Good Morning and Happy Monday, everyone!
I didn’t forget that yesterday was Saint Patrick’s Day when I posted my “Spring Cleaning” update last Friday- but when you live in Massachusetts and St. Paddy’s falls on a weekend- the party sort of extends into the days leading up to and following the actual holiday until everyone eventually gets tired/hungover and collectively decide it’s time to pack it up until next year.
Such was the case this past weekend, which consisted of plenty of Irish breakfasts, brunches, celebratory parades and green-tinted everything. While I managed to avoid overzealous college students chugging green beer and people dressed like leprechauns loudly trying to trace back their family’s lineage to Ireland (as is tradition!)– there was one thing I made it a point not to skip- and that was my mom’s annual corned beef dinner.
My family isn’t Irish enough for it to actually count- but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate our Irish friends with a traditional meal of meat and vegetables. I asked my mom for her recipe to share here this week- and although she doesn’t actually measure out anything (it’s all from memory!)– she was kind enough to oblige and give her best “guest-imates” on how much of everything to use.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- 1 corned beef brisket (point cut or flat cut)
- 1 bag of red or yellow potatoes
- 1 bag of carrots (whole or cut)
- 1 head of green cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup brown sugar
READY? HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:
- Put corned beef in a pot, and cover with water and seasoning (optional.) Boil the corned beef until fork tender.
- Add potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Finish boiling under vegetables are tender.
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- Take the cooked corned beef and place it in a baking pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top and bake until the sugar is melted and a little crispy- about 20-25 minutes.
- Plate the corned beef with the vegetables and serve.
Now, admittedly the cabbage went right into the garbage because, you know- cabbage is gross– but everything else was delicious! I love tender carrots and potatoes- and the brown sugar that was added to the corned beef gave it a pleasantly surprising sweetness I hadn’t expected.
I hope that all of you who celebrated yesterday are recovering smoothly and that today is as easygoing as possible for you. Naturally, I’m back at work and keeping two steps ahead of everything (or trying to, anyway!) so this morning is all about answering e-mails, voicemails, and prioritizing tasks. Living the dream as always!
Here’s wishing us all a good week ahead. I’ll be back on Wednesday with my weekend recap!
xx
– Ashley –
Blondie Birdie 