Irish Soda Bread

No yeast? That’s ok.

Ingredients
1.5 cups buttermilk*
3.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

*if you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can curdle the 1.5 cups of milk with 1 tbsp white vinegar

Directions

1. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Stir to combine.
2. Create a well and pour in buttermilk
3. Combine to a slightly shaggy dough, then form the ball into a nice loaf. The dough should be slightly sticky at this point.
4. Flour your hands and form into a round loaf. (You can add a little more flour or milk to achieve the right feel.)
5. Score the loaf with a knife into an X, then poke a hole into the middle of the X with your finger.
6. Bake at 400 F in a Dutch oven or on a cookie sheet/pizza stone for about 30-35 minutes until the crust is hard but sounds hollow inside if you tap or thump the shell.

Share pics in the comments of your loaves!

Here’s the video where I learned how to do this:

Yet Another Crock Pot Beef Stew

• carrots* – 1 cup
• sweet potato cubes* – 1/2 cup
• parsnip cubes – 1/2 cup
• 1/2 cup barley
• mushrooms – 1 cup
• stew meat cubes – 1 pound
• chicken broth – 1 cup
• 1/2 onion – sliced thinly
• Mississippi Mud Black & Tan beer (or Guinness) – 2 cups+

-Boil the barley in the chicken stock (I also put the parnips in as well.) for about 5 minutes.

-Brown the meat in a skillet with a bit of the beer.

-Pour everything into the crockpot; if there’s room add beer to top off the bowl

-Set on HIGH for 5 hours.

-Stir the ingredients for consistent cooking.

-Set to LOW for another 3 hours.

Its done when the stew meat is tender. The beer will add a little bit of sweetness and works well with the sweet potato.

*bonus if you have a Trader Joe’s that has precut sweet potatoes, as well as bag of mini carrots to reduce prep time. I also just get their stew meat already in cubes-its very good quality.

Roast Chicken

Ingredients
~5 pound chicken (I use Foster Farms)
Carrots
Onion
New Red Potatoes
Butter
Garlic (chopped or clove)
Mushrooms
olive oil
sea salt
white wine (optional)

Directions

1. Peel and chop carrots to desired size, I like them a bit chunky
2. Dice onion, put aside in bowl
3. Chop up larger mushrooms or leave button mushrooms whole
4. Melt the butter in a large pan (or in your oven safe enamelware)
   
5. Saute the onion in the melted butter until translucent
6. Rinse the chicken and remove the giblets
7. Place the chicken in the pot (here is where you can do your Swedish Chef imitation) and drizzle it with olive oil and then sprinkle sea salt on the skin
   
8. Place the vegetables around the chicken in the pot
9. Pour 2 cups of white wine in if you are so inclined. The alcohol will bake off before it is done.
10. Stick everything in the oven at 350
11. Melt some more butter for basting the chicken every 20 minutes or so.

The chicken is done when the juices run clear when you poke the joints with a fork or knife (probably about an hour and a half depending on the size of your chicken.)

If your veggies aren’t quite done, pull out your chicken and put it on a plate to rest a bit then put your veggies back in the oven until they are tender enough for you.

Serve it all up on a bed of Quinoa (video coming soon) and the veggies.