A How Do: Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

This has a special place in my heart as it is the first thing that I have ever made by myself or gone out of my way to make. No one helped me when I first made this.. eight plus years ago, when I couldn't cook to save my life nor had a desire to do so.  Sadly, this is not the same recipe as I first used. I couldn't find it. Wonderfully enough, this version smells the same, but tastes better. 

What you'll need:

Cookie sheet, slightly greased

Large mixing bowl

Wooden spoon

Oven pre-heated at 375F / 190C

4 cups of flour

4 tbls white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tbls baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk (or buttermilk)

1 egg

Add dry ingredients to large bowl and mix.

Add milk, butter and egg. Using the wooden spoon to being the mixing process.

I like to mix till it looks like this.  Then I like to use my hands and kneed it a little.  Depending on humidity and such, I usually will add a little water to help absorb the remaining flour, if any, remaining in the bottom of the bowl.

It can get a tad messy, but as I like to say, 'messy food is good food.'

Form into a round ball and place on cookie sheet.  Melt a tab of butter and mix with milk and baste top of dough. (I like to continue to baste the dough with the remaining butter/milk mixture as it cooks.)

With a sharp knife cut a cross on top of the bread.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Check at 30 minutes. When done, a toothpick will come out clean when inserted in the middle.

Should look like this.. well, hopefully yours will cooperate and your cross will remain unlike mine.


Regardless, enjoy!

Simple Italian Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Streamed Broccoli

Here is one of my favorite meals to make. It's simple, tasty, filling and easy to make.

What you'll need:
Chicken! (I used white meat for this)
Broccoli
Potatoes
Italian Dressing
Herbs of your choice (I used Parsley, Italian mix, Oregano, and Rubbed Sage)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

An oven or pressure cooker
A glass casserole or baking dish, if using the oven
A cookie sheet
A steamer bit and a pot

For the Chicken:
Today, I used my green pan pressure cooker to save on time. Simply add chicken, frozen if you forgot to thaw it like I did, and add as much dressing as you like. Yes, it's that simple. And it's amazingly juicy. When I make this in the oven, I generally use enough dressing to come up one third of the way up the chicken breast.

(doesn't that look yummy...)

For the Potatoes: 
I love this part, it's easy and I make this style of potatoes a lot so the rhythm of making them is almost therapeutic to me. (I like getting the little potatoes if they're not too expensive. Red potatoes are amazing for this and really this will make any potato shine. Yes, I really do like potatoes..)
Wash and scrub removing grit and any bits.
Large dice to equal sized chucks. I like to have some a little smaller as they end up being more crispy.
Pat try with a paper towel. (This will take out any water from when you cut and washed them, and will aid in their roasty crispiness that is super addictive. While doing the dishes after dinner, I'll eat whatever's left if there is any.)
Disperse them on a cookie sheet.
Add olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper to your liking. You'll see in the picture how much I usually add and you can always start off with less, but I think this is generally the perfect amount.
Toss with your hands or utensils. I use my hands, I don't mind the quick oil treatment.
Stick in the oven till cooked and toasted. I usually set the oven for 350. If I'm baking something else I'll just use that temperature and adjust the time accordingly. They're really easy to work whatever time frame you like.

And roast them until they look like this:

For the Broccoli:
I always do this part last as it takes the least amount of time. Rinse and chop to your desired size. If using a steamer bit for a sauce pan, I like to add a dash of salt to the water that is in the pan. It will basically make the broccoli (or veggie chosen for steaming) pop. I'm usually multi-tasking while dinner is cooking or being really lazy - regardless I have a habit of not paying attention to time. Five to Seven minutes is when I check them, when I remember. When I don't usually, when you can smell broccoli - They're done. Also this will differ based on how you like them. I like anything from a light blanch to tender yet soft. 

(These ones are a little over done in my opinion but not terribly much.)

Plate everything, and ta-da! A simple, healthy and tasty meal.