This is one of our favorite meals! We celebrate both St. Patrick's Day and New Year's Day with this delicious meal. But, did you know that Corned Beef is an Irish-American tradition? It's believed that corned beef and cabbage was probably introduced into the St Patrick's Day tradition in America during the early 19th century as a more economic substitute for traditional and preferred bacon. The Irish tradition is to serve bacon with cabbage. Today, we serve the recipe below and cabbage sautéd with bacon and onions as a side dish. We do both! 

In Ireland, a traditional dinner will more likely consist of a slow-cooked beef or lamb stew served with colcannon (a potato dish made with cabbage) or Shepherd's Pie (another favorite of ours)!

You know this is one of the recipes I typed. I kept telling my gramma that the s and the v didn't work, hence the several misspellings. I'm sure she didn't believe me, but maybe kept this version for sentimental reasons. Or maybe she kept it to remind me how lazy I was! Either way, it's the recipe card we use today along with a bit of soda bread. 

After dinner, we always enjoy an Irish coffee! There are several renditions of this traditional recipe ~ this one is my favorite: Jameson Irish Coffee

I have always wanted to try making Beef Wellington, mainly because it is so delicious and I love a challenge. Please note... this recipe is not terribly difficult, it just requires several pricey ingredients, time, & patience. However, the result is amazing! I kissed myself, it is soooo good!

Why are these dishes our tradition?

Coned Beef Brisket
Other than being simply delicious, corned beef and cabbage is a traditional New Year's Day Supper because a piece of beef is represents the good fortune you should hope for in the coming year. Beef or pork is the meat of choice because, unlike chickens, these animals do not scratch in the dirt for their food.

Cabbage
Collards, mustard or turnip greens, cabbage, etc., symbolize the green of “dollar bills,” and will ensure you have a financially prosperous New Year.

Black Eyes Peas
This dish is just amazing, especially this recipe! Black eyed peas have always been associated with a mystical and mythical power to bring good luck. Back in the time of the Civil War, people felt lucky to have black-eyed peas to eat and help them survive through the winter.

Corn Bread
It's yellow hue represents gold.

Bundt Cake
Like a ring, where every ending is also a beginning, the bundt cake represents the year finally coming full circle.

We hope you enjoy these recipes and we wish you a happy & prosperous New Year!

As you all know, this is the best time of year!!! For religious and spiritual reasons, but also because we get to spend so much family time together!

I love to start Christmas festivities on Thanksgiving Day. While I am preparing the meal (most of which has been completed in the day or two prior), my daughters are decorating the Christmas tree and the entire house! The tree above is our 2022 Farmhouse Flocked tree (my daughter snow-sprayed everything not moving + her little sister and the dog!) The farmhouse is covered in pumpkins, gourds, pine, holly, pine cones, and lights!!! Simply beautiful ~

Of course, I've been Christmas shopping all year because I just love finding a great deal on a gist that my kids will love. Then, I start developing a menu. My kids want lots of the traditional meal, but I get a new item or two onto the table. Here is a helpful list for planning your holiday with family and friends.

In addition to the delicious food we will share, we also exchange traditional gifts on Christmas Eve while we enjoy our delicious Mexican recipes of  biscochos, champurrado, empanadas, and tamales. Click here for our Christmas Eve recipes! We play games, tell jokes, laugh, and simply love every moment. Then, we exchange gifts of books and pajamas ~ one of my favorite things to do is watch my kids open the books I have chosen for them each year. I do my best to find something they love and something that captures their new interests. I have a pretty good track record so far!

On Christmas Day, we wake up early and cannot wait to open gifts! Then, it's time for an:

Irish Breakfast: fried eggs, hash browns, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, Irish bangers (sausage links), biscuits and fig marmalade ~ of course, plenty of coffee (maybe a bit too much whiskey in last night's festivities)!

I love to make snacks for the family to enjoy while playing this year's games ~ trivia, bingo, and (what I am most looking forward to) Yellowstone Monopoly! During the day, we all participate in the cooking. As you know, my son will prepare the turkey (no, he still has not shared his secret brine recipe!) while my daughters and I prepare the goose and ham. 

Snacks: One of my favorites is the cream cheese topped with Tabasco jelly. We serve this with Wheat Thins! This year, I am making a Fig, Pecan, & Brie bites. I also ordered Kimberley Biscuits on Amazon because we live in west Texas. I just adore Smoked Salmon & Marie Rose Sauce ~ this year, I am serving this on sea salt & cracked pepper kettle chips. I also sprinkle a few capers, chopped green onion, and fresh rosemary. Delicious! And for a bit of cool & fresh (plus it blends well with the smoked salmon) I make a melon ball dish of cantaloupe and honey dew. Festive & Tasty!

Spirits: Jamie & Ginger is a traditional drink here (or maybe just in my house, either way...) I prefer Jameson Black Barrel and Canada Dry ginger ale in a highball glass of ice. For a more festive twist, I add a cinnamon stick and a splash of cranberry juice.

Dinner: Roast Goose with Pecan Stuffing & Apricot Chutney, Fried Turkey & Cranberry Sauce (I buy the canned Ocean Spray whole berry then add the juice of 1 orange and a cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, then put in a nice serving dish), Plum & Star Anise Ham, Goose Fat Roasted Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Irish Buttered Carrots, & Soda Bread ~ don't forget the Christmas Crackers!

Dessert: Irish Christmas Cake with Brandy Butter, Kimberley Biscuits, Mince Pies,
Irish Sherry Trifle & Irish Coffee

We hope you enjoy these recipes as much and we do, and from our family to yours ~ Merry Christmas~

I just love Christmas Eve! For 27 years, I have gifted my children an ornament with their names and the year, a new set of pajamas, a book based on their current interests, and chocolates from around the world.

This year, my two older children are not receiving the traditional ornaments from mom (they used to be from gramma, but I took over the tradition as she got older), because they are now in relationships with who they will spend the rest of their lives. Bittersweet... Those ornaments will be chosen by the couples. This year's ornaments will be placed on the tree on Christmas Eve.

We make homemade biscochos, empanadas, ponche de frutas, champurrado, and tamales. Every Christmas Eve, the older kids (now accompanied with their betrothed) go on a hunt for the best tamales. When they return, we have an incredible afternoon and evening of games, gifts, and great food!

These might be the easiest favorite cookie to bake! They are great with Irish coffee & Santa loves them (hint, hint!).

This is also a great beginners recipe for your kiddoes! It's almost impossible to mess up... but it can happen so they need supervisions. We hope you enjoy this Farm to Table recipe!

One of our favorite traditions is baking cookies during Christmas week. We deliver them to our neighbors (out here on the ranch, our neighbors are miles away so we bake a few days then deliver for a few days). Of course, we bake fresh cookies on Christmas Eve just for Santa!

These are easy & delicious! Enjoy ~

If you prefer to roll out your dough and use cookie cutters, this recipe works well with just a few minor adjustments.

After mixing the dough until smooth, turn dough out on work surface. Cut dough in half and shape each portion into a compact disk. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Unwrap 1 dough disk and roll on lightly-floured work surface to 1/4-inch thickness (lightly coat rolling pin with flour to prevent sticking). Cut into chosen shapes and place cookies 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Then, place the cookie sheet with the shaped cookies into the refrigerator for 8-10 minutes, then bake (follow the card to finish).

I wait an entire year to have my son's amazing turkey (maybe this year he will share his secret brine recipe with us!) and to cook some of my favorite vintage and Irish recipes!

I love Thanksgiving ~ the meal is always amazing, but it's the time we get to spend with family that is priceless! The games, the conversations, the memories are all what we are so very grateful for ~ this and every year.

Here are some helpful tips ~ 1) begin purchasing your ingredients in October. If you wait too long, you might have to adjust your menu. 2) Make your desserts on Monday & Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. 3) Make your sides on Tuesday & Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. 4) Make your turkey (or meats) on Thursday morning. 5) Spend all of your time with the kids... all too soon, they will be off with their own families.

Spreading out the work will allow more time in the kitchen with kids, and more time with family on Thursday. Plus, more time to rest rather than exhausting yourself on Thursday. *I am guilty of being the "momzilla" trying to make everything perfect. Fingers crossed that I will be more relaxed this year.

I hope you enjoy these recipes ~

Champurrado is one of the many delicious Mexican hot chocolate beverages. This is my favorite! Lots of markets sell a pre-made mix, but nothing is a good as homemade (and, your Mexican/Irish mother won't accept pre-made garbage in her house!)

Plus, it's super easy! Enjoy ~

This is not the traditional recipe... because I like this one WAAAAAAY better (mainly because, 1) I don't like rice; and 2) I prefer a more tomato-y soup base. This caldo is my son's favorite ~ he is anxious for Fall and Winter all year for me to finally make it!

This year (2022), I made it for our Yellowstone premier party ~ better than ever!!!

Try it and let us know what you think.

This is my daughter's favorite dish / dinner. We make it without ham and with sliced or chopped ham. Of course, every way is delicious! Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings has always been one of my favorite dinners, and I am not a fan of hardly any kind of soup. This recipe is also one of the recipes that my gramma never typed or gave me. My kids ate several variations of chicken and dumplings until I finally figured out how to make my gramma's chicken & dumplings ~ enjoy!

I absolutely love this salad and I do not like broccoli (or hardly any green vegetables)! The secret here is the tang of Duke's mayo and apple cider vinegar. Add lots of red grapes, pecans, and crispy bacon ~ and you've got an adorable salad that is great at the cook-out, Bible study, even a Sunday dinner!

It's quick, easy, and super yummy! Enjoy!

These are my signature cookie! (yes, I just said that in a Steel Magnolia's / Julia Robert's voice)! LOL! But, as soon as you taste these cookies for Texas Heaven, you will understand!

Irish Butter + Chocolate Chips + Old Fashioned Oats + Texas PECANS!!! Oh My!!!

Quick ~ Easy ~ Scrumptious! Enjoy!

I think every recipe that we post is a family favorite... and this one is always on our monthly menu ~ because, yes, I plan everything! It drives my oldest daughter crazy but makes life easier while saving money ~ with the bonus of annoying my daughter.

Here is our version of super easy and crazy delicious Chicken Bog. I have always thought it a strange name for such a great dish. We heard a variety of stories about how this fantastic chicken dish came to be named "bog" ~ everything from being soggy rice and chicken to chicken bogged in rice. Whichever is the real story, this dish never disappoints! The secret is to cook the garlic, onions, and rice in chicken broth, then add the vegetables to the simmer. It's just heavenly!

*A more traditional version includes Parmesan cheese rind (boiled in the broth then removed when the rice is soft and crumbles when the dish is done) and for carrots only rather than mixed vegetables. Remember, if you use fresh carrots you will need to cook them a bit longer than frozen carrots. 

Dessert: Buttermilk Pie ~ because of it's lemony twang, buttermilk pie is  great way to finish this meal.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!