um, I had whole wheat pasta, spagetti sauce (with extra spices added) and kidney beans. Also a salad with blue cheese vinegarette dressing...

pretty good, but not the most satisfying...

Well, dinner tomorrow night (we're going out tonight) is CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE, BABY!!!

I particularly like the recipe I use.

~Ang

You most definitely have celtic roots!

Well, we do have Corned Beef and Cabbage more than once a year, but it's just fun to mention today.

And holy crap, I'm looking forward to it - I haven't actually done this recipe in years.

~Ang

Yeah... both of us do... Mostly Irish with a bit of Scotish and Welsh on my side. Guess that explains my deep love of Guinness huh?

~Ranger

sure ya gotta explain it somehow! corned beef really doesnt do it for me though.
happy paddys day to you both (and the 2 little people!)

Ooo, I would love a good corned beef and cabbage recipe. Could you post it Ang?...Pretty Please?

For St. P's dinner I made ruben sandwiches, mashed pots and Guinness.

Tonight it will be roast pheasant with roasted root veggies and cabbage done in butter and white wine... yummy!

I'll post the recipe tomorrow if I remember, but in the meantime I'll tell you it was just as good as I remember. And it's just as good with parsnips as it is with rutabaga - strange, I thought I wouldn't like either when I first saw the recipe... and I love them both. At least cooked that way.

I hope CJ isn't too horribly gassy after I ate all that cabbage...

~Ang

Here are a couple of my favorites

Northern Nurse's Blue cheese burgers

2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 Oz Blue cheese (use the cheep stuff and save the good for crackers)
4 large whole wheat buns, split in half



Preheat a gas or charcoal grill. (Alternately, cook the patties in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
In a bowl, combine the beef, garlic, salt, pepper, and mix gently but thoroughly.
Lightly combine the crumbled Blue cheese with the beef mixture and form into patties
Grill on lightly seasoned BBQ grill.
Lightly toast buns and serve with desired condiments.

and


Salmon Marinade

1 side of salmon
¾ cup soya sauce
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp Canola oil
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ginger powder (or fresh)


Cut the fillet into 1 to 1 ½ inch thick steaks across the grain
Combine the marinade in shallow dish ensuring that the dry ingredients are well incorporated

Cover salmon fingers with marinade and let stand for 24 hrs in refrigerator.

Grill


Enjoy and let me know what you think

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Northern Nurse,

Oh Guinness...YUM! I'm on my 3rd bottle tonight. We had a car meet yesterday and one of the guys brought a 6 pack. I had 2 yesterday and 3 tonight. So yummy!

Oh Geez - I never did post that recipe.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner

1 - 2 to 2 1/2 lb corned beef brisket
1 tsp whole black pepper
2 bay leaves
3 med carrots, quartered lengthwise (I also usually halve them as well)
2 med parsnips or 1 med rutabaga, peeled and cut into chunks
2 med red onions, cut into wedges
10 to 12 new potatoes (or 1 lb)
1 small cabbage, cut into 6 wedges (1 lb)

Trim fat from meat. Place in a 4 to 6 quart pot; add juices and spices from package of beef. Add enough water to cover meat. Add pepper and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 2 hours or until meat is almost tender.

Add carrots, onions, and parsnip or rutabaga to meat. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Scrub potatoes; halve or quarter. Add potatoes and cabbage to pot. Cover and cook about 20 minutes more or until vegetables and meat are tender. Discard bay leaves. Remove meat from pot. Thinly slice meat across the grain. Transfer meat and veggies to a serving platter. Enjoy!

(note - if you don't want to add the extra pepper and bay leaves, you don't need to, we just like to double up on that flavor)

So there you have it. My favorite St Patrick's Day recipe. I like it with Irish Soda Bread.

~Ang

Every year I love to have my favorite Cheese Cake instead of the conventional birthday cakes.

Here it is:

CHEESECAKE SUPREME, OR Northern Nurse's Birthday CHEESECAKE


This is the real New York cheesecake, with a shortbread cooky crust instead of a graham cracker crust. This must be baked and has no gelatine in it. It freezes well.



CRUST:

2 Cups sifted all purpose flour

1/2 Cup sugar

2 tsp grated lemon peel

1 Cup butter or margarine

2 slightly beaten egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla

FILLING:

5 eight ounce packages of cream cheese

1/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp grated lemon peel

1 3/4 C sugar

3 Tbsp flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 or 5 eggs (1 Cup)

2 egg yolks

1/4 Cup whipping cream

TO MAKE CRUST: Combine first three ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. Pat 1/3 of dough on the bottom of a spring_form pan, sides removed. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees F) about 8 minutes or until top is golden. Cool. Attach sides to bottom, butter and pat remaining dough on sides to a height of 1 3/4 inches.

MAKE FILLING: Have cream cheese at room temperature, and beat until creamy. Add vanilla and lemon peel. Mix the next three ingredients together, and gradually add to cheese mixture. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating after each just to blend. Stir in whipping cream.

COMBINE: Place spring_form pan on a baking sheet and turn filling gently into it. Bake at 450 degrees F for 12 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and continue baking for about 55 minutes, or until centre doesn't jiggle when pan is moved. Remove from oven and cool. Loosen sides with spatula after 1/2 hour. Remove sides after one hour. Allow to cool for at least two hours longer before serving or freezing.

After thawing, top with a fruit sauce/glaze made up of fresh or thawed frozen fruit, sugar and corn starch cooked until thickened, and cooled before topping the cheesecake. Serve sliced in small wedges; this dessert is rich!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Northern Nurse,

Well not for dinner per se but here are some of my fav goodie recipes!

Chocolate & Banana Muffins

6 tbls milk
2 eggs
5 oz Butter, melted
8oz Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
5oz Golden Castor sugar
4oz Chocolate Chips
2 small bananas, mashed

Place 12 paper cases in a deep muffin tin. Preheat oven to 200C/390F/Gas 6. Place milk, eggs and melted butter in a bowl and combine. Sift together the flour and baking powder and add the sugar and chocolate chips and stir together. Fold in the mashed bananas.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases. Bake for 25 mins until golden. Cool and enjoy!

Soooooooooo easy to make and they're moist and scrumptious!!

Banana Bread

7oz self raising flour
1/4 tsp bread soda
1/2 tsp salt
3oz butter
6oz sugar
2 beaten eggs
1lb (2) bananas
4oz mixed nuts

Cream butter and sugar and add eggs gradually. Beat well and add bananas. Stir in flour and nuts.
Bake at 200C/390F for 75 mins until nicely brown on top.

Yummy by itself or with butter or with anything you want really! Leave out the nuts if you want but they add a lovely texture.

The best potato salad ever!

Baby potaotes
Crispy bacon
Chives
Equal measures of sour cream and mayonaise

Cook baby potatoes and chop into ~cm dice. Cook bacon until really crispy, trim off fat and cut into small pieces. Mix the potatoes, bacon and chives and add equal quantites of sour cream and mayo until everything has a light coating. This is even better if you add the bacon to the potatoes while still warm, leave to cool then add the dressing. The potatoes end up tasting like bacon and its sooooo good!

Baileys Cheesecake

Base:
225g Digestive Biscuit crumbs
75g Butter, melted

Filling:
1 pkt lemon jelly (dissolve in 150ml boiling water, allow to cool)
450g Philadelphia cream cheese
150g castor sugar
2 tbsp Baileys
100ml milk
100ml whipping cream, lightly whipped

Mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter. Press into base of a 9" loose bottomed cake tins. Leave to chill until required.
Beat the Philadelphia until smooth. Add sugar, Baileys, milk and cooled jelly. Blend well. Fold in cream.
Pour onto the prepared crumb base and chill until firm and set.

Swap the lemon jelly for strawberry and add about 3/4 of a tin of strawberries or the equivalent of fresh strawberries (mash them well) in place of the Baileys for a seriously yummy Strawberry Cheesecake.

Thats it for now!