Corned Beef with Apricot Glaze

So here's the recipe that Ally requested. It is our St. Patrick's Day Tradition and it has turned corned beef-haters into lovers. This is such a fun meal to make with Irish soda bread, cabbage (we like it cooked w/bacon) and carrots & potatoes oven roasted with spices and olive oil.

The corned beef package will say to boil the beef with the spice packet for X amount of hours. I usually do it it for half of that time (I think around 2 hours) and then glaze it with the recipe below and bake at 300 for another 1-2 hours. Turn the roast over halfway through cooking so both sides get some of the glaze.

Apricot Glaze:
1C water
1 C apricot preserves
4T brown sugar
2 T soy sauce

If you've never cooked corned beef before, it doesn't really turn soft and shredded like as it is cooked. It comes out more solid and then you slice it. This recipe should give you some leftover sauce to spoon over the top.

Kidney Bean Stew

As Fall is here I'm always looking for healthy comfort food recipes. We got this recipe courtesy of Chad's Grandpa Langer and it is a Carlos family favorite! From reading the ingredients it doesn't sound that good, but I promise it is!

You basically want an equal amount of each of the ingredients below:

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned
1 pkg baby carrots, sliced in circles
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cans kidney beans - juice included, do not drain
1-2 onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a crock pot and cook for 8 hours. I will be cooked after a few hours but it gets better the longer you leave it in. Towards the end of the cooking time it will get mushy and make it's own "gravy". This is so yummy with soda crackers and hot bread!

Glazed Meatloaf

About twice a year I get the hankering for meatloaf. I found this recipe and we really enjoyed it. Mia even ate it and she usually won't eat meat.

1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 pound lean ground beef (I prefer "meatloaf mix" which is beef, pork & veal, I also assume you could use ground turkey but haven't tried it)
1.5 slices bread, shredded
1/2 cup minced onion
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cube beef bouillon, crumbled (or add a little worchester & garlic if you don't have bouillon on hand)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice and dry mustard until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, shredded bread, onion, egg, bouillon, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the ketchup mixture until well mixed. Form into a loaf pan.
4. Bake 30 minutes. Pour off fat. Pour reserved ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 10 minutes more.