Corned Beef and Cabbage

I've cooked corned beef just about every way you can cook it.  I’ve baked it, roasted it, braised it, slow cooked it.  But my favorite way is the way my Mom used to make it....using an oven bag.  The flavors are more intense, the meat is more tender and far more juicy and it has the texture of a prime rib roast.  The oven bag is the way to go and the way I made my corned beef this year.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

1 Reynolds Oven Bag, Large

1 tablespoon flour

1 (3 lb.) corned beef brisket

1 medium orange, sliced into thin rounds

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 large head green cabbage, cut in large wedges

1 bag baby carrots

10 red new potatoes, skins on

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Shake flour in Reynolds Oven Bag and place in a 9x13-inch baking pan.  Add corned beef to bag, fat side up. Sprinkle fat side of beef with pepper and seasoning packet.

Layer orange slices and vegetables around meat and pour water over everything. Close bag with nylon tie and cut six 1/2-inch slits in top of bag.

Tuck any loose edges of bag into pan and bake for 3 hours, or until fork-tender. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Crispy Hash & Eggs Breakfast Skillet

While I categorize this recipe under Breakfast, I could eat it any time of day.  I just love it!  That crispy corn beef hash topped with perfectly sunny side up eggs and a side of toast for dipping that rich glorious yolk.  WOW! I get hungry thinking about it.  I make it from whatever ingredients I have on hand, but I’ve even been known to open a can of corned beef hash and fry it up when I get in the mood. Either works for me.

Crispy Hash & Eggs Breakfast Skillet

1 package (32 ounces) frozen cubed hash browns

1-1/2 cups chopped onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

4 to 5 cups chopped cooked corned beef (or canned)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large non-stick skillet, fry hash browns in oil and butter until potatoes are browned and onion is tender. Remove from the heat; stir in corned beef and add salt.  Using a spatula, pack it down firmly to form a solid cake. 

 

Cook, undisturbed, for 4 minutes, then, with the spatula, invert the hash, a portion at a time, and fold the browned bits back into the hash. Lightly pack the hash into the pan again. Repeat the process every minute or two until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked, about 8 minutes longer.

 

Make 4 wells in the hash browns. Break one egg into each well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and continue to cook on low heat until eggs reach desired doneness. 

Shortcut: use a can of corn beef hash

Add can of hash to the melted butter and oil in large skillet.  Cook over medium heat and pat down with spatula to make one solid layer on bottom of pan. Reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking the hash until the underside is crusty and well browned, about 10 more minutes.

 

 

Using the back of a spoon, make four indentations in the hash. One at a time, break eggs into a saucer and slip them into the indentations. Increase the heat to medium, cover the skillet and cook until the eggs are just set, about 6 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Cheese Steak Subs

Oh My Goodness. Who doesn’t love a cheesy steak sub? I truly have no other words to say right now…..yum.  Excuse me while I get some napkins.

Cheese Steak Subs

2 lbs rib eye steak, frozen and cut very thin

4 (8-inch) soft sub rolls

1 onion, sliced thin

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

8 slices white cheddar or provolone cheese

If you are slicing the steak yourself, freeze it first. Using a sharp knife, shave the frozen steak as thinly as possible against the grain. Mound the meat on a cutting board and chop coarsely with your knife, 10 to 20 times.

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Split rolls open, spread on baking sheet, and toast until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of the meat in an even layer and cook, without stirring, until well-browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink, 1 to 2 minutes. If adding onions, do that now and sauté with your steak.

 

Repeat until all meat is cooked. Drain on paper towel to absorb grease. Wipe out skillet with paper towels.

Return steak to the skillet over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and saute for about a minute or two.  Lay cheese on top of steak and allow to melt completely. Then fold the melted cheese throughout the steak and remove from heat.

Reduce heat to low, sprinkle with Parmesan, and lay American cheese over the top Let cheeses melt, about 2 minutes. Fold the melted cheese into the meat thoroughly. Divide the mixture evenly among the toasted rolls and serve.

 

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Mozzarella Stuffed Mushrooms

I love this recipe. I call it my magic recipe. I am not a huge fan of mushrooms but I do add them to my recipes now and then for that meaty flavor. But this one is different. I call this my magic appetizer because I can take some mushroom caps and with a few ingredients make them taste like a steak dinner!  That is exactly what these taste like. I mean to the point, where if you close your eyes you wouldn’t know the difference.  These are that good.  You can thank me later!

Mozzarella Stuffed Mushrooms

12 large fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/3 cup Marsala cooking wine

1 cup shredded whole milk Mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Do not rinse mushrooms. Take a dry damp towel and gently wipe them clean. Remove stems from mushrooms and set the caps aside. Coarsely chop stems and set aside. 

 

Add olive oil to a large skillet set on medium heat. Saute the mushrooms and onions for about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in parsley, basil and the cooking wine. 

 
 




























Continue to cook for about 10 minutes on low heat until wine is absorbed. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

 

Stir in both cheeses until melted. Fill mushroom caps with cheese mixture and place in on a parchment lined baking sheet. 

Add a little more Mozzarella cheese and sprinkle a pinch of basil and parsley on top of each mushroom.

NOTE:  You may also use an 8 x 8 inch baking dish if you find it easier. 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

 

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Pepsi Pot Roast

 

So I got up this morning and decided I need some comfort food. Some real comfort food. Comfort food like my Mom used to make and I remember her pot roast….her slow cooked Pepsi Pot Roast that made the best Hot Roast Beef sandwiches.  Slow cooked beef so tender it melted in your mouth with mashed with gravy. No one made gravy like my Mom.  I still remember how she poured that Pepsi over the roast and then let it cook all day.  Fork tender beef, creamy mashed potatoes and that gravy….oh that gravy! 

Pepsi Pot Roast

1 (3-lb) chuck roast

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

2 envelopes Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
1 cup water 

1 large onion, diced or sliced

12 ounces of Pepsi Cola

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pat dry the roast and season with salt and pepper on both sides.  In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the meat for 2 minutes on each side.  Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Combine both soup mixes with water and stir well. Pour soup mixture in crockpot.  Stir in sliced onion. Add the roast and pour the Pepsi over the top. Cover with lid. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours or until fork tender.
 

Gravy

Ladle out 1 cup of the juices from roast and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk the cornstarch and broth and pour into a saucepan. Heat on medium high and continue whisking on medium high. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, whisking continually, until thickened.

 

 

Prepare yourself a hot roast beef sandwich by slicing the pot roast and laying it on two pieces of sandwich bread.  Add some mashed potatoes beside the sandwich and then pour your gravy all over the sandwich and the potatoes. Enjoy!

 

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