Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage! + Nutty Leprechaun Dessert!

Posted on Mar 15 2014 - 8:11am by Brenda Meehan

It’s a long standing “O’Meehan” family tradition to serve Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. We like it best in the crockpot! It takes the stress out of serving such a great meal, and with less mess too. It’s also a simple easy-to-make dinner that you could even put together mid-week outside of the holiday. Using the crockpot is key to easy and time saving meals because you prepare it, and walk away! You can have dinner cooking while you’re working, which we LOVE! Plus one of the best parts is that your meat will come out “pull apart” tender, and the crock pot also draws out a lot of the salt.

IMG_1264 copy

There’s a favorite family story that comes along with making this dish. We always have our Grandma “Nana” over for holiday meals, and she really loves Corned Beef. She loves it so much in fact, that about 20 years ago…while she was very audibly enjoying her Corned Beef with lots of “Mmmmmm”-ing…my clever brother Gavin (at 10 years old) actually stopped eating to ask if she needed some privacy to enjoy her dinner! We all had a big laugh, and we still tease her about it occasionally to this day.

We always add some carrots and potatoes to our Corned Beef and Cabbage to make it a full meal. Here’s a quick recipe to make your own!

INGREDIENTS:

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into strips, (or a bag of peeled baby carrots)

6 to 8  red potatoes, quartered or halved, depending on size

1 cup water + 1 cup white wine

1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet

1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the brisket in the slow cooker. Sprinkle on the spices from the packet, cover, and set the cooker on High.  (A quick 3P tip: you can also put your pot in the microwave with a microwave safe lid for about 10 minutes beforehand to get it started! Also: cover your crockpot with tin-foil once you remove it from the microwave to keep steam in.)

After the brisket has had a chance to cook for a while, add your vegetables. It’s important to “stagger” when you’re adding to the crockpot, so that your veggies don’t get mushy. You’ll want to cook on high for 4 to 5 hours depending on the size. (You can also cook for 8-10 hours on low if you have the time while you’re at work.)

2. On “Staggering” your veggies: add your carrots to crock pot about halfway through the cooking time. Boil your potatoes in a separate pot on the stove when your beef is getting closer to done. When your potatoes are partially cooked, add the cabbage to cook for about 10 minutes with the lid on the pot, so that your vegetables are done at the same time.

3. Once everything is plated on your platter, pour some of the “Corned Beef Au Ju” over the veggies and meat to soak up all of the flavor. You can also add some chopped parsley to your potatoes for some extra green, and added flavor!

IMG_1275

We like to serve ours with creamed corn, fresh bread, with bit of mustard too! It makes for great leftovers as well, you can stretch the meal by creating some delicious corned beef sandwiches the next day!

We couldn’t resist sharing this bright, light, and nutty dessert recipe we whipped up! It’s the perfect mix of salty and sweet but still easy on the waistline. We call it our “Nutty Leprechaun”!

Ingredients: Serves 8-10 people (Quick, less than 10 minute prep!)

½ gallon of low fat Vanilla Ice Cream, softened
2 packages pistachio pudding powder mix
1 container of light Cool Whip
1 cup crushed pistachios for topping
9×13 dish

IMG_1298 copy

Directions:

  1. Mix in two packages of pudding mix, with half gallon of softened Ice Cream.
  2. Spread mixture evenly into 9×13 pan
  3. Layer on Cool Whip, and top with crushed pistachios.

Cover with saran wrap, and freeze for 1-2 hours.

IMG_1308 copy

IMG_1303 copy

Do you have any traditional Irish meals that you like to make your family? Share your recipes with us in a comment!