You’ve got to think lucky. If you fall into a mudhole, check your back pocket – you might have caught a fish.
Darrell Royal
I feel like because I have only been posting once a week that I should have something profound to say.
I don’t.
In fact, sometimes I think… “Holy Jeeze Kristin shut the Eff up!”
Last week I had 3 PAC meetings and I seemed to have used up my voice. We had to vote 2 of our Exec’s off the council. This was a tough one for me because I consider this couple, my friends. I guess I should say considered 🙁 They weren’t happy and we weren’t happy so it is better for all involved but it still sucks to lose a friendship. So now I am helping out with Hot Lunch and last week I learned the program, talked to vendors and set up the menus for the rest of the year. I have phone anxiety so contacting vendors wasn’t fun for me lol BUT it is good to get out of my shell and use a phone every once in a while.
I seem to be all talked out.
We are halfway thorough the 1st week of spring break. Having BOTH girls home means more talking and more listening. Ninja came home today and took them to the park and I thought “WOW the house to myself! Should I do yoga? Clean the bathrooms? Poop?” It is funny because my sister just sent me an article all about not being a selfish Mom when you take time to do something for yourself.
I layed down to think about it and woke up when I heard the van door slam an hour and a half later.
What a waste.
This week we have gone to the library,
Played at the park,
Made pudding,
Enjoyed the nice weather 🙂
HBear is in a Art class for 2 hours a day at the Art School,
We visited Mom and took her up some new flowers,
We stopped to look at the Community garden to see how it is coming along,
The girls have done some good cuddling and book reading,
Grandma and Grandpa came over for St Patrick’s Day dinner,
We did a St Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt,
We went to the Dentist. No cavities for either of the girls 🙂
We made smoothies,
And we had a St Patrick’s Day “Pub” Dinner. It was really good. Every year I have a hard time finding Irish dishes to make for St Patrick’s Day 🙁 It is all so…. bland. This year I skewed the boundaries and made dishes that used Irish alcohol 🙂 The results were Delicious!
Irish Onion Soup
2 tablespoons butter
2 sweet yellow onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup Irish whiskey
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt, plus 2 teaspoons
3/4 cup Guinness Stout
4 sprigs thyme
8 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon black pepper
Day old baguette slices
5 slices Gruyere cheese
In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter, cook onions over medium, medium/low heat for an 45 minutes, careful not to burn the onions. Stirring every so often.
Add whiskey, flour, pinch of salt & cook for about 4 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, cook til fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add Guinness and simmer until reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes.
Add broth, thyme, pepper and remaining salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove thyme.
Ladle into oven safe bowls and top with day old baguette slices and Gruyere cheese.
Place under the broiler (my broiler is on the fritz 🙁 Mine didn’t get brown and bubbly like I had hoped, still tasted Ah-Mazing though ) until cheese is bubbly & toast is browned.
Irish Sausage Plate
2 lbs assorted sausage links in casings
1 1/4 cup Guinness stout beer, divided
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon horseradish
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons chives, chopped
I used pork bangers, fresh beef sausage and what the butcher deemed Ukrainian Kielbasa. Coming from the Ukrainian Winnipeg all I can say is… shame on you Mr. Grimm! lol seriously though it was the closest we have found here but not quite the same 🙂
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sear the sausages on all sides (3 to 5 minutes).
Carefully add in 1 cup stout and water and let simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes longer.
In a small sauce pan, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup stout, heavy cream, mustard, and horseradish. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.
Remove sausages from heat and serve with sauce.
Sprinkle chives over each.
I served homemade beets, a variety of pickles and 2 types of fresh Havarti 🙂
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons of chives, finely sliced
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon of mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Boil the potatoes until they are fork-tender, this will take 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes – you need to keep checking so they don’t collapse. Drain and mash well.
Preheat oven to 350.
Add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste.
Leave the mixture to cool, then shape into round cakes about 2-3 inches wide. Rest on a greased baking tray in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes.
Bake for 35 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through and the tops are golden.
Irish Cream Bread Pudding
For the Irish Cream sauce:
1 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon water
For the bread pudding:
7 cups of 3/4-inch cubed French bread
3 ounces chocolate chips
3 ounces white chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup milk
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
For the sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the whipping cream, liqueur, sugar, and vanilla to a boil, stirring frequently.
In a smaller, separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and water until combined.
Add the cornstarch/water mixture to the cream, stirring well.
Boil the mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 3 minutes).
Remove mixture from the heat, cool, and transfer to a lidded container and chill until cold (about 2 hours).
For the bread pudding: In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes and white and dark chocolate chips.
In a separate bowl (or the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the eggs, 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar, and vanilla.
Gradually add in 3/4 cup of whipping cream and the milk.
Once well combined, add the mixture to the bread/chips, and stir to combine. Set aside, and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Transfer the soaked bread pudding evenly to the dish.
Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup of whipping cream over the bread pudding mixture.
Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Bake the bread pudding for 1 hour, or until the central portion of the pudding is set.
Cool slightly, drizzle with the sauce, and serve warm.
