An Irish Easter

These daffodils make me smile. Fresh & Easy had them for 98 cents this week, but I bought them on Saturday when they were marked down to 50 cents. I love thrifty finds.

Easter was a bit out of the ordinary this year. When my mom visited Chicago over Christmas she bought corned beef from the Irish Market. We weren't able to get together with her for St. Patrick's day, so it's been sitting in my freezer all this time. I knew it needed to be cooked so I figured why not Easter? I'm never one to be stuck on tradition anyway... I make pork chops for Christmas dinner instead of ham or turkey. Anyhow, Easter was nice, we had my mom and Blaine over.

I started the corned beef at 10:00am it was nearly 8 pounds. Rather than simmering it for hours on the stovetop. I tried my dad and brother's way of preparing it, they cook it in the oven. They put it in a roasting pan with beer and water, covered, it roasts at 325-degrees for a few hours (about an hour a pound). It came out drier than I'm used to, not sure if it's supposed to be or if I overcooked it. Either way it was tasty, tender and savory. To go with our Irish feast, I made mac'n cheese from scratch - my first time, it was decent, the texture was off. I'd prefer it more creamy and gooey. I'm pretty certain skim milk and 2% cheese is the culprit. Somethings are meant to be fatty. Also, made potato pancakes and parmesan salad. For dessert, my mom made snow tunnel cake (since I didn't get it at Christmas). Delicious. My sister teased me about my Irish Easter idea, but it was a success. Tasty eats and full bellies. How can you go wrong?