Recipe: Corned Beef & Cabbage

So I'm a little late on posting our St. Patty's Day feast, but here it is if you're still craving a boiled dinner.  This one is seriously easy but it does take FOR-EVER to cook, so start chopping early and get it in the pot before you do anything else for the day.  It's worth the wait, though.  Obviously this is best enjoyed with a cold beer.  Obviously.




3lb corned beef brisket
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 head of cabbage (or more if it fits in your Crock)
1 onion, peeled and sliced in quarters
1 1/2 c. apple juice
1 1/2 c. water


place the potatoes, carrots, and onions in the Crock Pot.  Place corned beef on top and cover with water and apple juice.  Add the little spice packet that comes with the corned beef, sprinkled right over the top.  Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.  Add cabbage when there's about 2 hours of cook time left.

Recipe: Shrimp & Orzo

I've been finding pretty much all of my recipe inspirations lately on Pinterest.  So have you.  Don't lie.  It's the best invention ever.   No one has an original thought anymore and I'm totally OK with it. 

Last night's recipe was inspired by Ina Garten...aka the Barefoot Contessa.  I pretty much used her recipe as is (although scaled down for two people) but was too lazy to wait a hour before eating so we just scarfed it down while it was still hot.  This one's fairly healthy and would be amazing with my new favorite ingredient, quinoa, but sometime's orzo really just hits the spot.  This made a bunch of leftovers so we ate it cold for lunch...even better.  Enjoy :)

1 lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1/2 box of orzo, cooked as instructed on the box

1 English cucumber, diced

fresh parsley, chopped

fresh scallions, chopped

2-3 artichoke hearts, diced

juice of 2 lemons

1/3 c. EVOO ( I eyeballed it)

feta cheese

1/2 tsp. dill (I used dried dill but fresh is probably great, too)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Boil water for orzo & cook as directed.   Drizzle shrimp with EVOO, salt and pepper and bake for 6-8 minutes until pink.  Meanwhile, mix lemon juice, salt, pepper, and EVOO in a bowl, whisk until blended.  Once orzo is ready, drain and add dressing while the orzo is hot.  When shrimp is cooked, add it, along with all remaining ingredients, to the orzo.  

I made some roasted cauliflower to accompany this dish by drizzling EVOO over some fresh cauliflower and baking at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until fork tender.  Also, since I recently started working at a bakery, I occasionally (read: daily) take home fresh bread, and we eat it with everything.  Sue me.