Whew what a weekend! It is always a bit crazy when we have relatives visit… as in routine goes out the window! As I have explained routine is synonymous with Kristin. Yup and I am not afraid to say it lol However, I can bend and go with the flow too. So today is catch up on laundry, diapers, vacuuming (my sister’s dog Brewski always leaves a nice mess lol), dusting and DISHES!!! It is amazing how 1 extra person allowed us to run the dishwasher every day rather than every 2-3 days? Weird.
So the bed is up! I love it. HoneyBear loves it J It is awesome. Now we have to paint it, carpet it and accessorize! I am still leery of her leaning too far over and falling out, but we have laid out the rules and hopefully my worries will never turn into realities!
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| The loftbed! A wonderful present from my sister Kari and my brother-in-law Seb 🙂 |
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| Because she is only 4 I needed stairs instead of a ladder |
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| Under the stairs is all storage!!! We have different colored baskets to go in there |
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| Down the road this can come off and be a bookshelf
So on Sunday it was kinda miserable out but still warm enough for TICKLEBERRIES!!! Tickleberries is a local ice cream parlor that sells, fudge, tons of different kinds of hard ice cream and local artisan wares are shown off and are for sale.
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| Ninja and SydneyBean |
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| HoneyBear with her first cone of the season |
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| Brewski tried to get a lick and ended up with an ear full of Death by Chocolate! |
When we got home I prepared an Irish dinner for St Patrick’s Day. It was ok… kind of bland and I always find short ribs to be soooo fatty L Every year I think next year my Irish fare will be super tasty. I am beginning to think that Ireland’s food kind of blows. I really want to visit one day but I don’t think that particular country is going to be a culinary adventure lol.
Guinness-Braised Beef Short Ribs
Adapted from Happiness in a Pot
8 lbs Beef Short Ribs
6 Tbsp Canola Oil
4 Onions, diced
6 Carrots, peeled and diced
4 Celery Stalks, diced
12 Garlic Cloves, sliced
4 Cups Guinness
Season the short ribs generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
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| Seasoned beef short ribs |
Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches (do not overcrowd), brown the ribs on all sides. Transfer to a plate
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| Have patience, don’t flip them until they are nice and brown |
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| Get all the sides |
In the same pan over medium heat, add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 300
Transfer the short ribs and vegetables to a Roaster and add Guinness. Cover with aluminum foil. Transfer to the oven and bake until the meat is very tender, about 4 hours.
Transfer the ribs add some of the veggies to serving platter and cover with aluminum foil. Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth. Spoon the sauce on top of the ribs and put the rest in a gravy boat. Serve immediately.
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| It looked amazing, the meat was very tender but maybe needed more seasoning? |
Colcannon
Adapted from Happiness in a Pot
2 ½ lb Russet Potatoes, peeled and quartered
½ Cup Unsalted Butter
¾ Cup Milk
½ lb Bacon, cut into ½ inch dice
4 Large Shallots, thinly sliced
1 Large Leek, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
1 Small Head Savoy Cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
Put the potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches and generously salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain well in a colander.
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and milk and heat until the butter melts and the mixture is hot, 8 to 10 minutes.
Rice the potatoes with a ricer over a large bowl. Fold in the milk mixture. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.
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| When you rice potatoes they are incredibly fluffy, if you don’t have a ricer mashing will do 🙂 |
Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.
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| Bacon from our piggy! |
Using 3 tablespoons of the fat from the bacon return the pot to medium heat, add the shallots and leek and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
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| I love shallots and leeks! |
Add the cabbage and toss for about 8 minutes.
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| Add the cabbage and cook down |
Sprinkle with nutmeg and add the bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Stir into the potatoes.
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| Super fluffy but a bit bland 🙁 |
Irish Soda Bread
Adapted from The Clever Carrot
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch dice
1¾ cups cold buttermilk (I used 2% with a bit of vinegar)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup dried craisins
Preheat your oven to 375
Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.
With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix the craisins into the dough.
Dump the dough onto a lightly-floured sheet pan. With a serrated knife, cut an X into the top. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap on the bottom of the bread, it should have a hollow sound.
Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with butter.
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| This was good, but a bit doughy, I baked it for 25 minutes, maybe should have been longer |
After dinner everyone went to visit Mom at the hospital. She is feeling better but her counts are still dropping. Her pick line had to be taken out because it had moved and was directed towards her head!?! This is not normal but then again nothing about her illness is. At some point I am sure I will talk about it all but at this point it all to… fresh and NOW.
Anyways, Ninja and I stayed home with the girls to give Kari and Seb a little Mom and Dad time. While they were gone we had a little scavenger hunt. I saw this idea on Pinterest from The Crafting Chicks and HoneyBear had a great time. I downloaded the clues right from her site and you can too! They are cute and easy enough for a 4 year old to follow. It was perfect for her first Hunt! Thank you to The Crafting Chicks!!! HoneyBear’s treasure was a Princess kite and 2 golden chocolate loonies. Needless to say, she slept like a log in her new bed!
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| HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY!! |
