Baked Eggs on Toast

My favorite comfort food breakfast! I mean, I love oatmeal, too, but there's something about this dish that just makes me feel really good inside.

Several times I asked my hubby if he wanted some, but he would always respectfully decline. He thought it was a bit bizarre for him. One day, he brought up maybe trying them. He's asked for them several times since then. My kids weren't excited to try them. This morning, my boys finally tried them - and I know one of them went back for seconds! My daughter will only have them a certain way, but I'll cover that later.

How I came up with this is that I came across a recipe that included cheese with it, and, in my own opinion, has a misplaced step. (HERE)

Since I love to post food pics of my breakfast when I make this, and I've had enough people ask how to do it, I decided to do a blog post about it. Plus? It's been a REALLY long time since I've done one of these posts! Crazy life, yo!

Here's what I did:

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BAKED EGGS ON TOAST

Ingredients:

* 2 slices sandwich bread of choice

* 2-4 (appx) Tbsp butter

* 2 eggs

* salt & pepper to taste

* pinch dried parsley (optional)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F

2. Take a baking sheet, cover with foil, and spray with cooking spray

3. Place slices of bread side-by-side on the foiled baking sheet

4. Using a spoon, take the edge of the spoon & lightly press inside the perimeter of each bread slice CAREFULLY! Do not tear the bread!

5. Lightly take your fingers to flatten inside the edge created to create a bit of a pit in the bread

6. Carefully butter the raised edges of the bread

7. Add a bit of salt & pepper to the bread pit

8. Crack an egg, then add the yolk & white to the bread pit

9. Repeat with other egg & bread pit

10. If you want a hard yolk, take the edge of the spoon & pierce the tops of the egg yolks (optional)

11. Add a bit of salt & pepper to the top of the eggs

12. Add a pinch of dried parsley for pretties (optional)

13. Place the baking sheet in the oven - 13-15 minutes for a runnier yolk, 20 minutes for hard yolk

14. Remove from the oven & enjoy


Yield: 1 serving

NOTES:

* After you've salted & peppered the eggs, you can add some shredded cheese to the buttered edges if you choose.

* My daughter has an issue with textures & doesn't like egg yolk together; you can scramble one egg at a time before adding to each bread pit - you can use a lesser baking time in this case.

* One time I accidentally picked up Kerrygold garlic & herb butter. I used it anyway, and it actually turned out pretty good. If you want some additional flavor, I suggest this.

* I use whole wheat bread, slivers of Kerrygold stick butter, I pierce the eggs & bake for 20 minutes. The outcome is what you see in the pic.

* Today, I made a dozen baked eggs on toast - the 20 minutes at 375° still worked well.

* If you use the longer baking time, you can do this in the morning while getting ready for the day, just prep it all, stick it in the oven, take your shower & get dressed, then get those suckers out of the oven. I mean, if you can do all of that in 20 minutes.

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Today we enjoyed brunch for our last day of vacation. My husband tried his hand at fried potatoes & onions, so I thought the baked eggs on toast was a great addition! We've been adding a side of fruit, like blueberries right now, to help balance out everything. Having bacon with it is yummy, too!

BOOM! A new go-to comfort food for breakfast or anytime.

ENJOY!

Irish Bacon & Bean Stew (with Barley & Beer)

I'm really on my Irish kick lately. It's not often I'm not around this time. Why? Not only because I have a lot of Irish in my blood, but it's because I continue to research & get inspired by Irish fare to make traditional dishes (as authentically as I can) or to create an Irish spin on a meal that could be served in the Emerald Isle.

Pardon me, another moment, while my Irish continues to show thru... (my list of Irish & Irish-like fare, HERE)

I was thinking about some Irish dishes, like Colcannon (find my recipe in this post HERE), but with a healthier spin (hope to have a recipe for that when I've tried it), and then I got thinking about the greens used in it, and what could be substituted.
That led me to thinking about the greens I use in my NEW YEAR'S HAM & BEANS (a twist my usual LAZY COOKER HAM & BEANS).
What if I did an Irish spin on ham & beans??

Something to think about is the fact that Irish bacon is actually more of a cured piece of ham, much like Canadian bacon. So a great substitute is cured pork belly. I also found that Navy Beans are pretty typical in that part of the world. I could totally do a ham & beans stew, lazy cooker Irish style!
(I'm also including a stove top "hot pot" style, too.)

Here's what I did:

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IRISH BACON & BEAN STEW

with Barley & Beer

Ingredients:

* 2-3 lb cured pork belly, trimmed or pork shoulder
* 1 lb bag dried navy beans
* 1-2 can(s) navy beans, drained & rinsed
* 1 lb potatoes, lightly scrubbed & diced
* 32 oz chicken stock/broth (you can use pork, beef or vegetable stock/broth, too)
* 1- 2 12 oz bottles/cans Irish stout/ale,can or bottle (I used a bottle of Boulevard Irish Ale)
* 1 C apple cider
* 1 C pearl barley
* 2 T honey (local or Irish honey - I used Irish honey with Jameson whiskey)
* 1 handful coleslaw mix (with carrots)
* 1 sweet onion, diced
* 2 C turnip greens or curly kale, shredded or torn into small pieces
* 1 medium to large parsnip, scrubbed & diced
* 2 medium to large carrots, scrubbed & diced
* 1/2 C brown sugar
* 2-4 bouillon cubes (I used chicken, but you can use beef or pork)
* 1 T liquid smoke (optional)
* seasonings: ground pepper, thyme, caraway seeds, marjoram, parsley, dried chives
* 2 bay leaves


Directions - Lazy Cooker:

~ Soak dry beans in beer & water (or all beer), about 1 inch over the beans, for about 8 hours in a tightly covered container; or soak overnight in water 1 inch above the beans in refrigerator in a container with a tight-fitting lid
     ** If using all beer from 2 containers of the beer, use the reserve of the 2nd container in the stew

~ Once beans are soaked, spray the insert of your lazy cooker with cooking spray

~ Drain & rinse the beans; sort thru them to make sure there are no pebbles; if you find any, discard the pebbles

~ Add the rinsed beans to the lazy cooker insert

~ Take your trimmed pork belly, then add to the lazy cooker (I had some leftover cedar plank smoked ham I augmented with the pork belly)

~ Add in the barley and all of the root vegetables

~ Add in all the seasonings, bouillon cubes, brown sugar, honey, and liquid smoke (if using)

~ Pour in all of the liquids over the beans, pork belly/ham, barley & veggies

~ Place the 2 bay leaves on top of the mixture

~ Close the lid of the lazy cooker

~ Depending on how long you have, either set the lazy cooker to low for 6-8 hours OR set on high for 4 hours

~ Open can(s) of navy beans; drain & rinse

~ After the first round of cooking times, open the lazy cooker lid, remove the bay leaves, add the rinsed canned navy beans, stir, breaking up the pork, then add the bay leaves back & cook on low for 4 more hours OR on high for 2 hours

~ In the last 45 minutes to 1 hour of cooking, open the lid of the lazy cooker, remove & discard the bay leaves, add in the leafy green pieces & coleslaw mix, stir, and close the lid until done

~ After the cooking is done, give one more great big stir & get ready to ladle into bowls

~ Garnish with a little bit o'parsley, and eat it up



Directions - Stovetop:

~ Soak dry beans in beer & water (or all beer), about 1 inch over the beans, for about 8 hours in a tightly covered container; or soak overnight in water 1 inch above the beans in refrigerator in a container with a tight-fitting lid
     ** If using all beer from 2 containers of the beer, use the reserve of the 2nd container in the stew

~ Once beans are soaked, spray the inside of a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot with cooking spray

~ Drain & rinse the beans; sort thru them to make sure there are no pebbles; if you find any, discard the pebbles

~ Add the rinsed beans to the Dutch oven or stock pot

~ Take your trimmed pork belly & add to the pot (I had some leftover cedar plank smoked ham I augmented with the pork belly)

~ Add in the diced onion

~ Add in the barley

~ Add in all the seasonings, brown sugar, honey, and liquid smoke (if using)

~ Pour in all of the liquids over the beans, pork belly/ham, barley, onions & seasonings

~ Turn up the heat on the burner, and bring the stew to a boil

~ Once boiling, turn down to low to begin simmering, and place the 2 bay leaves on top of the mixture

~ Put the lid of the pot (hopefully it has one) onto the pot to cook, at a simmer, for about 2 hours

~ After 1 hour of cooking, remove the bay leaves & set aside, then add in the potatoes, carrots, and parsnips; place the bay leaves back on top, and put the lid back onto the pot, slightly askew, and continue simmering for another hour

~ Open can(s) of navy beans; drain & rinse

~ In the last 30 minutes of cooking, open the lid, remove & discard the bay leaves, add in the canned beans, coleslaw mix and leafy green pieces, stir, and close the lid until done

~ After the cooking is done, give one more great big stir, making sure the pork is broken into pieces & get ready to ladle into bowls

~ Garnish with a little bit o'parsley, and eat it up

Tip: You can use hulled barley, just soak it overnight, like the dried beans, and add it in

Yield: approximately 8

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This is a dish that would work so well for St. Patrick's Day! So much more Irish in this inspired dish than Corned Beef & Cabbage could ever dream of being.
(I saw it put that Corned Beef & Cabbage is as Irish as spaghetti meatballs, and as American as apple pie. Stew on that. <<< Yep. I just said that.) And no worries about the stew being served to the kiddos. The alcohol of the beer gets cooked off in the process.

I usually serve up my ham & beans with cornbread (as it should be), but with this dish being Irish-inspired, I highly recommend a beautifully traditional and super simple Irish Soda Bread (which only has 4 ingredients), like my lazy cooker version, HERE.

OK...I cheated a little. That's shredded carrot in there. Just because I had it.
And I forgot the canned beans because I was distracted. Still really good!

This is a perfect dish for a cold night or for when you need to feed a slightly larger crowd. And a fabulous comfort food!

Sláinte! 
(That's an Irish toast to "Good Health"!)

ENJOY!

Lazy Cooker Chicken & Noodles

Things are beginning to cool down, and autumn is beginning to rear its head just a bit. This is my favorite time of year! I love fall so much! And I do mean everything about it. EV-ER-Y-THING!!

It also gets me excited to start switching over some of the dinner items served, too. We are still in the transition time in our house: we still grill, but it's time for soups & things in the lazy cooker, too! Have I mentioned that I love this time of year? Just checking...

Now then, our lazy cooker still works just fine, but the handle is falling off...and...well...it's one we got as a wedding gift in 1996. So, we've had it a while. But we haven't been using it as much as we probably needed to until last year.

And since I've been using the lazy cooker (see some of the recipes HERE), my hubby has decided to start putting some of his barbecue meat in the lazy cooker, too. So it's gonna get more usage this time around!

My hubby & I laugh at our changing excitements & wants as time goes by. Nowadays, the thought of a new refrigerator, a fancy washer & dryer, or even a new & updated lazy cooker is drool-worthy! (Yeah...I don't know who I've become, either! But I digress...)

I have been so impressed with the oval lazy cookers that can hold more than 4 quarts of stuff, has a timer, buttons, and a locking lid. And then we went out & found one! Just in time to do a couple of lazy cooker meals this week! WOO HOO!!

Last year, I found this recipe on Pinterest, HERE, for lazy cooker chicken & noodles. Sounded good to me! But I, of course, wanted to make a couple of tweaks to it. I just felt the need to boost some of the overall nutritional value, too.

So, here's what I did:

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LAZY COOKER CHICKEN & NOODLES

Ingredients:

~ 3 lbs boneless chicken (breasts, tenders, etc.; fresh or frozen - but thawed if frozen)
~ 42 oz chicken broth/stock or water with 4 chicken bouillon cubes
~ 4 small or 2 large cans cream of chicken soup
~ 2 celery stalks, diced
~ 1 carrot stick, diced
~ 1/4 C minced onion
~ 2 handfuls parsley (I used dried)
~ 2 handfuls coleslaw mix (optional)
~ 1 stick butter, thinly sliced
~ 1 handful flax seed (optional)
~ 2 bay leaves
~ 1 bag egg noodles


Directions:

* in the clean ceramic insert, spray the entire inside with cooking spray

* place the (thawed) chicken in the bottom of the insert

I forgot the minced onion here, but I add it in later;
go ahead & add it in on this step

* add in the carrot, celery, minced onion, parsley butter, cabbage/coleslaw (if using), and flax seed (if using)

* cover everything with the chicken broth/stock or water & bouillon cubes (I didn't have enough broth, so I added some water & added 2 bouillon cubes)

* add in the cans of cream of chicken soup

* give everything a good stir, add the bay leaves, close the lid & set the lazy cooker on low for 8 hours

* when 8 hours is up, remove the bay leaves, make sure the chicken is good & chunked into shreds & pieces

* add in the bag of egg noodles (I used whole grain noodles), give it all a good stir & allow to cook on low for about 45 more minutes

* give everything a good stir & serve


Yield: 8-10

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Tonight was the first time I added the cabbage & flax seed. Guess what! You couldn't taste the difference! So I upped the nutrition & fiber factor without changing the taste. Plus, we've been trying to up the fiber intake in many of our foods, so we have bumped up as much of the whole grains as we can, and I have been sneaking flax seed into a lot of things...and the family doesn't even know! I also used low sodium & heart-smart soups & broths, too. But I always love the color additions of the soup staples of the carrot/celery/onion mix. And I add dried parsley to a lot of dishes (even in eggs)!

As for the taste...it's supposed to be bland! It's supposed to be just a rich & creamy, stick-to-your-bones kind of meal. No need to add a bunch of pepper or salt...or hot sauce. Just allow it to make you feel good.

I just baked up some little homestyle biscuits, and we were happy. My 8 & a half year old had 2 bowls of dinner tonight! I think it went over well...and was so excited to be fixing it again! It also reheats well for lunch the next day or two.

Oh...and loved this 1st time out with the new & fancy-schmancy lazy cooker! Can't wait to use it again...and I'll now take it off my Christmas Wish List (for real)...

So...HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!!

ENJOY!

Irish Bread & Butter Pudding

When I say I love getting in touch with the Irish side of my heritage, I'm not kidding! (find some of my other Irish [based] recipes HERE)

I finally got around to trying an Irish dessert I've been wanting to try...since...like...late February or early March. Now that it's September, there's no better time than now! Amm-i-rite?

With fall being right around the corner, I want to attempt to increase the overall foodie repertoire for the cooler months.

I do try to keep the authenticity of dishes like this. So I did some serious research into some different variations, and came up with one that worked the best for me to make.

So, here's what I did:

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IRISH BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING

Ingredients:

~ 8-12 slices slightly stale/dry white bread, crusts removed & set aside
~ butter
~ 1 C sultanas (plumped golden raisins) or other dried berries/grapes
~ 2-3 T sugar
~ 2-3 T cinnamon
~ 2-3 pinches nutmeg
~ 1 C heavy whipping cream
~ 1 C milk
~ 3 eggs, lightly beaten
~ 2 T vanilla extract


Directions:

* In a glass or ceramic dish (about an 8x8), spray the bottom & sides with cooking spray; I used a pottery casserole dish (that has family story)...it has a great look & fit with what I wanted to do, but I would recommend a squared off dish

* Place the raisins (or other dried fruit) into a small bowl or large coffee mug & cover with hot water for about 10 minutes; this will help plump up the dried fruit a bit to form the sultanas

* Take your bread slices & remove the crusts (set crusts aside - will use in a little bit), cut each slice down the middle (either into rectangles or triangles...but this step is optional: you may leave whole); I have an old Pampered Chef gadget that can make uncrustable sandwiches, so I used it to make my slices round & pretty to fit into my round dish - again, just make it easy

* Butter one side of 4 slices of the bread & place butter-side-down in the baking dish overlapping slices just a bit

* After the 10 minutes of soaking is up for the raisins (now sultanas), drain & sprinkle a few over the top of the bread layer

* Sprinkle about a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of cinnamon & a pinch of nutmeg over the fruit layer & covering the top of the entirety of the bread slice layer

* Repeat the bread buttering step

* Sprinkle with more sultanas (plumped raisins or other dried fruit)

* Repeat the sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg step

* If you are doing a 3rd layer (I did), then repeat the last 3 steps one more time, otherwise move on to the next step

* In another bowl, whisk together the heavy whipping cream, milk, lightly beaten eggs & vanilla extract; pour mixture over the bread slice layers

* Set baking dish to the side for at least 1 hour, or place in refrigerator overnight

* When ready to bake the bread pudding, set oven to 350 degrees F

* You will want to place your baking dish in a bain marie (it's like a hot tub for the pudding in a sauna...spa time for the baking dish!)
Place the baking dish into a larger baking dish that will hold the pudding level; pour water into the larger baking dish - enough to go half way up the pudding baking dish. This will keep the cooking even throughout the dish for pudding

Prepping the Bain Marie

* Allow to bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour

* After the hour is up, pull bain marie out of the oven & allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove the baking dish from the bain marie to cool a bit more from there

* Serve warm with a topping of whiskey sauce or whipped cream

* Top with a sprinkling of bread crumbs made from the cut off crusts from the bread slices:

   Bread Crumb Directions:

# Set oven to 400 degrees F
# On a baking sheet, spray liberally with cooking spray
# Lightly cover baking sheet with a dusting of cinnamon & a sprinkling of light brown sugar
# Arrange crusts in a single layer on the baking sheet
# Spray tops of crusts liberally with cooking spray
# Lightly cover the crusts with a dusting of cinnamon & a sprinkling of light brown sugar
# Bake for about 10 minutes
# Crusts should be hard & crispy
# Allow to cool for a moment & then crush the crusts into a near dusting or pulverize them in a food processor to make crumbs for sprinkling

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Irish Bread & Butter Pudding
with Irish Cream not-so-whipped topping "sauce"
and bread crumb topping

I have been wanting to make this dessert for quite some time...and it was so worth the wait! Oh, it's SO good!!

This is also another dish that terrifies my kids, and my hubby automatically said he won't do bread pudding. *sigh* I need to find folks to share this with. I am so happy with how it turned out!

It's certainly a perfect dish to have ready for St. Paddy's Day, but I would also love to make a more Christmas-y version using Craisins, and then maybe topping it with cranberry sauce.

This is also a great way to figure out how to use up some of that day-old bread, or the loaf that's close to it's Best By date. Don't let any of it go to waste!

There was a lot of time put into this dessert...but it really was easy!

I might even try this with our wheat bread. It's supposed to be white bread, but I have been working to try to take a more "make it good for you/make it better for you" type of approach.

Oh...and if you make your own bread, all the power to ya! OK? I just used the good ol' store-bought stuffs.

Let me know if you use this. I hope you love it as much as I do! (a new comfort food for me, I think)

ENJOY!

Ground Beef Stroganoff

One of our favorite Hamburger Helper meals is the Beef Stroganoff. But as I began to try my hand at more cooking, while building our pantry, I had some egg noodles to use...so I thought I'd try my hand making my own.

I looked around, like on Pinterest, and began to figure out how I wanted to go about making this.

Now then, I usually use canned cream of mushroom soup (which I do include in the ingredients), but when I made it this time...I apparently already used them, or they disappeared. I'd already began making the meal, so I had to improvise a backup plan quick! So I faked a cream soup gravy for this time around. I have given the ingredients & directions to it, too.

Oh...I took pics along the way, too. So here is what I did:

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Ground Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 can cream of mushroom soup (or make *cream soup gravy)

½ C minced onion

2 T parsley

1 T paprika

½ C sour cream

4 C egg noodles

¼ C parmesan

¼ C milk

4 T butter

* Improvised Cream Soup Gravy

½-¾ C beef or chicken broth

½ C heavy whipping cream

½ C flour

4 T butter

1 T garlic powder

¼ t ground black pepper

pinch nutmeg

Directions:

Brown ground beef in a large skillet with the minced onion

Once browned thru, drain the meat & rinse

Place back into the skillet, set heat to Lo






~~ If making cream soup gravy, do so while browning the meat ~~

* melt butter in saucepan

* add in the flour to make rue

* add in broth & cream

* whisk until blended & bring to boil

* turn down burner temp, add in garlic, pepper & nutmeg

(I also added in the parsley & paprika here)

*stir often

Add milk, can soup (or cream soup gravy), sour cream, parmesan, paprika & parsley (if not added to cream soup gravy) to the skillet; stir & allow to simmer









In a large pot, make egg noodles to package directions; drain

When drained, melt the butter throughout the noodles

Combine noodles & meat mixture

Serve

Yield: 4

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So, my hubby liked the improvised sauce. The kiddos weren't as impressed...but they complain about anything they aren't used to. But my hubby is a big critic on about everything...so him liking this improvisation means it's a go again in the future!

Also, I double the recipe since we have a larger-than-4 family. (Not the cream soup gravy - I had to make it in a hurry based on the amount I was already making. If you want a portion that serves 4, cut the amounts in half)

We served it up with some Italian loaf bread. So good!

Let me know which way you went with it & what you thought!

ENJOY!

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Update:

OK...so this recipe has been my most pinned from this blog on Pinterest! So glad you all have enjoyed it!! Thank you SO much! And I've noticed it's because of my improvised cream gravy instead of canned mushroom soup. So glad this has worked out!

Well, I made it again with some changes that is just as tasty & even better for you!

I substituted in whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour, I dissolved a beef bouillon cube in water instead of chicken broth/stock, I used white pepper instead of black pepper, plain non-fat Greek yogurt for sour cream, then I added in a little bit of kale, rinsed & torn into tiny pieces when I added it to the cream gravy to wilt a bit. I was asked what the green stuff was...I told them it was really big parsley that is supposed to be in there. (Shhhh....don't tell them my secret!)

Oh...and it was still SO good!! Hope you enjoy this kick up in health benefits, too!!

Stuff in a Pot Soup

As I write this, it's spring, but chilly. It feels like a late November day rather than a fresh spring one! It's really a perfect day to pull out sweaters, boots, blankets, make hot chocolate (much like the Spicy Mexi-Cocoa version, right HERE), brew up some hot tea or keep the coffee going all day. Yeah...one of those kinds of days.

It's also a great day for soup! But since I wasn't prepared to make a soup any time soon, I had to make do.

My hubby & I go to the store on Fridays, and I am actually writing this on a Thursday. We don't have much laying around. And we don't have much for lunching, either. But I found enough leftover things around to throw a bunch of stuff in a pot to make a soup.

Here's what I did:

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STUFF IN A POT SOUP

Ingredients:

*About Anything Goes*

plenty of liquids: broth, stock, water & bouillon cubes; juice/tea 
vegetables: fresh, frozen, canned
protein: beans, meat pieces, mushrooms
starch: potatoes, rice, pasta
herbs & spices

In My Pot:

1 box vegetable broth
1 bag mixed veggies - frozen
1 can chick peas, drained & rinsed
leftover ham cubes
2 handfuls bacon bits
2 C hot brewed black tea
2 C hot brewed green tea
1/2 bag frozen hash browns
sea salt
ground black pepper
parsley
sage
rosemary
thyme
chives
minced onion
dill
marjoram
all spice

Directions:

Place liquid(s) of choice in a large pot, bring to a boil

Lower heat to mid-hi and add everything else, bring back to boil

Stir & let simmer for about 30 minutes

Ladle into a bowl, and garnish, if desired.
Balsamic vinegar, nuts, seeds, shredded cheese - it's even better when presentation is pretty...even if by yourself.

* I used toasted sesame seeds in the 1st bowl & parmesan "shaky cheese" for the 2nd

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Remember: my soup is gonna look different than yours! Mine won't even be the same next time around.

I literally used whatever I had here. 

Cans of veggies you were gonna use but didn't? 

Throw it in! 

Got too many cans or bags of veggies & don't know what to do with the overstock? 

Throw it in! 

Frozen veggies in the freezer that you forgot about? 

Throw it in! 

Leftover turkey, meatballs, pulled pork from a night or 2 ago & want to use it? 

Throw it in! 

Have spinach or kale that you need to use up? 

Throw it in! 

Got some seasonings that you got for a recipe & finding a reason to use it? 

Throw it in!

Just a little bit of apple juice or cider left & not enough for a full glass or cup?

Throw it in!

Potatoes still sitting there & don't know what else to do with them?

Cut 'em up & throw 'em in!

Seriously. A perfect soup to use up what you have, make a hearty meal, and still warm & comforting. Plus...you already have everything...so it's easy on the budget, too!

Throw it in!

So...what is your Stuff in a Pot Soup made from?

ENJOY!

Ham & Mixed Beans - Lazy Cooker

I'm almost embarrassed to say that I had never had ham & beans until one of our groups at church invited us to one of their annual Christmas dinner events. So, the hubby & I decided we would go & mingle with the group while enjoying these ham & beans with cornbread we'd heard so much about.

Now then, hubby has apparently been a fan of ham & beans. He especially loves the cornbread! But this might mean I would have to figure out how to fix this meal. Amm-i-rite? And I had gotten some dry beans (15 bean mix) and wasn't sure what to do with them, but then we had some leftover ham...so...time to make some ham & beans!

After looking thru and researching a LOT of ham & bean recipes, this is what I came up with:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAM & BEANS

Lazy Cooker

Ingredients:

1 lb bag (mixed) beans
1-3 cans white beans (i.e. Navy, Northern, Canelli, etc.) rinsed & drained
8 C (apprx.) chunked/cubed ham
¼ C minced onion
1 T garlic powder
½ T onion powder
½ C brown sugar
1 T honey
2 bay leaves
(kosher/sea/table) salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 t lemon juice
¼ C celery, chopped
¼ C carrot, chopped or shredded
1 t chili powder (more if you want more kick)
42 oz. chicken broth + additional water (if needed)
1 T apple cider (optional)
1 t allspice
1 T cinnamon

Directions:

* Place dried beans in a large pot or bowl & soak beans for at least 8 hours (i.e. overnight) or longer in about 2 qts. water  

* When good & soaked, drain the beans & rinse them. 

* Spray the inside of your lazy cooker with vegetable cooking spray. 

* Place the soaked & rinsed beans into the lazy cooker

* Cover with chicken broth & enough water to about an inch over the beans

* Cube the ham (I used leftover ham) to 1” squared or smaller and add to the lazy cooker

* Add the lemon juice, cider (optional), honey, veggies, spices, brown sugar, salt & pepper (not the bay leaves) to the lazy cooker & stir

* Add the bay leaves into the lazy cooker

* Cover & set the lazy cooker to high for 4-5 hours

* After the 4-5 hours, add the rinsed, canned white beans, stir, then set low for another 4 hours

* Remove bay leaves & stir

~ Serve with cornbread.

~~ Yield: Approximately 12

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* NOTE: I really love the appley zing of the cider. If I don't have any around, I will add an envelope of apple cider mix. That's how I roll.

My kids really won't eat beans...and we have that darn non-pork-eating kid! So it's mostly my hubby & I that eat it...but so worth it!! And my hubby LOVES it! So do I!

Oh...I just make a cornbread from a mix...and my hubby still loves it, too! The kids will eat the cornbread with some honey butter.

No matter...it is awesome smelling & perfect comfort food for a cold night! Or anytime for that matter. Plus? It's pretty!! I love the color & variety in the beans. YUM!

ENJOY!

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P.S. ~ For a New Year's version, add a can of black eyed peas, rinsed & drained, plus a 16 oz bag of cole slaw mix or a head of chopped cabbage. Add these in with the white beans. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cilantro Lime Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup with Green Tea

We really enjoy eating Mexican around here. Tacos are a staple favorite. It's one of the few things that we know everyone will eat. Nachos, enchiladas & taco mac are also big hits. I think this is about the only line of things my whole family will eat together. Seriously.

Now, even though some of my family freaks out over soup...cuz they are weird...I will have issues with them trying this new version. But...I am quite happy with it!

So...wanna try to make it, too?

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Cilantro Lime Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup with Green Tea

2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast, cooked & shredded

1/2 C lime juice

80 oz chicken broth

4 C brewed green tea (yes! Green Tea)

1/4 sweet onion, chopped

2 C finely chopped spinach or kale (or other dark leafy greens)

1 - 10 oz can cilantro lime Ro-Tel

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 small can whole kernel corn - no salt added, drained & rinsed

1/4 bell pepper of each color (red, orange, yellow & green)

Ground black pepper, to taste

3 T ground ginger

1/4 C parsley

3 T ground cinnamon

1/4 C cilantro

3 T smoked paprika

2 T chili powder

2 T garlic powder

2 T green onion

2 T cumin

1 T onion powder

1 bag whole wheat egg noodles

Pour lime juice, chicken broth & green tea into a large pot. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, turn heat down to mid-hi heat. Put in the shredded chicken (I put the chicken breasts in my lazy cooker in the morning so it would be cooked thru & easy to shred by the time I made the soup) into the broth.

Begin adding the vegetables plus the herbs & seasonings to the soup. Continue to let boil on mid-hi heat.

Then add the noodles. Make sure they are tender.

Begin testing the soup's broth to make sure seasonings are to your liking; adjust as necessary.

Let simmer.

Garnish with shredded cheese & tortilla chips (crushed or strips). Serve.

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I made this version after I made the LEMON HERB RAINBOW CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP WITH GREEN TEA and based it off the same soup. So still the healing properties...and still the beautiful comfort food!

Aye-yi-yi...I think I need another bowl.

Soup's on, y'all!!

ENJOY!

Adapted Authentic Dublin Coddle - Lazy Cooker

This year, for St. Patrick's Day, I had to celebrate my Irish heritage! This totally includes the food. And I'm not talking turning mashed potatoes green or serving up the completely American dish of corned beef & cabbage! I wanted something more authentic for the family to enjoy, so I found Dublin Coddle. It's Irish sausage, bacon, potatoes & onion all in a broth. I did mine in the lazy cooker & a couple of adaptations...but here's what I used:

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DUBLIN CODDLE 

(in the lazy cooker)

Ingredients:
1 lb. (Irish) Sausage* - thickly cut
1 lb. Bacon*+ - thickly sliced
1 lb. potatoes, diced/quartered (I used quartered baby potatoes in gold, red & purple)
1-2 onion(s), thickly sliced (I used 1 medium yellow onion)
4 C water OR broth/stock (ham, chicken, beef)
2 bouillon cubes (chicken or beef - if using water)
1/4 C chopped parsley
1 T salt (I used fine sea salt)
1 T black pepper

* Because we have a non-pork eater in the house, I used turkey bacon & turkey smoked sausage. I added minced garlic, dried thyme, dried rosemary & some marjoram to mimic Irish sausage.

+ I used the American version of bacon since Ireland views cured pork loin as bacon. Since we have a non-pork eater, I stuck with the turkey bacon. I also baked the turkey bacon at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, but should have done 20. Set on cooling racks resting in foil-lined baking sheets/jelly roll pans to catch the grease. Then I cut each bacon slice into slightly smaller pieces. I should have cut it into much smaller bits.

Directions:

After spraying the inside of the lazy cooker with cooking spray, place liquid in the insert. Place sausage, bacon, potato pieces & onion slices into the pot, along with bouillon cubes (if using water for your liquid). Add in all of the seasonings.

~~ I had some leftover chopped greens from another dish, so I added it to the Coddle. This could be kale, collard greens, turnip greens (you could throw in the turnip, all sliced up, too), mustard greens, etc. But the original recipe does NOT call for this!

Place the lid on the lazy cooker, make sure it's plugged in & turned onto low for 4-6 hours. (I placed on high for 1 hour, and then low for the rest of the time...and it came out great.)

Stir & serve.

You could probably add in some stout beer, like Guinness, to the pot, too!

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All I know is that the Dublin Coddle turned out to be amazing comfort food for a chilly day! I so want to do it again!

I served it with Mustard Dill slaw. It didn't turn out as great. Too much bite for us. So we may end up scrapping the mustard & dill part. I think sticking with our favorite KFC-style cole slaw will work out just fine from now on! Plus, due to timing issues, I just served a loaf of Old Style Potato bread. Meh. 

I hope to have time to make Traditional Irish Soda Bread next year. But the plate sure was pretty!

I followed up this hearty meal with my APPLE IRISH CREAM CAKE for dessert! I was so happy with this much more authentic meal!

Dublin Coddle & a slice of Apple Irish Cream Cake

This is also a challenge for you to either try Dublin Coddle or find another authentic Irish dish for St. Paddy's Day. Corned Beef is not your answer. If you like it...have it another time.

But in the meantime...

ENJOY!

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UPDATE: Made on the stovetop...

It's April 23rd, and I decided to make the coddle for lunch. It's a cold & nasty, wet day. It's a perfect day for warm comfort food. Since a couple of my potatoes were going bad before they were supposed to, I thought I'd better use 'em up. So I threw my stuff in a pot on the stove. Here's how that went:

Directions:

Since I try to make turkey smoked sausage mimic the likes of Irish sausage, and had already planned on making this dish very soon, I cut up the sausage into chunks & placed them into an airtight container with the garlic, thyme & rosemary. I punctured the sausage pieces so they could absorb the flavorings better. My original plan was to marinade it this way the night before hand, but I let it set for a couple of days...only because of family scheduling being out of whack.

I had some beef broth to use. I poured it into a large pot on the stove. I also had a couple of chicken bouillon cubes that I threw in, too. I brought it to a boil, then added parsley, salt & pepper. After letting that boil for a moment. While I let the broth boil, I cut up my potatoes & onion. 

After letting the seasonings boil for a moment, I turned the heat to mid-hi, then added the potatoes & onion slices. I, then added in the marinaded sausage. I placed about 1 cup of water in the sausage container, closed it, shook it up, and then poured the water & remaining marinade into the pot. I didn't have time to work up any bacon, so I threw in some turkey bacon bits that we had on hand.

Then I brought all of that up to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and then placed the pot's lid on top. I allowed the coddle to simmer for 45 minutes to about an hour...until the potatoes were tender.

Once the potatoes are good & tender, serve it up! YUM!