Corn Beef and Cabbage

March 17, 2015

While shopping at the grocery store this week, I made an impulse buy. I bought a package of Corn Beef, some cabbage and carrots. Usually I try to stick religiously to my grocery list because it means that I won't have any real left overs. This is very important to me since I hate wasting food. But I couldn't resist. I have an aunt, my Aunt Norma, who loves to cook. She made a fantastic buffet for my wedding and is incredibly talented in the kitchen. She LOVES to cook for the holidays. She's a great inspiration.

With me, I barely even know the holidays outside of Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and Mother/Father days much less what the traditional meals are. I always knew that at Christmas times red chili tamales are in order... and then in summer, the Green Corn Tamales are required.  With GTLF I've become so inspired to widen my range of cooking that I think having an excuse to make something different is well called for. So, when I saw the corned beef, I couldn't resist. Here is what the dinner looked like. BTW: I ended up missing the day for lack of knowledge... I made it the day BEFORE St. Patrick's Day. OOPS! On Saint Patrick's, Brian and I ended up eating corn beef soup with the broth from making the beef the day before. It had all the same ingredients and confused Brian greatly. He couldn't tell the difference until I told him that in yesterday's meal we used forks, and in today's we ate with a spoon... which he giggled at... To him, it looked the same and what does a little broth have to do with it. Which makes sense I suppose.... Anyway, here is what came of our meal....

Corn Beef and Cabbage

Total Time: 2-3 hours... planning is required

1 package Corn Beef

Potatoes

Cabbage

White onion

Carrots

1. Boil the meat in water that covers the meat for 2-3 hours or until tender and easily separated.

2. Meanwhile, boil potatoes, carrots and onions... unseasoned. Check every 5 minutes or so until the vegetables are tender according to your preference. In my case, I like them Al Dente...

TIPS:

1.Prepare the beef according to package directions. On the pack I made, there are two ways written. One way includes boiling the meat, the other is roasting.

2. The potatoes and cabbage don't require much seasoning. Once boiled, they can be sprinkled with a little salt and topped with a little broth from cooking the beef.

3. Make a soup with the left overs. Save the broth and you'll have a perfect base for a soup the following day. I cut up the rest of the cabbage, smaller potatoes and smaller carrots and onions and boiled it all together. Enjoy!