Happy St. Patricks Day.

My Grandfather's name is John Henry O'Hair, so by gosh,
I better be posting a Feckin Irish Recipe, or else.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

1 Corned beef Brisket (or two, if you have a family as large as ours)
1 head green cabbage (sliced in quarters)
1 head red cabbage (sliced in quarters)
1 large yellow onion, slivered
Salt, pepper to taste (about a Tbs. of each)
4 Cups chicken stock (beef is too salty)
2 Cups Water

Toss everything you see in the crock pot, cover, and let cook on medium low heat all feckin day.  Serve with mashed or roasted red potatoes that have at least a pound of butter in them.

Crock Pot Recipes.

As most well, basically all of you know, I lead a very hectic but beautiful life.  I love busy, I love food, I love my family, and oh yes, I love food.   My favorite kitchen gadget happens to be my crock pot, well and my coffee pot, but that's a given.  Anyway, back to the subject. Crock pot.  I use it at least once a week, if not more. In the winter especially, one of my two crock pots is sitting on the counter, with some fabulous creation in it. I will post two of my latest favorites.

Beef Tip Stroganoff

2.5 lbs. cubed beef roast (I prefer a sirloin, very lean cut)
4 TB. Brown Gravy mix
6 TB. flour 
2 TB. butter or olive oil
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
4 Cups water
2 packets  Lipton Beefy Mushroom Dry soup mix
1 Can organic cream of mushroom soup
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
1  eight ounce package baby Bella mushrooms (either sliced or whole)
2 Cups sour cream
1 large bag of Wide Egg Noodles

In a crock pot place beef, gravy mix, flour, olive oil, seasonings, soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, and water. Gently stir until all ingredients are combined.  Throw mushrooms in, and season them with a bit more salt and pepper. Cover, and let cook at least 6 hours, up to 8 is great as well. Half an hour before you eat, add the sour cream, and stir in until well combined. Cover and let heat through. While you are waiting for the sour cream to heat through, boil your noodles. Serve the stroganoff over hot noodles. 

Chicken Enchilada Soup

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts (cubed)
1 can or 16 ounces fresh green enchilada sauce
1 can or 8 ounces fresh red chili enchilada sauce
2 cans corn
2 cans black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 yellow onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, diced small
Chili powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and smoked paprika (1Tb. each) or to taste
Diced tomato (to your liking) I usually use about a cup
4 Cups Chicken broth/stock
3 cups water
1/4 cup fresh made salsa for some spice if you like it hot

Toppers:
Avacado
Sour Cream
tortilla chips (crunched up)

Add all ingredients to a large crock pot. Stir, cover and let simmer all day. I like mine to cook at least 8 hours for the intensity of flavors.

Serve piping hot with fresh toppers.

Cheesy Potato and Bacon Soup

Okay, so I know you are all probably thinking, why soup, why right now?  Isn't it to hot out?  My husband thinks I'm nuts, because I LOVE soup, year round. When this time of year approaches, I get the itch to just cook soup, and stew, and all kinds of yummy food.  I chose this recipe, because one, it's SOUPER easy, and two, it sounded incredibly delicious.  I improvised, improved, added, and subtracted a few things to make it my own, as I normally do with most new recipes I try.
So, here it is, though it was 96 here today, we still ate it, and it was AMAZING!

Crock pot potato cheese soup

5-6 medium potatoes (peeled, and rough chopped to bit size chunks)
1/2 purple onion, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, mash, diced and minced
5 cups chicken stock
1 large (family size) can Cream of chicken soup ( if making this for vegetarians, use vegetable broth, or just water and extra seasonings)
1 can Recipe Starters by Progresso, Three Cheese
4 oz. Cream cheese, softened
1 TBS. Sea salt
1 TBS. black pepper
1 TBS. garlic powder
1 TBS. onion powder
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 lb. bacon, cooked to crispy goodness and crumbled
Chives (about one bushel) Chopped
2 Cups raw broccoli florets
Sour cream (optional)

In a large crock pot add, potatoes, onion, garlic, stock, soups, cream cheese, and seasonings. Cover to let cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 4-5 hours on high. An hour before serving this soup, add half of the cheese, and stir until melted. Add the raw broccoli, and chives. Continue to cook until hot and bubbly again.  Serve piping hot, in a bowl, and top with cheese, sour cream, & bacon. 

Panko Crusted Chicken

This chicken is a family favorite. It's super easy, and so delish.  We use it as a main dish, or you can slice the chicken up and use it to make chicken fingers, or cube it up for some Chinese chicken, or a crispy chicken salad. I LOVE this chicken in my chicken Parmesan dish.

What you will need:
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut in half horizontally)
2 cups plain Panko bread crumbs
2 Cups flour (unbleached)
1 T sea salt
1 T fine black pepper
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
Dried herbs (thyme, basil, oregano) optional
1 Cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
2 Cups milk or buttermilk
3 T Tabasco Sauce
Canola or peanut oil

Once you have cut your raw chicken breasts in half horizontally,  put then in a large pan or bowl and season with just a bit of salt. Then pour the 2 cups milk, and Tabasco sauce over the top and let rest, for up to 24 hours, or just while you make your breading.

Heat up your oil in a large skillet or fry pan to 350 degrees.
To make your breading, in a large pan or bowl, mix your seasonings, the bread crumbs, and flour, until well combined. I usually use my hands to mix it all up. If you are using this chicken in an Italian dish, add the dried herbs and the Parmesan cheese.

Once your chicken has soaked for the recommended time, lay the chicken in the breading/flour mixture and press down firmly, then flip and repeat. So the chicken becomes thoroughly covered. Gently lay the chicken in the hot oil, and fry until golden brown, about 8 or so minutes a side. Let rest on a rack placed on a cookie sheet in a 225 degree oven, while you cook the other chicken.

If you prefer to do these in strips, just cut them in 1 inch wide strips, and batter and cook the same way, just less time in the pan, as they are smaller pieces of meat.

Grilled Artichokes with lemon garlic Aioli

Grilled Artichokes

For 4 people, you would use 2 artichokes. Basically, plan half an artichoke per person at the very least.

First, cut off 2/3 of the stem, and then the top 1 inch of the choke.

Next, rinse in cold water to remove any excess dirt/bugs

Cut in half with a large very sharp knife.

Using a parring knife, clean out all of the little hairs near the heart of the artichoke.

Rinse again, in clean water.

In a large baking dish ( 9 by 13) or bigger, drizzle some olive oil, fresh lemon juice and sea salt.

Put the artichokes face(cut side) down, in the olive oil and seasoning mixture. Let sit for a while to absorb the flavors. 

On a VERY hot grill (we prefer charcoal, but gas works great too).

Cook the artichokes for 5 minutes on each side,

then turn the grill down to a medium low heat, and continue to cook until they are nice and tender.

About forty minutes. If you would like to speed up the grilling process,

you can parboil the artichokes, by steaming them in the microwave for about 5 or 6 minutes on high to soften them up.

While you are cooking them on the grill, continue to baste them with the oil and salt mixture.

Serve hot off the grill with butter or Aioli.

I made a wonderful Aioli to serve them with.

Lemon garlic Aioli

3/4 Mayonnaise

1 t. lemon rind

1 T. Lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced super fine

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Mix all together and let sit in the fridge while the chokes cook.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Celebrate the day of the Irish, with good food, family and dear friends!  I want to share a few of my favorite bread recipes today. We enjoy these year round, but especially on St. Patrick's Day!

MILK BREAD

Combine in a large mixing bowl or in a bowl of a stand mixier, until the yeast is disolved, about 5 minutes.
1 Package active dry yeast
3 Tablespoons warm water
ADD:
1 cup whole or low fat milk, warmed to 110 degrees
6 Tablespoons melted butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
Mix by hand or on low speed for 1 minutes. Gradually stir in:
2  Cups Bread flour
Gradually add until the dough is moist, but not sticky:
1 1/2 to 2 cups all purpose flour
Knead for about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, and turn it over once to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in volum, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch the dough down, knead briefly, and refrigerate covered for 30 minutes. At this point, the dough may be shaped into rolls. Or grease a loaf pan, form the dough into a loaf, and place saem side down in the pan. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the top of the loaf with Melted butter. Bake until the crust is deep golden brown, and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan to a rack and let cool completely.
King Sitric Brown Bread: 3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
2. Sift and mix the flours ( I just whisk them together) thoroughly with the soda, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the buttermilk, and mix again, until moistened.
3. Mix in the melted butter. Turn into a 2 warmed loaf pans, cover, and bak, 1 hour in preheated oven. Remove the cover for the last 10 minutes to allow the top of bread to brown. Aluminum foil can be used to cover, however, place parchment paper between the foil and dough.
4. When baked, remove from oven and turn the bread onto a cooling rack. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel and allow to cool before slicing.

Eggplant Parmesan. A Family Favorite!

Eggplant Parmesan

1 Large fresh Eggplant

2-3 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

1 Cup unbleached all natural flour

Sea Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, garlic and Herb salt free seasoning

1 Cup grated parmesan cheese (shaker kind, or fresh)

2-3 cups peanut, olive, or canola oil

Angel Hair Pasta

Good spaghetti or marinara sauce

2-4 cups parmesan/mozzarella cheese

2 Cups whole milk

In a large skillet, heat oil of choice to 375 degrees. While the oil heats, slice the eggplant in 1/8 inch thick slices. The thinner the better, as it cooks up much crispier. On 2 sheets of paper towel, lay the eggplant slices out to dry. Salt them a bit, and it will help to draw out the moisture. Top with another layer of paper towels and then more eggplant. Let rest for at least 10 minutes. In the mean time, mix bread crumbs, flour, cheese, and seasonings.

When the eggplant has rested, dip it in milk, then coat with breadcrumb mixture. Fry until golden brown in good hot oil Let drain on paper towels or a cooking sheet with a rack. I let mine rest in a 275 degree oven, while the rest cooks.  You can sprinkle the cooked eggplant with cheese while it rests if you choose.  Serve piping hot over a bed of pasta and sauce, and sprinkle with cheese!