In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and because we love it no matter the day, I made a corned beef on Sunday with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions.  I cooked it all afternoon and the house smelled wonderful.  I posted the corned beef recipe that I use last April.  It was taught to me by a dear friend who used to host a St. Patrick’s Day celebration every year.  There were just two of us feasting on a large pot of meat and veggies so we had a lot of leftovers.  Some people hate leftovers.  At our house we love them.  I think usually they are more interesting when they are repurposed.  But that is not always true.

Leftovers Day 1

The Brits, who I’m told are not famous for haute cuisine, have a dish called Bubble and Squeak.  It’s basically a recipe for frying up leftover cabbage, mashed potatoes, and meat.  I decided to give Bubble and Squeak a shot using my own interpretation and the leftovers we had.  It’s not complicated.

The Ingredients I used:

1 small onion diced

2 cloves of garlic sliced

2 stalks of celery chopped

1 T canola oil

1 T butter

Chopped cooked cabbage

Diced corned beef

Boiled potatoes and carrots smashed

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy skillet over medium high heat and sauté the onion, celery and garlic until tender.

While the onions are cooking slice and dice the corned beef.

Smash the potatoes and carrots.

Add the cabbage and corned beef to the skillet.

Top with the smashed potatoes and carrots and heat through.

Now if you’re extremely talented in the kitchen flip the bubble and squeak over in the pan.  Use a plate or pan lid to assist with the flip so that both sides are lightly browned.  If you’re not extremely talented follow my lead…brush a little butter on the top and put the pan under the broiler until the top is lightly browned.  Slice and serve.

I know.  It looks pretty grey and boring.  And maybe not even very appetizing.  It was “okay.”  If I’m to make this again I need to think of a way to jazz this up a little and make it more exciting.    Suggestions are welcome!

Leftovers Day 2

Rueben Sandwiches.  This was my mother’s favorite sandwich.  A favorite of mine as well.  This is an easy dinner to prepare and doesn’t require a recipe.  Good bread is a must.

The ingredients I used:

Combine Ketchup, Mayo and Sweet Relish to make Thousand Island-ish sandwich spread.

Assemble the sandwich and grill.

This repurposed leftover was much more successful.  I served it with homemade dill pickles and vegetable chips.  You can put a little of the magic sauce on the sandwich before grilling and serve additional sauce on the side.

Looks a lot more appetizing than Bubble and Squeak doesn’t it??

I still have leftover corned beef.  Maybe corned beef hash and eggs tomorrow.