St. Patrick’s Day Recipes for Your Family

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day so we had to share some yummy, easy-to-make recipes for your family’s St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

Growing up on the Southside of Chicago where there is a large Irish population, Irish Soda Bread was always a hit and of course a competition of who could make the best Irish Soda Bread!

Irish Soda Bread

What You Need:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 2 cups whole wheat flour
3. 2 tsp. baking soda
4. 1 tsp. salt
5. 4 tbsp. butter or margarine
6. 1-2/3 cups buttermilk

What To Do:

1. In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub in the cold butter or margarine until the mixture resembles a coarse mixture. Pour in most of the buttermilk; you may need slightly less, depending on the balance of white and whole wheat flour. Mix well, turn out onto a floured cutting board and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

2. Shape dough into a round loaf. Cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife and put the loaf in a greased round pan, such as a cake pan or pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Let cool before cutting. Makes one 6 inch loaf.

3. Enjoy!

Interesting Fact:

Using baking soda in bread started out of necessity. Yeast won’t make dough rise unless the baker uses “strong” flour, which was scarce in parts of Ireland. Baking soda, however, did leaven bread made of different flours. The baking soda has to be combined with something acidic in order to do its magic so buttermilk is used. Irish Soda Bread is a heartier bread and pairs well with soup and stews which are ample in Ireland.

Easy Corned Beef & Cabbage

What You Need:

1. 4 cups hot water
2. 2 tbsp. cider vinegar
3. 2 tbsp. sugar
4. 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
5. 1 large or 2 medium onions, cut into wedges
6. 1 3-lb. corned beef round or brisket, packaged with spices
7. 8 small white or yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters
8. 1 head of green cabbage (about 1 1/2 lbs.), cored and cut into 10 wedges

What To Do:

1. In a 6-quart electric slow cooker, combine water, vinegar, sugar, pepper and onions. Be sure to mix them well. Put corned beef in the mixture and scatter the potatoes over the top and along the sides.
2. Cover and cook on the high heat setting for 4 hours. Remove the lid and place the cabbage wedges over the top. Cover and continue cooking on high 3 to 4 hours longer, or until the beef is tender. Serve by carving the corned beef into slices and serve with the cabbage and potatoes, with some of the broth.
3. Enjoy!

Interesting Fact:

The Irish were the first exporters of Corned Beef. Today corned beef and cabbage is not very Irish, but corned beef is. The area of Cork, Ireland was a great producer of Corned Beef in the 1600’s until 1825. It was their chief export and sent all over the world, mostly in cans.

What yummy St. Patrick Day recipes do you have to share?