It's Almost Time For Some Irish-American Corned Beef

Yes.

I am a nerd.

I love St. Patrick's Day.

More than Christmas.

I am Irish.

I have been to Ireland.

I love it.

I am elated right now that tomorrow is the 1st of March!

I can officially make this recipe once a week and not get strange looks.

I call this recipe Irish - American because while in Ireland, we ate at a different pub, in a different Irish town every night and no where to be found was anything close to corned beef n cabbage.

When we asked a B & B owner about this she explained that it was an Irish - American thing.

That's ok by me.

I still love it.

Get out your slow cooker.

In the bottom throw in a bag o' baby carrots, about 8 cubed potatoes, & 2 medium onions cut into wedges.

Set a 3lb corned beef brisket on top o' the veggies.

Sprinkle the seasoning packet over the top. (If there was one)

Add 2 tbls. cider vinegar, 2 tbls. sugar, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 4 cups hot water to the pot.

Cook on high heat for 6 hours.

Remove the lid and put one head o' cabbage cut into wedges on top.

Replace the lid and cook for an additional 2 hours. (I forgot to take a picture of this. Lame, I know.)

Carve the beef into thick slices or shred (if it's that tender) and serve with the veg & some wholegrain Irish mustard.

It is sooo good.

If you are lucky enough to be Irish, than you are lucky enough! :)

I linked up to:

&

Tater Tots and Jello

My Perch

This is where I have spent my entire day.

I am completely engrossed in this book.

I can't put it down.

It's a true story and strange as it may be, it's completely fascinating to me.

How Much Do I Love My Hubby???

I wanted to live at the beach.

He's a mountain man.
Please tell me there is some kind of badge for this????
Bright side......I got my cardio/upper body in for today! :)

I Tweaked the Pioneer Woman

Yes, Kari (my sister), I tweaked a recipe.

1 - Because I am lazy sometimes

2 - I am lazy sometimes

I tweaked her Lasagna recipe. BIG TIME.

And it was GOOD.

Real GOOD.

So here's my version.

My recipe makes 2 huge pans of Lasagna.

Which is great for me, again, because sometimes I am lazy and I don't want to cook dinner.

I put the second pan in the freezer. :)

Brown 1 lb lean ground beef, 1 lb spicy sausage, 2 chopped onions, & 6 minced cloves of garlic in a HUGE pan or stock pot.

Drain if needed.
Then dump in.....and I really mean dump in.
28oz can plum tomatoes with basil
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
25 oz tomato basil marinara sauce
2 cups good red wine
2- 6 oz cans tomato paste
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 bag shredded carrots
2 bags baby spinach (you may have to add a bit at a time and let it wilt a little before you add more)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Let it simmer while you make the cheese mixture. Stir every few minutes to let the spinach wilt.
Stir together:
32 oz carton of lowfat cottage cheese
2 lb carton of ricotta cheese
4 eggs
12 oz bag of grated parmesan cheese

Sauce is now nice and simmered.

Spinach should be wilted.

Now to put it all together.

But wait.....did I miss a step???

Ohhhh NO, we are using 2 packages NO cook lasagna noodles.

That's right, I said NO cook.

I hate cooking lasagna noodles.

And why should I do it when I don't have to??

I make both pans at the same time so that I can make sure that they are even.

Start with about 2 1/2 cups sauce on the bottom.

Put a layer of the NO COOK noodles. Make sure they overlap just a bit.

Next make a thick layer with the cheese mixture and sprinkle on some grated mozzarella.

(I used a 16oz bag of grated mozzarella and it was enough for both pans)

Top with another 2 1/2 cups of sauce.

Repeat.

You will have some noodles left.

Add one more layer of noodles and sauce and then top them off with some quattro formaggio cheese blend.

(I used 1-12oz bag for both)

Bake in a 350 degree oven covered with a foil & on a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy the deliciousness!

If you are feeling lazy, like me, you don't have to make a salad.

Guess what?

Veggies are already hidden inside.

Just an FYI: I bought most of my ingredients from Trader Joe's.

A Little Fun & Some Sun

WARNING: there are a LOT of pictures in this post!

We took a little vacation to the coast. (FUN)

It included a college tour & some apartment hunting. (Not so fun)

This is what it looked like the morning we left.

I am NOT going to miss it.

We are on our way!

And this.......awwww......is what it looked like when we arrived.
Bliss.

We immediately hit the beach.
I had my flippy floppies on before I got out of the car.

Our first nights dinner.

The BEST, and yes I mean it, seafood I have ever had!!!!

It was soooo worth the 1.5 hour wait.

Matt getting "bibbed" at the Cracked Crab!

Now what do we do with all this stuff???

Visiting the Bassett's at the RV Park.

Our second nights dinner.

BBQ!!!!

I was laughing too Sydney.

Morgan is silly.

This was the infamous fat wool sock with flippy floppy night.

No pics but I am sure you can get a visual.

Wake up Jake!!!!!

I could eat breakfast here every morning.

I adore succulents.

Alas, it's to cold at my house.

Pictures will have to suffice.

Lots and lots of beach fun!

And lots of pool fun.

My kids think that it's "AWESOME" to be able to swim in the winter time.

Worked for me.

I laid in the sun and caught up on some reading.

Oh, Powell's candy shoppe.

How I love you.

You provide endless hours of fun.
See below.

Jumbo pack of "staches", best 5 bucks I ever spent.

I have no idea who those people are.

Hmmmm......

What fun is the gum wall if you can't freak your Mom out???

Awww.....heart shaped gum!

Bay's addition to the wall.

Peace gum.

Headed home today.

We prefer to travel in style.

Mustache style....that is.

We had to stop and visit some family first.

Now that we're men.......

Anna gettin in on the action.

Key key trying it on for size.

Represent.....the stache.

We are the Furrer's after all.

And were off.

Back to the real world.

Big Thanks to the Bassett Bunch & the Leonard Family for having our furry crew over for dinners. We appreciate the hospitality tremendously!

Double Chocolate Delciousness......I mean Cookies.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Melt 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips in the microwave.

(I used Ghiradelli 60% Cacao)

In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt.

With a mixer cream together 1 cup softened butter, 1 1/3 cups brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy.

Beat in melted chocolate.

Add 2 eggs & 2 tsp vanilla and mix until blended.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just blended.

Stir in 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips & 1 cup chopped pecans.

Drop dough onto greased cookie sheet by heaping tablespoons.

Bake for 15 minutes.

These are SOOO good!
Great for the chocolate lover in your life.

Farmgirl Friday!

I hosted a Mountain Farmgirl Sisterhood open house in the hopes of adding some new members/groups to our chapter. We had 20 ladies attend!!! It was tons of fun.

Taco Bar Farmgirl Style!

What artistry!

It was delicious.

For more information about the Farmgirl Sisterhood visit the Mary Jane's Farm Website!

WIWW: New Reality

Yeah, this week is pretty lame.

I was sick with a horrible sinus infection for a week.

You really didn't want to see those outfits.

Trust me.

Finally back to work!

Cargo Skinny Pants - Old Navy

Black Top - Miley Cyrus for Wal Mart

Cardi - Target

Boots - Chinese Laundry

Necklace - Lisa Leonard

Here's my new reality!

I wear these.......a lot.

I am training for a half marathon at the end of March with my Farmgirls.

Hopefully I will still have time for blogging!

For now, all my free time is spent running, walking or doing yoga.

Here's to my 2011 fitness goals!

Did you make any health/fitness goals for this year??