Entire Meal for 6 people for less than $10.00

Entire meal for 6 (with leftovers) for less than $10.00

Serve Irish Soda Bread and Corned Beef and Cabbage together for a delicious St Patrick’s Day meal

Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned Beef Brisket (comes with a seasoning packet)
Cabbage
Beef Broth

Place beef in a Dutch oven and pour in enough water to cover the beef. Bring to a boil uncovered. Then cover and simmer for 3 ½ hours. Drain (save & freeze this liquid in a freezer bag it makes a great soup base later on) place the cabbage with the beef in the Dutch oven pour enough beef stock to fill the pot ½ way and sprinkle the seasoning packet over the cabbage and beef cook covered on low heat for one hour. Place on a deep sided platter with some stock.

I add carrots, potatoes and onion-I know, this makes it New England Boiled Dinner……..but it is still Irish….. And soooo good!

Irish Soda Bread(a-la stacy)

4 Cups Flour
¼ Cup Sugar
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Cold Butter
1 Eggs beaten
1 Cup Buttermilk (or 2 Tbls vinegar added to 1 Cup Milk)
1 Tbls Cinnamon
3 Tbls Ground Flaxseed (I use my coffee grinder)

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, cut in butter until crumbly. Combine eggs and buttermilk and mix in. I use the stir setting on my stand mixer for all mixing of ingredients. Change the paddle for the dough hook at the end add a bit more flour if the dough seems sticky. Shape into 6 individual mini-loaves. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Double recipe for 9 bigger individual loaves.

Asian Salad--BEST Cabbage Salad EVER!!!

2 Packages of Shrimp Ramen Noodles
1 Bag Slivered Almonds
2 Cups Craisens
2 Bags shredded cabbage...(it looks small but it makes a lot)
8 Scallions chopped
1.5 Cups Canola oil
3 Tablespoon vinegar
3-4 Tablespoons sugar
Pepper to taste

Combine ramen flavor packet with the oil, vinegar and sugar. Toss with cabbage, scallions and craisens, sprinkle with pepper. Set in fridge at least 2 hours or overnight. Crumble ramen noodles and add the crunchy noodles and almonds just before serving. Toss and enjoy!!!

B Bars

I admit it, I like granola bars. My whole family likes granola bars too. For a while I bought these individually wrapped tasty treats faithfully during my weekly grocery shopping trip. They went into lunches , they were added to the snack rule, at our house you can eat whenever you are hungry as long as it is a fruit or a vegetable, or 1 granola bar snack per day-no questions asked.

Little did I know. Ugh, where do I start? Well, the nutrition label is the obvious place. I never read it, seriously. I figured that since they were granola bars the had to be healthy and good for you and...safe. Uh, yeah,......I was blind. Most bars that I bought were laden with sugar, salt and ingredients that I couldn't pronounce. And how about the packaging? How safe are those individual foil wrappings? Do they emit a toxin while they are being shipped across the country in a 18-wheeler ? The temperatures in the box trucks can reach upwards of 100 degrees. Just the carbon footprint of the truck alone is scary, now add in the packaging and you've got a hefty price to pay for convenience.

So, I stopped buying granola bars, and I started tinkering with recipes. I found some online and tried them. The recipes were lengthy and cumbersome, not to mention the difficult to find and costly ingredients. For a while I gave up. Then I saw a recipe in Family Fun Magazine July/August 2008 . The granola bar recipe had only 7 ingredients! and was easy to make! I played around with the recipe and B Bars evolved. My family loves them and I feel good about consuming them. This recipe has been shared with dozens of other families who testify there are the BEST bars they have ever had.

I'd appreciate your feedback.

B Bars

2 Cups Quick Oats
2 Cups ground almonds
2 Cups dried cranberries
1 Cup ground flax seed
1 Cup coconut
1 Cup real maple syrup

Preheat oven to 275

Combine all dry ingredients in a stand mixer, use paddle attachment and set mixer on stir or the slowest setting. Stir for one minute until all ingredients are blended. While the mixer is running gradually pour in the maple syrup. Let ingredients mix well for about two minutes.

Lightly grease the bottom of a 9x13 metal pan. Bake for 1 hour and allow the

B Bars to completely cool in the pan.
Cut into 20 squares = 3 long side cuts and 4 short side cuts

Nutritional content (approximate) for 1/20 B Bar
Calories 207
Fat 13 grams
Trans Fat ZERO
Cholesterol ZERO
Sodium 34 grams
Carbs 39 grams
Fiber 8 grams
Sugar 25 grams
Protein 6 grams

Bakers Notes:
-I use my coffee mill to grind slivered or sliced almonds and the flax seed.
-When placing the mixture into the pan I press it down with wax paper and even out the surface with the pressure from my hand.
-Raisins and other dried fruits, baking chips or trail mix would be a tasty addition to this recipe.

Blueberry Jam

(CLICK ON THE WORD BLUEBERRY AND SEE WHERE TO GET THE BEST LOCAL BLUEBERRIES)


We try to make jam every year, blueberry, strawberry whatever we can get our hands on. Making jam, however, is a labor of love....that has gotten a little easier!! Usually I do the whole crush, mix and cook method. Messiest, time consuming, HOT....but the biggest thing is that for every 4.5 cups of blueberries you use 7 cups of sugar!!!!! That is a lot of SUGAR!!!! Last summer I tried freezer jam....o-mi-gosh..it is so easy!!! Just crush 4 cups of fruit add1.5 cups of sugar mix in the Ball Fruit Jell Freezer Jam Pectin and pour into containers!!! That is it! One bowl, no boiling , no mess...and a lot less sugar. The biggest bonus to freezer jam is the taste...freezer jam is absolutely fabulous!!!!

HOT CROSS BUNNYS

What.......for those of you european...here is a recipe...using gram measurements...lHowever, I'll be spending Easter devouring Hot Cross Bunnys That my Mother-in-Law makes from scratch using cup measurements....YUM........................................If I can pry the recipe from her I will post it soon.


Melted butter, to grease
250ml (1 cup) warm milk
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
2 tsp (14g/2 sachets) dried yeast
60g melted butter, extra
1 egg, lightly whisked
600g (4 cups) plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp mixed spice
170g (1 cup) sultanas
80g (1/2 cup) currants
95g (1/2 cup) mixed peel
Plain flour, extra, to dust
Butter, to serve
Cross paste
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour
80ml (1/3 cup) cold water
Glaze
2 tbs caster sugar
2 tbs cold water
1 tsp powdered gelatine
Method
Brush cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Combine the milk, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Place in a warmplace for 10 minutes or until foamy.
Combine the yeast mixture, extra melted butter and egg in a jug. Sift the combined flour, salt and mixed spice in a large bowl. Add the sultanas, currants and mixed peel. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir until combined, then use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding more flour to the dough if required. Brush a large bowl with a little melted butter to grease. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat in butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and place in a warm, place to prove for 1-1 1/2 hours or until dough doubles in size.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Punch down the centre of the dough with your fist. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic and has returned to its original size. Divide dough into 16 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball. Place side by side in prepared pan. Stand in a warm place for 20-30 minutes or until dough has risen 1-2cm.
To make the cross, combine the flour and water in a small bowl to create a smooth paste. Place in a small plastic bag and snip a corner. Pipe the flour paste in a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns. Repeat in the opposite direction to make crosses. Bake buns in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 20 minutes or until buns are golden and cooked through. When they’re ready, the buns will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
To make the glaze, combine sugar, water and gelatine in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly Remove buns from oven and turn onto a wire rack. Brush tops with glaze. Serve hot with butter.

Taken From www.all-for-women.blogspot.com