Irish Soda Bread
1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup milk and 2 T white vinegar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 T white sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup raisins
Heat oven to 375 degrees. I used a cast iron skillet that I heated in the oven for 10 minutes.
If you do not have buttermilk, no worries, measure one cup milk and add 2 T white vinegar stir, and let sit for 10 minutes. Measure all other ingredients into a bowl and stir together. When milk is ready pour over dry mixture and mix with a fork just until well combined. The dough will seem light and sort of fluffy. Do not over mix. Flour a breadboard and toss some flour over the top of your dough. Knead the dough about 6 or 7 times, until it comes together nicely with the flour on the board. Flour your iron skillet. Flour the top of the disc. Form the dough into a disk, with a sharp knife, cut a cross into the top of the dough. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. You can test this bread with a skewer to make sure it's baked thoroughly. Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so, if you can stand it!
I cut into mine way too soon and this made it a bit gummy...so hold off, it'll be worth it.
Serve with a little butter and jam and all the fixin's of a weekend breakfast!!
Or got the truly Irish Route and serve it with a Guiness Stew or Corned Beef and Cabbage.
Be still my heart! I knew the day would come when he'd be calling and asking how to make something. When I got the call today it put a smile on my face and warmed my heart. Calling from Costco he asked if I'd give him the recipes for bread, chili and beef stew.
Easy Bread
Mix this together with a fork:
1 packet quick rising yeast
1 cup hot tap water
1 cup flour
Let this mixture get bubbly - it will take about 15 minutes.
After it rises add:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup wheat bran (if you don't have this, add another 1/2 cup flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
Knead this dough on a flat surface that has been floured so it doesn't stick. Knead about 5 minutes with the heel of your hand. Put it into a bowl, cover it with a towel, keep it in a warm place for about 1 hour til it has doubled in size.
Punch the dough down, take it out of the bowl and knead it again for about 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease your loaf pan with a little oil or butter. Round out the dough into the shape of the loaf pan or whatever you are using to bake it in. Cover again and allow it to rise to double the size.
Put it in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until browned on top and when you tap it it sounds hollow. Alow to cool for at least 10 minutes before you cut into it - you might ruin the loaf by pressing it down. You want it to cool so you can saw nicely into it. Use some self-control!
Chili
Soak 2 cups of beans in water overnight. In the morning put them in a crock pot, with plenty of water, almost to the top and turn on low. At this point, do not add anything to the beans.
This may take 6 - 8 hours.
Once the beans are tender, turn off and set aside.
2 lbs ground meat
2 medium onions, chopped
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large can diced tomatoes, 29ounces
1 small can chili paste
2 beef bullion cubes
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
hot sauce, sour cream, cheese, crackers
Brown the meat. Drain off the fat. Add the diced onion, chili powder and garlic powder, tomatoes and tomato paste. Put all of this in with the beans and allow to simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes. Taste to check for seasoning. If mixture is too thick, add some water and stir. If it's too thin, just cook it down by turning up the heat, just a bit, and stirring it up from the bottom.
To add a great smoky flavor, get a bottle of smoked chipotle chili sauce, in the Mexican food section of the market, its only about a dollar and is a great flavor.
Beef Stew
2 lbs cubed stew meat
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
2 teaspoons garlic powder, or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
4 carrots, sliced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
Dry the meat with a paper towel. Dust lightly with flour on a plate. Put oil in pot and heat on medium heat. Place meat in pot to brown.
Pour in water or liquid. Add garlic powder, onion, worcestershire sauce. Let simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Add carrots and potatoes after about 1 hour, cook for about another hour or until the vegetables are tender. At this point add salt and pepper to taste. When its completely done, add just a bit of butter - a tablespoon and allow to melt over the top, then mix it in.
If you happen to have beer, you can replace some or all of the water for beer. Guiness makes a really good stew.
Really Easy Crockpot Roast
3lb rump roast
1 can (29 ounce) diced tomatoes
6 - 8 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
Score the top of the roast by cutting x's. Push the cloves of garlic into the x's. Salt and pepper all over - not too much. Put the roast in the crockpot. Pour the whole can of tomatoes over it. Cook for 6 - 8 hours on low. Serve with some rice or potatoes - mashed or baked.
