Fake-Out Kraut

You have have that moment when you are closing in on dinnertime, then realize you forgot to go pick up that one thing the store was out of when you initially went? Ever had that moment when you're trying to compensate for it, or at least work on something comparable?

Yeah. That happened to me. Probably more often that it should happen, but this was one of those times...

We were planning on having bratwurst for dinner. One of the the things we fix up with with our brats is kraut. Most have sauerkraut, but we enjoy a nice sweet kraut. However, when we did our weekly run to the store, the store was out of our sweet kraut! The horror!! So I'd planned on heading back to the store to pick some up...but just never got back out. Oops!

As I began to prep for dinner & making sure we had everything, it hit me we had no kraut. D'oh!
What was one to do? My hubby seriously wants his kraut with his brats!

Well, it hit me: I had some ingredients I needed to use that could work for some kraut! YAY!

I didn't use very much of the coleslaw mix I had gotten for the IRISH BACON & BEANS STEW the other night, and wasn't sure what I was going to make with the rest of the slaw mix. Could I make coleslaw. Sure. Could I save it for more toppings of something like tacos? Of course. But they are so predictable. But I might have to go ahead & resort to it.

But...
Kraut is tangy, fermented cabbage! Shredded cabbage!! I have shredded cabbage right now!!!

I did some research to see if I could make some quick kraut without having to take weeks & months to ferment it. I did find a couple of recipes to help me out. Whew! And I just happen to have some of the extra ingredients, too! YAY!

So I faked some kraut for our brats.

Here's what I did:

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FAKE-OUT KRAUT

Ingredients:

* 4 C coleslaw mix
* 1/4 C water
* 1/2 C apple cider
* 2 T white wine vinegar
* 3 T balsamic vinegar
* 1 T white vinegar
* 1 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
* 1 small sweet onion, diced OR 1/2 C dried minced onion
* 1 1/2 T brown sugar (if you want sweeter kraut)
* 1/2 T granulated sugar (if you want sweeter kraut)
* 1/2 T salt (kosher or sea - I used sea salt since it's my fave to use)
* 1 T caraway seed (optional)


Directions:

~ In a medium saucepan, add the oil & allow to heat on medium high heat for a moment, then add the onion

~ If using onion, allow to cook thru until beginning to be translucent; if using dried minced onion, allow cook for just a moment as it reconstitutes a bit

~ Add in the water, cider, vinegars, salt and sugars (if using); bring to a boil

~ Lower the heat on the burner, then add in the coleslaw mix, about a handful at a time, with the caraway seed (if using) & stir to coat the cabbage

~ Allow to simmer on the lowered heat for about 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally & then flattening the mixture down, with the back of your cooking utensil, to be more compact to resemble the pressing down during actual fermentation

~ The size of the cabbage will reduce by half, and if it appears to be drying out, keep adding a little more moisture to it: water or cider & a dash of vinegar (of choice)

~ Once it's reduced by half & looking like kraut, remove from the heat & get ready to serve


Yield: approximately 2 Cups - servings depend on how you use it

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It wasn't too bad & worked in a major pinch! Plus, the carrot & mixed cabbage made it a beautiful topping.

Grilled bratwurst on whole wheat bun, topped with
sweet pickle relish, fake-out kraut, honey mustard & shredded cheese

You can also use apple cider vinegar, too. If you want a richer color of this kraut, or if it's the only thing you have on hand, red wine vinegar could work, too.

So if you are needing kraut, but don't have weeks to ferment your own & want to make some on your own to hurry things along, here you go!

It would sure give a different option for your next Oktoberfest, or anytime, really! Amm-i-rite?

ENJOY!

An Irish & Irish-Like Feast

When St. Patrick's Day rolls around, I do try my best to serve up something that is authentic to Irish cuisine...or at least Irish-like.

I'm not sure why Americans cannot seem to grasp that corned beef is NOT Irish, but it has to stop!

I have had people shocked that I don't like corned beef. They figure if you have Irish decent within you, then you should enjoy some corned beef. Sorry folks...that stuff makes me gag. But I can enjoy some serious potatoes!

However, when St. Paddy's Day rolled around, I have been searching for a recipe to fix that everyone will actually enjoy. Much of the meat eaten in Ireland is generally pork or lamb. I haven't found a lot of lamb around here, and we have a non-pork eater. So I had to revert to beef. Not corned beef, but a good brisket. I know beef is more rare, but I found this Irish-pub style orange beef recipe that I was hoping would go over. (recipe HERE)

You know what? We only had 2 slices of beef left...so the dog got to enjoy some St. Paddy's Day fare, too! I think I want to add a bottle of Irish ale to the liquid in the cooking process, next time, for an added layer of Irish flavor.

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I also made some colcannon for the first time! And I did mostly use this recipe, HERE, that I found. But I did change up a couple of things, so here's what I did with the colcannon:

IRISH COLCANNON

Ingredients:

3 lb Yukon or buttery potatoes (I found golden butter potatoes)
1/2 C cabbage slaw mix (mine included green cabbage, red cabbage & carrot)
1/4 C kale leaves, chopped or torn into pieces (I've also used turnip greens)
2 T dried chives
1 stick butter
1/4 C buttermilk
sea salt
white pepper


Directions:

~ Rinse & lightly scrub potatoes

~ Cut each potato into 6-8 cubed pieces - I left the skins on for texture & as a time-saver ( like the more rustic feel & look, anyway)

~ Place the pieces into a large pot, cover with water

~ Bring the water to a boil & then turn down to simmer until potatoes are tender

~ When potatoes are tender, drain the water & transfer potatoes to sprayed lazy cooker insert

~ Add the other ingredients to the potatoes in the lazy cooker, close the lid & set on high for about 2-4 hours

~ After 2-4 hours of cooking, lightly smash & stir the potato mixture until blended, but still chunky

~ Serve


I want to tell you that this has a taste like a loaded baked potato. Just add some bacon bits & cheese...and BOOM! Loaded smashed potatoes! These were a total hit! I was SO happy with how it turned out.

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I also offered up some slaw. I have tried to modify a tried & true sweet slaw recipe...but it never turned out quite right.

Since we were having some family over to enjoy the meal, I decided to have 2 slaws on hand. We found a great KFC copycat recipe on Pinterest (recipe HERE), and I have since handed it over to my daughter to make. She does a GREAT job with it!

But I know there's a mustard-dill slaw that is very Irish. So I found a very workable slaw recipe (HERE) to make a non-sweet slaw. And I did make my own modifications, plus I didn't need as much as the recipe called for.

Sweet KFC copycat slaw, above; mustard-dill-vinegar slaw, below

MUSTARD DILL VINEGAR SLAW

Ingredients:

1 bag cabbage slaw mix
1/8 C minced onion
2 T garlic powder
3/4 C Miracle Whip with olive oil
1/4 C French's honey dijon mustard
1/4 C distilled white vinegar
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
3 T white wine vinegar
3 T buttermilk
1/4 t sea salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/8 t celery seed
2 T dried dill weed


Directions:

~ In a large bowl (preferably with a tight lid), place all ingredients except the slaw mix, stir well

~ Add in the slaw mix to the bowl

~ If you have a lid for the bowl, close the lid & shake it up very well
~ If you do not have a lid for your bowl, mix with a large spoon very well & then cover with foil or plastic wrap

~ place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving...but is better if done a day before

~ Serve


I placed my slaw in a great pottery dish that I used for my Irish Bread & Butter Pudding (recipe HERE). It was actually very good! If you do not like a sweet slaw...try this one!! It has pretty good bite to it, too!

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I was truly disappointed that I did not have time to make traditional Irish soda bread. Something had to be cut when I tried to make some oatmeal cookies. Something went horribly wrong with the cookie recipe, apparently, and they melted all over the inside of the oven. I had to stop baking operations to cool & clean the oven, so it cut into times to get food done. I was bummed!

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Irish Cream Apple Cake & Erin's Lush Pie

However, I had to make dessert! So I did my Irish-inspired apple cake (recipe HERE) & the glaze (recipe HERE) to go with it. But I, also, wanted to make my mom's tried & true St. Patrick's Day dessert go-to. I've seen it listed places as Pistachio Pudding Dessert (or something along those lines), but I grew up with it being called Erin's Lush. However...I had no time to bake the crust. So...I cheated it a bit & made it into a pie!

Slice of Irish Cream Apple Cake & a slice of Erin's Lush Pie

ERIN'S LUSH PIE

Ingredients:

1 large pre-made graham cracker crust
2 small packages pistachio pudding mix
2 C Irish Cream Creamer
1 8 oz cream cheese brick, softened
1 8 oz tub whipped topping, divided
1 C powdered sugar
2 T crushed pistachio nuts, divided
1 T almonds sliced


Directions:

~ In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar & 1 C of the whipped topping together

~ along the bottom of the graham cracker crust, sprinkle about 1/2 of the crushed pistachio nuts

~ Carefully spread about 1/2 - 3/4 of the cream cheese mixture, evenly, on the bottom of the crust (if some of the nuts get mixed with the cream cheese mixture, it is fine)

~ In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk both pistachio pudding mixes & the Irish cream creamer well, for about 2 minutes

~ Carefully add the pudding mixture on top of the cream cheese layer in the graham crust

~ Add what is left of the whipped topping with what is left of the unused cream cheese mixture & blend together

~ Carefully spread the whipped topping mixture on top of the pudding layer in the pie crust

~ Take the almond slices & what is left of the crushed pistachio nuts & evenly sprinkle on top of the whipped topping layer

~ Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to allow to fully set

~ Serve


This pie is so decadent & fantastic! I did use pistachio nuts because of the pudding & they are green in color. I also used almond slices because they are my favorite. You can also use pecans &/or walnuts, instead.

This was SO good! And so easy!

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Some of the 21 & over aged kids did enjoy some Irish Ale from Boulevard, too.

I hope this has inspired your future Irish meals. Open your minds a bit & know you don't have to eat green potatoes with corned beef & cabbage to be considered an Irish meal.

I have a few other things that are Irish or Irish-inspired, HERE, also.

ENJOY!

Summer Dublin Coddle

Since my family is trying to eat better & cleaner, there have been some switch up in dishes & recipes. Even though we haven't given up EVERYTHING...we have been working hard to work in some better-for-you stuffs &/or changing up some of the ingredients we use.

With that said, I still had some overstock of mixed greens (find out my leafy greens mix HERE), so I was trying to figure out what to use. After doing the cleaner eating research, I knew it was pretty good to get some turkey in the mix. And since I had some cabbage & kale to use, I decided revisit my Dublin Coddle (recipe HERE)! However, it's pretty heavy & perfect for fall & winter eating. With my previous recipe, there were some things missing that could help lighten it up! Well...I changed that a bit.

Here's what I did:

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SUMMER DUBLIN CODDLE

Ingredients:

~ 1 pkg. turkey Lit'l Smokies
~ 1/4 C turkey bacon bits
~ 1 lb. baby potatoes, quartered
~ 1 small onion, sliced
~ 6 C brewed green tea
~ 2 chicken bouillon cubes
~ 1/8 C chopped parsley
~ 2 medium carrots, sliced
~ 2 red cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 3 green cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 2 curly kale stems (just use the leaves), torn or chopped & massaged in lemon juice & sea salt
~ 2 T marjoram
~ 2 T dried (crushed) rosemary
~ 2 T dried thyme
~ 2 T minced garlic
~ salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

* Place all prepared ingredients into a large pot on medium-hi heat

* Bring coddle to a boil, then slightly lower burner temp (medium-lo), stir occasionally

* Allow to boil for about 15-30 minutes until potatoes & carrots are tender, stirring occasionally

* Turn burner down to lo to allow to simmer & until the cabbage leaves are tender & kale is slightly wilted

* Serve

Yield: about 4 servings

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When I made this, I could only get a hold of ruby potatoes. I really like a mixture of colors, but it was still really pretty! Imagine if I'd thrown in some Yukon &/or purple potatoes!

Also, if you have other root veggies to throw in, do it! If you have some parsnips or turnips to throw in, cut 'em up & do it. The more, the merrier! And, if you use turnips, throw in the turnip greens, too! Some mustard greens work in this coddle, also.

It's lighter, it's pretty, and it lends to that cleaner eating. My hubby liked it, too!  I'm thinking this one needs to be done again! And it's a lighter version, perfect for Spring or Summer dishes!

Short on time that day? Throw it all in the lazy cooker & let it cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
TA-DA!

ENJOY!