Homemade Corned Beef Hash! St. Patrick's Day Leftover Makeover!! Noreen's Kitchen

Since St. Patrick's Day is a couple of days away, I knew I had to make some homemade corned beef hash to share with you all!  This was made from my home canned corned beef.  You can see how I did that here:  http://bit.ly/2mOtaVr  I will also be using some of the potatoes that I baked in my slow cooker in my recent video which you can check out here:  http://bit.ly/2mERlpl.  If you are a fan of corned beef, corned beef hash is the perfect way to use up leftovers from your St. Paddy's day meal!  

I have used my home canned corned beef.  Three pints of it to be exact, so this came to about six cups of meat once drained.  When meat is canned it can be easily flaked.  I broke this corned beef up with my fingers so it looks like shredded beef.  If you prefer, you can take the time to chop it up into a very small dice, but I see no point, when it will shred super easy.  I also used three large potatoes that I baked in my slow cooker.  I removed the skins and cut them up into dices.  I also chopped a medium onion which ended up being about two cups.  Enough to fill a pint jar.  I also added a bit of butter for flavor as well as to get everything going.  You can use oil if you prefer.

Corned beef hash is super quick and easy to make it is budget friendly and tasty too boot!  The work comes from the chopping or the preparation.  In French, the word "Hasche"  pronounced Hash-shay, means to cut into small pieces.  So the word for hash as used in corned beef hash or roast beef hash or vegetable hash is indicative of the true French meaning of the root word.  I love word etymology, don't you?  Well now you know.  

I like to melt some butter in a large skillet and add the onion to cook for a while over a medium low heat.  This will allow it to caramelize just a bit before tossing in the meat and the potatoes.  Once the onion is ready, I added the meat and allow this to saute for at least five minutes, stirring occasionally to be sure that all the meat is heated through and has rendered a bit of the fat, if any into the pan for flavoring the dish.  

Once the meat is heated, I added in the diced, cooked, potatoes and stirred those in.  This is the hardest part of making corned beef hash.  The waiting.  I like to mix well then flatten with a spatula.  I like to allow a bit of a crust to form on the bottom of the pan, this will help created nice browned bits that will mix in with the hash and pop with flavor.  Sometimes I like to add about a half cup of water to the pan then pop a lid on to steam everything through and get it nice and hot.  This will also moisten the mixture making it easier for all the flavors to combine.

I must be honest, as a family, we love old fashioned corned beef hash from a can and we have it from time to time for dinner or breakfast with fried eggs and toast.  It is just something that hearkens back to my childhood.  A happy memory of days gone by.  Scrapple is the same way for me.  Just don't look at the ingredients or if you do, be very brave cause there is no turning back!  This homemade version is very delicious and does not compare to the canned version.  In fact, they are not even in the same category, other than in name.

When the crust has developed to your liking and everything is heated through, you are ready to serve.  We like ours with over easy eggs, with good runny yolks along with some toasted homemade bread.  Biscuits are great too if you prefer.  No matter how you make this, just make it.  You will love it!  

I hope you give homemade my version of homemade corned beef hash a try!  Even if you don't have home canned corned beef you can use leftover or even the corned beef from a can sold near the luncheon meat.  I won't tell!  You use what you like!  

I hope you try it and I hope you love it!

Happy Eating!

You can see how I made this in my YouTube video here:

Easy Peasy & Fancy Schmancy! Pork Scallopini!

Today I want to share my quick and easy pork scallopini recipe with you!  Yes, you read that right!  Pork!  I accidentally took out a package of hand cut, boneless pork loin chops out of my freezer thinking they were chicken breasts because I forgot to label them.  So I needed to do something with these beauties.  Since I live in pork country, this is a super economical meal to make for my family and they love it.  You can, of course do this dish with thin chicken cutlets or even with the traditional veal cutlet if you prefer. 

This dish could not be any easier to make.  The end result is a silky, rich dish that is a mushroom lovers delight.  The light sauce is super flavorful and the perfect accompaniment to hot buttered pasta, rice or couscous.    

I started by slicing my pork chops in half.  I had hand cut some fairly thick chops off of a large whole pork loin I purchased.  So I got between two and three pork cutlets off of each chop and I had a total of four.  Then I pounded the cutlets with a meat mallet or something closely resembling a meat mallet.  In my case that would be a mini cast iron skillet.  That gets the job done.  You should use what you have available to you.  Then I dredged the meat pieces in a seasoned flour to coat.

The meat was sauteed in a mixture of butter and olive oil, in batches until they were all cooked and a bit browned.  Then I removed the meat to a warm plate to build my sauce.   I added onion garlic and a passel of mushrooms to the pan.  I also added a splash of chicken stock to de-glaze.  Then I let all the veggies steam saute for a bit to soften.  

Next I added chicken stock and lemon juice to the pan and gave everything a good stir.  Again I let this simmer for a few minutes to reduce and build flavor.  Then I added some additional butter to finish the sauce and give me a beautiful rich and glossy finish.  

I added the meat back to the pan and nestled those cutlets down in all that lovely sauce and mushroom loveliness.  I turned the heat down just a bit and let that simmer for a few additional minutes before turning the heat off and letting everything come to a peaceful rest before serving.

I served this on a bed of cooked and buttered angel hair pasta, but this would be just as delicious served with rice, plain or pilaf, couscous, quinoa or even cauliflower rice if you are on a low carb diet.  In which case, you can always leave out the flour and just sautee the meat in the butter and olive oil.  

This dish is quick and simple.  It has tons of flavor and a satisfying air about it.  I love this dish for a busy weeknight or a lazy weekend evening when I don't really want to do a bunch of work.  This is excellent served as I have shown or it can be dressed up for company and nobody has to know how easy it was for you to make!  I promise you though, they will be asking for the recipe!  So your secret won't be a secret for long.  

I hope you give this recipe for pork scallopini a try and I hope you love it!

Happy Eating!

Get a printable version of the recipe here:  http://bit.ly/1tdjvbx

Noreen's Kitchen

Pork Scallopini

Ingredients

2 pounds thin boneless pork loin chops 4 tablespoons butter, divided 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 pound Crimini mushrooms, sliced 1 large onion, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced Juice of 1 lemon 1 cup chicken stock or dry white wine

Step by Step Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and all of the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet, over medium high heat.

If necessary, pound the pork chops with a meat mallet until they are about 1/8 inch thickness.

Mix together flour, salt and Italian seasoning in a shallow dish.

Dredge the pork chops in the flour mixture to cover completely.  Set aside on a dish until all of your chops are finished.

Working in batches, brown the pork chops for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they are browned and slightly crispy looking.  Remove to a covered plate to keep warm while to finish the rest.  Remember not to crowd the pan or you will not get a nice brown coating.

When the pork chops are cooked, add the onions, garlic and mushrooms.  Using a flat spatula, gently coax the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  If needed, add a splash of chicken stock to help you along.

Allow the vegetables to cook for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are softened.

Add the remaining chicken stock and the lemon juice to the pan with the veggies.  Stir well and allow the mixture to simmer for five additional minutes to reduce the sauce just a bit.

Add the butter to the sauce to finish.  Stir until it is incorporated.

Add the pork chops back to the pan and nestle them into the vegetables and sauce.  Allow to simmer for five more minutes.  This will help to thicken up and bind the sauce even further for a beautiful silky finish.

Turn off the heat and allow to sit for five minutes before serving over rice or pasta.

See how I made this in my YouTube video: