Ginger and Lime Corned Beef with Colcannon

Mr B and I returned home from our weekend away yesterday afternoon and my bags hadn't even hit the ground before I was elbow deep in flour, sugar and cream cheese - just the way I like it. Before I knew it we had a kitchen full of goodies including Easter Basket Cupcakes and Baileys Cheesecake (which I will tell you all about later in the week!).

Given that it was  St Patrick's Day, we indulged in some Ginger and Lime Corned Beef with Colcannon (and copious amounts of Baileys.....) and whilst it may not have been pretty, it was delicious.

To make this Ginger and Lime Corned Beef (Serves 4) you will need:

1.5kg of  Corned Beef
10-12 peppercorns
4 litres of ginger ale
2 tbspns crushed ginger
1 lime, quartered
1 tbspn crushed garlic
1-2 tspns crushed chilli

Place the corned beef in a large saucepan and cover with ginger ale. Add the remaining ingredients.

Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 1.5 hours.

When the Corned Beef has around 1/2 hour to go, get started on your Colcannon.

5 pieces of shortcut bacon
1/2 cup finely diced spring onions
1/2 savoy cabbage, diced
4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
50g butter plus 40g extra
2 tbspns milk

Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil. Drain and set aside.

In a fry pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, cabbage and 1/2 of the spring onions for 7-10 mins or until cabbage is softened and bacon is cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the milk and butter to the potatoes and mash well.

Stir through the cabbage and bacon mixture.

To serve the Colcannon, make a well in the centre and add the extra butter. Top with the remaining spring onion.

Remove the Corned Beef from the pot, slice and serve with English Mustard.

Enjoy with a tall glass of icy cold Baileys!

Mrs B xx

Crunchy Noodle Salad

Tonight's blog post is kind of a mental health post.

For the past 2.5 days Mr B and I have been watching and waiting as a bushfire rages out of control in the bushland around us. It is one of the most frustrating and scary things I have ever experienced as just when you think it's calming down and things are looking good, the wind changes and it all flares up again. I have this constant knot of tension in my stomach and I just don't know how people face these things.....well actually I do - you just keep going. You put one foot in front of the other, you keep yourself busy and you just wait for it to get better because honestly, what else can you do? I would love to pick our house, land and lambies up and move it to the middle of a big city, I would love to jump in my car and just leave, but more than anything I would love to just look out the window and for it to all be gone and if I never hear another helicopter fly over head ever again, it will be too soon. I'm sure I'm going to develop some sort of helicopter related nervous twitch from this whole thing.

I have the utmost respect for firefighters who face these things every day and for the work they have done and will continue to do in defending the properties and the communities here.

So in an effort to stop myself going completely mad, I have baked, I've cleaned, I've packed our cars full to the brim with everything we hold dear and now I'm writing to you. Last Tuesday night Mr B and I went to Mum and Dad's for quite possibly the very last dinner in the caravan before they move into their brand new home. As usual they had whipped up a feast consisting of Mushroom Pies, Greek Salad AND Crunchy Noodle Salad! Mum had been keen to try this Crunchy Noodle Salad recipe off the Chang's Fried Noodle packet for a long time and I had also heard lots of good things about it so I was really excited to try it. Let me just say WOW - the textures, the flavours, the crunch of the noodles...did I say WOW?  The dressing in this salad is just amazing and quite refreshing.

This makes enough to serve 4 people as a side dish, but if you toss through 300g shredded BBQ chicken along with the noodles you will easily have enough to serve 4 people as a main.

You will need:

1/2 - 1 Chinese Cabbage (or Savoy Cabbage)
6 green onions, finely chopped
100g lightly roasted almonds or pinenuts
1 pkt Chang's Fried Noodles

And for the dressing:

1/4 white wine vinegar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tbspn soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.

Place in a small saucepan and place over low heat, stirring for 2-3 mins until sugar is dissolved.

Combine the cabbage, green onions and almonds or pinenuts in a salad bowl. Add the dressing and mix well.

Just before serving add the noodles and toss thoroughly.

Thank you for the distraction - but for now, it's back to fire watching duty....

Mrs B xx

Super Easy Tuna Chow Mein

Ok so I forgot to take a photo....

It may be because tuna chow mein is one of my favourite dishes....

It may be because I was starving hungry....

It may be because I was slightly excited about passing my motorcycle learners only a few hours earlier...

Whatever the reason, I still forgot and I apologise.

Let me make it up to you by giving you the recipe to create this delicious dish for yourself :)

You will need:

1/2 cabbage diced
2 small tins of light tuna
1 tin of baby corn cuts
1 red capsicum diced
1 onion diced
1 carrot diced
2 tspns curry powder
225g pineapple pieces drained
1 pkt oriental flavoured noodles

Brown your onion in a fry pan over medium heat. Add curry powder and cook for 2-3 mins or until fragrant.

Add in cabbage, corn cuts, capsicum, carrot, broken up noodle cake and flavouring sachet and 2-3 cups of water. Place the lid on the fry pan and allow to simmer for 20 mins stirring occasionally.

After 20 mins add in the tuna and pineapple and mix in well.

Allow to simmer for another 10-15 mins or until the cabbage is cooked and soft, the majority of the water should have been absorbed.

OH and I get two large bowls and one small bowl for the next days lunch out of this recipe :)

It is a great hearty winter dish and it's low in cals!! It's also my Mum's recipe and one of my favourite dishes from when I was little so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Em x