. Cut a 4 inch X, 1/4 inch deep, in the center of the ball. Brush the top with the reserved egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes. If the top starts browning too fast, stick some alunimum foil over the top for the last half hour or so. Remove from oven and let sit in the pan for 10 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

                                                                                                                                                      

And now I want you to tell me which word I misspelled in the directions.

Black Forest Torte

I found this recipe around Christmas time and I was gonna make it and then I forgot about it and couldn't make a good enough excuse to make it for just us to eat. Reece's group served last night so I decided to try it out. Oh yum! It was still good even tho' I had a short circuit in my brain and destroyed one of the layers by holding it on my oven mitt for too long wondering where I should put it. *Note: Do not hold cakes hot out of the oven on just one hand while you change your mind about where to set said cake to cool. It kinda destroys half the layer. And I didn't decide to post the recipe on here until it was already mixed up. Please forgive me if you like seeing raw eggs in a Bosch or something.

Here the batter is all mixed up, ready to be divided in the pans. The recipe says to use 4, 9" cake pans but due to the fact I only have 2, I just baked the layers in 2 batches. :D

First two greased, floured pans ready to go in the oven.

I was in a big huge flaming hurry to get this done so we wouldn't be late for church and trying to help mom make supper at the same time so I forgot to take pictures of the fillings before I stuck them on the cakes. And trust me. You wouldn't have WANTED to see what that one poor layer looked like after it was baked! But, I hid it on the bottom and filled in it's gaps with filling and nobody knew the difference! LOL! Here's with the first chocolate layer, whipped topping layer, and the top layer of chocolate.

You drooling yet?

And lastly on top of this wonderful thing, you're supposed to put chocolate curls. Ha. I don't know HOW to make chocolate CURLS. And I didn't have time to worry about it last night either. So my Torte got chocolate shavings/microscopic slivers. I shall learn the proper way before I make it again. sigh... Here's the recipe. As usual I changed some things. LOL!

1  3/4 C. flour

1  3/4 C. sugar

1  1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

2/3 C. softened butter

4 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

1  1/4 C. water

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

CHOCOLATE FILLING:

*5 oz. of your favorite baking chocolate*

3/4 C. butter, softened

CREAM FILLING:

2 C. whipping cream

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

*I think I used Hershey's baking chocolate, but I can't remember, because that was one of the chocolate bars that I rescued form Rosie's bed that she had stolen from my grocery bag before I could get all the groceries put away, and I stuck it in a Ziploc bag so it wouldn't die on me before I needed it. Therefore I can't remember the brand.*

Beat all cake ingredients except eggs at low speed to blend, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping the bowl often. Add the eggs and beat for 2 more minutes on medium speed. Pour 1/4 of the batter (about 1  1/2 cups) into each of 4 greased and floured 9" cake pans, or bake it in 2 batches like I had to do, using only 2 pans. Smooth it all around all nice and purty. Layers will be thin! Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.Cool slightly and remove from pans.

For the chocolate filling, melt the chocolate, cool slightly and beat together with the softened butter. If it's a little too runny stick it in the fridge for a few minutes.

For the cream filling, put the whipping cream, vanilla and sugar in a large bowl and whip until stiff peaks form.

To assemble, place one cake layer on your serving pan. (Preferably the one you destroyed the most.) Spread with half of the chocolate filling. Top with second layer of cake and spread that with half of the cream filling. Repeat layers. Do not frost sides. Make chocolate curls unless you're like me and then use microscopic chocolate shaving thingies that look like dust. Garnish with whole raw almonds. Refrigerate until serving. Or if you live in MN in the wintertime you can put it in your cake carrier thing from Tupperware and set it out on the porch until you leave for church. :D

 

Oh! I just remembered an idea I had! What do you think this stuff would be like if you substituted MINT instead of the vanilla in the whipped topping! OH YUM!!!!!! !!!   !!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!

Pizza Dip

I got this recipe from Rebecca one day when I thought all hope was gone from this earth and there was never another recipe to be found that I didn't already have. Well, not really 'cause I wouldn't still be buying cookbooks if that was the case, but you get the point. Anyway, I made this stuff and died. Then I ate some more and Reece got a hold of it and there were no more leftovers so I cried buckets until I made it again. And again. So I decided that you need to taste the wonderfulness for yourself, if you're one of the depraved individuals that has never cast your lip over this dip. Hey that rhymed! I should go into poetry! Whatever the case may be, if you're crying when you start eating this it'll make you stop and if you're not crying, it'll make you start. I love it! I personally think it's best when you dip pita bread in it and Reece likes it best with chips. But I have also been known to eat it on flat bread. Or just keep cleaning off a spoon when said spoon keeps falling into the dip for some reason.

It's really ridiculously easy and that's another thing that makes it so good. Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Parmesan Cheese, Garlic Salt, Pizza Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese and Pepperoni.



Put 2 packages of cream cheese, half of a 16 oz. tub of sour cream, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt in a bowl and mix it all up. The original recipe says 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese but I usually dump in a bit extra. And it said 1/2 to 1 tsp. garlic salt so I always use 1 full teaspoon. Beat it all up and forget that my picture of it spread in the pan didn't happen.

Spread the cream cheese mixture into a 9X13 pan and top with the pizza sauce. I have the misfortune of having the best Pizza seasoning on this planet. The reason it's unfortunate is that they don't make it any longer that I'm aware of. It's SOO easy! You take 1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce and ad 1 tsp. of the seasoning, stir it up and it's perfect. But I suppose you could use the canned stuff or whatever recipe you usually use.

See that? It's well on it's way to being perfect right there before your eyes!

Top with a package of shredded Mozzarella cheese. The recipe I got said only 1 C. but I do not have a fear of cheese so I use the whole bag. And look! It's even Bongards'!! Made in Perham!

Cut the Pepperoni in quarters. The recipe I got said 1 C. of cut up Pepperoni but I just start quartering and usually end up using half a bag. Who wants gaps on Pizza Dip?? That's just WRONG!

Pretend like you're doing a puzzle and carefully place the Pepperoni all over the cheese. I like Pepperoni! If you have any quarters left when you get done carefully placing go back over and find all the tiny little gaps you left.

Then disregard the fact that I haven't baked my dip yet, because I'm making it for Bible Study tonight and make this recipe quick so you can see the end result for yourself!

Here's my version:
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese

2/3 C. Parmesan cheese 

1 C. sour cream 

1 tsp. garlic salt

8 oz. pizza sauce

2 C. shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 1/4 C. (or so) quartered Pepperoni

Beat the cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese & garlic salt. Spread into a 9X13 pan. Pour on the pizza sauce and sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese. Top with Pepperoni. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until it's all bubbly and you can't stand waiting any more.

Chili Screw Up With No Pictures

What do you know? As soon as I posted that Chili recipe, I screwed it up and Reece liked it even better than before! I accidentally used a jar of my Marinara Sauce that we canned last year and got a recipe from Nina for chili powder, 'cause I only had one packet of Chili Seasoning. It's was hilarious! Kinda went like this:

1 1/2 lb. hamburger
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 large onion
1 qt. marinara sauce
1 can black beans
2 cans black eye peas
1 can navy beans
1/2 bottle Chili Sauce
1 pkg. Chili Seasoning
2 T. cumin
1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper, depending on how burnt to death your taste buds are
2 t. oregano
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. onion powder
1 t. chili powder
1 t. allspice
1/8 t. cloves
Salt

Brown the hamburger with the onion and 1 1/2 t. salt, drain the fat if there is any. Stick it all in the crockpot and cook until it starts bubbling. Then add your salt to taste. Cook for 2-3 hours on low.

My Version of Reece's Chili

I haven't posted any recipes for a few days because we were busy eating leftovers. LOL! Anyway, I was gonna make these chicken strips  for supper tonight, but then I saw that it should be soaked forever so I decided to make chili. So here ya go...


Brown the hamburger and onions with some salt. Why do high faluty people insist on calling it 'ground beef'? Does that make it taste better to them or something?

Dump 4 cans of beans into your crockpot. I used Blackeye Peas, Black Beans and Navy Beans. Or you can mix and match whatever kind you want. I just like the look it gives with all the different kinds together.

Add a quart of tomatoes. These ones were actually diced, but I also use the ones I chopped in the food processor so Reece can't complain about huge chunks of tomato scaring him.

Add 2 packets of chili seasoning. No that's not too many. There isn't any seasoning in the beans so you need two or it'll taste like some truck stops out in Washington who's names we won't mention...

Add the hamburger and stir it all up. Turn the crockpot on high until it starts cooking ferociously then add salt and onion powder to taste. Leave it on low until you eat. Reece loves it with the corn we froze last summer. Someone remind me to post that recipe when we're doing corn this summer! ;)

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 medium onion, minced

2 (15.8 oz.) cans Blackeye Peas

1 (16 oz.) can Navy Beans

1 (15 oz.) can Black Beans

1 qt. diced or half-pureed tomatoes

2 pkgs. McCormick Original Chili seasoning

Salt, 1-2 tsp.

Onion powder, 1/2-1 tsp. depending on what your taste buds say

Brown the hamburger, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and the onion. Stick everything in the crockpot and turn on high until it's heated through and starts boiling. Taste it and add more salt or onion powder or both to taste. Turn to low and cook until you're ready to eat. I usually start it about noon and we eat at like 5 or 6... or 7 or 8. Sometimes ever 9 for some stupid reason. Actually, I'm kidding about the 9 o'clock part. :D