Honey Dijon Crock Pot Corned Beef

I have now made this  Corned Beef twice… that says a lot since I usually like to experiment and see what other exciting things I can come up with. But after making it around St. Patrick’s Day I ran out and got more Corned Beef on sale so that I could cook it again when we were craving it after the March 17 Holiday. Luckily then when we had that craving recently – I was able to pull out this recipe and whip it up again (and finally take the photos to share with you!

Irish Potatoes

I had never heard of Irish Potatoes until I was a freshman in college. My good friends Bridget (yes, she is Irish) and Chelsea grew up near Philly and thought it was crazy that I had never heard of these things. They said “Irish Potatoes” I thought “the Potatoes my mom boils in with her Corned Beef for St. Patrick’s Day”. They kindly shook their heads and made sure we somehow got some of these delicious dessert. They are called Irish Potatoes because they look like potatoes – but they are really not Irish at all and a really more of a “Philly Thing” and have been a Philly tradition for more than 100 years. Not really sure where they got their start, but there is a little bit of information over at Wikipedia. One of the most popular places to purchase your Irish Potatoes (if you prefer that to making them) is from Philadelphia based Oh Ryans.

Homemade Baileys

* only read on if over the age of 21 *

One of the greatest joys in my life is making things that others enjoy eating. I think it is especially fun to make my own foods that others would normally just buy (like ranch or hummus or iced coffee). Over the past few months, I have seen more and more buzz about DIY Baileys. I first tried to make this around the holidays but the flavor just wasn’t right so I figured St. Patrick’s Day would be the perfect time to make this for you all.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner so I have a delicious green soup for you today!

This is a nice basic Cream of Broccoli Soup – it has all the flavors you would want and gets its thickness from potatoes that are cooked in the soup and then blended right in. If you are really watching your calories feel free to reduce the cheese or use reduced fat cheese.

Reuben Soup

This soup popped up on FoodGawker just after St. Patrick’s Day as a perfect way to use those Corned Beef leftovers (I think you should cook more than 1 corned beef so that you can eat the corned beef on its on and make this soup without feeling like you have to skimp on either method of leftovers). This soup needs to be made a lot more often than just using leftovers from one specific holiday though.

I LOVE reubens as a sandwich (some of the best one I have ever had comes from Harold’s in New Jersey – that place is amazing and can serve a small villiage). As a soup, this thing holds it own as well & fills that reuben craving at the same time that it conquers your comfort soup craving!

Serve this soup with some swiss cheese melted over some rye bread and you have taken care of all required reuben elements. YUM

RECIPE (from Heat oven to 350)

• 3 medium yukon gold potatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium yellow sweet onion, chopped small
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• about 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup half-and-half [MILK]
• [1 tsp pickling spices]
• 1 cup cooked corned beef, chopped medium
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon caraway seed
• 2T Worcestershire sauce
• [2 bay leaves]
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (about 1/4 t, can add more)
• Salt, & black pepper to taste
• [Chopped parsley and croutons for garnish]

In a large soup pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Increase heat to medium, sprinkle in flour and cook one minute. Slowly pour in water, whisking after each addition, until all liquid has been incorporated. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock, half and half, pickling spices, corned beef, sauerkraut, potatoes, caraway seeds, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are cooked, about 15-20 minutes. If you add the full amount of broth you may want to boil this down a little more for a thicker soup – you are going to need to play around with this and make it multiple times in order to have it exactly how you want it, trust me… you won’t mind experimenting though! Taste and add red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Remove bay leaves & enjoy!