St. Patrick's Day Feast

Well, for the St. Patrick's Day participants... here is meal that you can make tomorrow for little money and little time!  I made this meal for my husband on Saturday.  My intention was, as always, something that would say "I love you" to him after a long week at work.  So I started chopping cabbage, slicing and grating potatoes.  That's when I realized that this would make the perfect St. Patty's Day dinner.

Typically I do not participate in this holiday.  I have only ventured out once to celebrate the day with green beer and good friends.  So if you are anything like me and prefer to avoid the bar crowds... I hope this dinner will bring a little bit of Ireland to your kitchen.

I made 2 kinds of potatoes because I found a bag of gold potatoes for $2.99 a couple weeks ago.  I used one steak that came in a pack of 2 for $6.00 - so the steak was only $3.  The cabbage was 59 cents.  There are little ingredients, a few new techniques and whole lot of time saved!

Some of these recipes aren't really a big deal but, just something fun and different.  I found the potato pancake recipe in a magazine from Taste of Homes; of course I tweaked it to make it my own.

Irish Potato Chips
- 3 or 4 medium potatoes, sliced paper thin (you can do this with great knife cuts or with a mandolin)
- 1 TBSP of butter of olive oil
- 1 clove of grated or minced garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste

That's IT!!  In a medium skillet, add all the ingredients over a medium heat.  Fry in the pan until golden brown.  It really doesn't get any easier than that.

St. Patty Potato Pancakes
- 2 cups of grated and peeled potatoes
- 1 egg
- 2 TBSP of all-purpose flour
- 1 or 2 TBSP of milk
- Salt and pepper to taste

Yes, it really is that easy!  Grate the potatoes until you have about 2 cups.  When you are done grating, add the potatoes to a cold bowl of water (this will keep them from turning brown).  Use a towel to squeeze out the excess water. 

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and stir thoroughly until completely combined.  The consistency should be just a little thicker than regular pancakes.  If your pancakes are too dry, add a little more milk.  On a skillet or grill pan, add a spoonful of batter and spread out to make a flat pancaked.  Fry on both sides until golden brown.  Serve with butter or apple sauce over the top.  Yumm!!

Steak and Cabbage - Irish Style
- 1/2 a head of green cabbage (you want about 3 or 4 cups dry)
- 1 cloved of minced or grated garlic
- 1 steak; sliced into chunks
- 1/2 cup of diced sweet onion
- 1/2 TBSP of olive oil
- Salt and pepper

Put the steak on a grill pan or skillet.  Cook until your preference (mine is medium-well).  Sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper on both sides.  Let it set when done cooking.  Cut into thin strips or chunks.

In a large skillet, add the cabbage and season it.  Allow the cabbage to reduce a bit and then add the garlic and onions.  Continue to stir until the cabbage has become translucent.  Add the steak and heat through.  Serve!

If you are looking to kick up the steak and cabbage recipe, try this recent recipe post.  It is delicious!!

Dine in and enjoy!

Soup That Hugs The Soul

Is there anything more comforting than indulging in a warm bowl of your favorite soup in the cold winter months?  Homemade soup is like a hug in a bowl.  It warms you.. fills you.  If you are anything like me, cooking and preparing soup is a recipe in itself for melting your cares away.

I am not a culinary expert and have never attempted a potato soup before.  I knew of a few techniques that would get me through this new dish.  My biggest fear when making the soup was how to make it thick.  If you know of a better way to thicken soup.. I would certainly welcome those suggestions. 

This soup will consequently set you back a couple hours.  I'd recommend making this soup ahead of time or just on a chilly Saturday night at home.  One of the best things about soup is that it doesn't even have to be for you.  Homemade soup is a great way to say "I hope you feel better" to a sick relative or even "thank you" to a helpful neighbor. 

Prep time = 35 minutes
Cook time = 1 hour

Potato & Cabbage Soup
- 5 cups of beef or chicken stock (I used bouillon cubes of beef stock for a bolder flavor)
- 3 lbs of russet potatoes, peeled and halved
- 1 cup of ham, diced (I just used thick cut lunch meat ham and fried it but you can certainly use bacon too)
- 3 TBSP of sea salt
- Half of a medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 cup of green cabbage, diced
- 1 TBSP of red wine vinegar
- 4 cups of milk (For a thicker creamier flavor.. use whole milk or heavy cream. I wanted to keep it heart healthy and used what I had on hand.. 2% milk)
- 1 TBSP of dried parsley (fresh parsley is fine but hard to come by in the cold winters)
- 1 TBSP of dried tarragon
- 1 TBSP of Italian Seasoning or Mural of Flavor from Penzey's
- 3 to 4 TBSP of butter
- 3 to 4 heaping TBSP of All-Purpose Flour
- Salt and Pepper to taste

There are a lot of steps in the soup making process.  Stay with me on this one!

Step 1:
Start by peeling and slicing the potatoes into halves or quarters.  Place into a large pot or kettle of water, add a couple TBSPs of sea salt and boil.  Reduce heat to medium and continue to simmer until fork tender.  In the meantime.. dice the cabbage, ham and onion.  In a medium non-stick skillet.. add the onions and ham (add a little olive oil or butter to prevent burning).  When the onions become translucent then add the cabbage and let it reduce.  Sprinkle the mixture with about a TBSP of red wine vinegar.  Reduce and set aside. 

Step 2:
When the potatoes are fork tender, drain in a colander and slice.  Do NOT rinse with water.  (The potatoes should be fork tender but not breaking apart - since they will be simmering in the soup for an hour.)  I sliced the potatoes into small, rustic chunks right in the colander. 

Step 3:
In a medium skillet or sauce pan, mix together a combination of butter and flour.  This is what I used to thicken the soup.  Once it's completely combined, add 2 cups of beef stock and stir slowly until it is thick.  The mixture that I created was about the same consistency as a can "cream of chicken soup".  Of course you could always use Cream of Chicken or Potato soup as the thickner.

Step 4:
In a large kettle or pot, add 3 more cups of beef stock, the thickening mixture, and 4 cups of milk or cream.  Stir until it becomes thick.  Bring to a boil.  While waiting for it to boil.. add the spices - tarragon, parsley, mural of flavor and (of course) salt and pepper.  After bringing to a boil, reduce to a low heat.  Add the remaining ingredients - potatoes, cabbage, ham, and onions.  Stir occasionally.  Simmer for about 1 hour.

Step 5:
Serve with a roll, biscuit or bread of your choice.  And, of course... Enjoy!!