“Don’t pinch me…. Don’t pinch me!” On March 16th I go to bed wearing something green so I am never left to circumstance without a glimpse of green on my body once St. Patrick’s  Day is alive and well on the 17th. When I was a kid it was my biggest fear to be without a green article of clothing for the fear of being pinched (more…)

Oh yeah,  It’s time for corned beef and cabbage.  Let me just set the record straight.  When I was a little girl the only way I had ever eaten corned beef was in a hash out of a can and in a hard taco because that was the way my grandfather prepared it.  It wasn’t till I was a teenager that I ate a proper corned beef  and cabbage that my Auntie Rosie had made for St. Patrick’s Day and I was so excited, I didn’t bother to ask her how she made it.  Over the years I have had many corned beef variations, everything from sandwiches to taquitos to hash with a poached egg on top and every once in a while I’m reminded of that first time I had the real thing with cabbage.

This year I decided to not let another St. Patrick’s Day go by without making my own corned beef and cabbage.  I looked up a few recipes on the internet and didn’t really like what I saw.  Then I thought, why not call my most reliable source in the world, my awesome Auntie Rosie!  She gets on the phone and I run a few ideas by her on how I want to prepare mine and she tells me all the methods I have suggested will work fine.  She’s a little “iffy” about my ground mustard rub idea but in the end tells me to go for it. Before we hang up, I ask her “Auntie Rosie, where can I buy corned beef?”  She said, “I buy mine at Walmart.”  That’s all I needed to hear.

Ingredients needed for corned beef and cabbage:

• 1 1/2 – cups water
• 4 – lbs corned beef
• 1 – onion
• spice packet: come included with the corned beef ( mustard seeds, coriander, black peppercorns, and bay leaf)
• 2 – sprigs of thyme
• 1 – teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 – head of cabbage
• 10 – baby carrots (optional)
• 1 – teaspoon olive oil
• 10 – yellow potatoes
• 1 – teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Pour water into a slow cooker, then place corned beef, and onion inside slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle the spice packet over the corned beef. Then sprinkle the ground mustard over the top, and add the thyme to the top. 
3. Cover and cook for about 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
4. While the corned beef is cooking steam the cabbage and roast the potatoes an hour before dinner time.
5. Cut the cabbage in 4 equal pieces, then place them in a steamer basket inside a dutch oven with about an inch of water at the bottom of the pot. Place a lid over the dutch oven and place over a medium high flame and steam for 40 minutes. You can add carrots to the cabbage if you would like. 
6. To cook the potatoes: place them on a baking tray and drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 45 minutes. 
7. When corned beef is ready. Remove from the slower cooker and place under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly browned on top.
8. Let the corned beef rest for 15 minutes before slicing it. 
9. Serve with cabbage, and potatoes.
10. Enjoy!