Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, right? I popped open a can of Hormel Mary Kitchen 50% less fat Corned Beef Hash for lunch today, and it was awesome. What I did was to empty half a can into a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, and cooked on medium heat for about ten minutes with flipping it. That made the bottom nice and crispy, and then I flipped it over to crisp the other side. After about five more minutes, I cracked an egg on top and let that cook until set, added salt and pepper, and instant lunch! Of course, this is a food more suited for breakfast, but there are no rules here at Mikey’s Kitchen.

I didn’t compare this against the full fat version of this hash, but this one had less fat (I believe 7 grams per serving). However, it was still 290 calories, so if you’re watching your weight, you should keep this one on the shelf.

Anyway, the tasty combo of tiny cubes of corned beef and potatoes was filling and delicious, and even better crisped up with the egg on top. This is a good thing to keep on hand for hangover food or to impress your house guests.

We ran this last year on Bullz-Eye.com’s Grub for Guys and the time is upon us–St. Patrick’s Day. Yesterday I posted my Top 5 things you should eat on St. Patrick’s Day, and this sandwich was included in that.

Here is the reuben recipe, but it should only be a part of your personal menu over the next few days to soak up that green beer……

A good Reuben sandwich is one of the great things about leftover corned beef. It also doesn’t necessarily require leftover corned beef, as you’ll find out in the following recipe. The only thing we do suggest is that you should budget a lot of calories for this one. Either way, this is a satisfying, filling sandwich, perfect for lunch or dinner this time of year. And oh yeah, it goes great with beer.

Ingredients:
2 slices rye bread
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1-2 Tbsp. prepared Thousand Island dressing (or make your own by mixing mayo, ketchup and sweet relish)
¼ cup prepared cole slaw
2 thin slices Swiss cheese
1/8 pound or 2-3 slices deli corned beef
Cooking spray

Directions:
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray. Meanwhile, assemble the sandwich. Spread the butter or margarine on the outside of the two slices of bread, and the Thousand Island dressing on the inside of each slice. Put the cole slaw on one slice of the bread, and then top with a slice of Swiss. Put the other slice of cheese on the other slice of bread and top with the corned beef, and then put the two sides of the sandwich together. Gently ease the sandwich into the skillet, and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the bread becomes brown and crispy. Flip the sandwich and cook another 2 minutes or until that side browns. You might want to cover the sandwich while cooking to make sure the cheese melts evenly. Slice and serve. Serves 1, but you can easily multiply this out to make more….and trust me, you might want to eat more than one.

I am a sucker for meatballs. Meatballs are dude food personified–usually protein-rich, meaty, full of flavor and served in or next to a sauce that enhances that flavor. So with St. Patrick’s Day now four days away, I wanted to share another recipe with you that should get you in the mood for the green holiday. I give to you — Corned beef meatballs with Thousand Island dipping sauce. I had to experiment a bit, but the end result came out just right, and I think you will enjoy these with or after a pint or two or three or…..well, you get the idea.

Ingredients
Sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

Meatballs
4 small red potoates, peeled and quartered
1 slice rye bread (day old bread if possible, but not necessary)
1 pound fully cooked corned beef, trimmed of visible fat and cubed (note: I got mine from the deli counter, asking them to slice it about 1/2 inch thick–but you can use leftover corned beef as well)
1-2 oz. gruyere or swiss cheese, cubed
1 egg
1 tsp. dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
For sauce–in medium size bowl, combine all sauce ingredients, and stir to blend well. Set aside.

For meatballs–Place potatoes in a small saucepan and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain water and mash with a fork. Break rye bread into small pieces, and then, using a food processor, process into fine bread crumbs. Put bread crumbs in a large bowl. Then add corned beef and cheese to processor and process until mixture is finely ground. Add to the bowl with the bread crumbs. Break egg into bowl and add salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt since the meat is already salted from the pickling process). Fold in mashed potatoes and then with your hands, roll into 1-inch meatballs, setting these on a plate as you go. You should wind up with about 20-24 meatballs or so.

Then, spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high for about 45 seconds. Add meatballs, 10-12 at a time, and cook for about 5-6 minutes, shaking the pan about once a minute, until meatballs are browned on each side. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining meatballs, and serve warm with the Thousand Island dressing on the side for dipping.

I’ll be providing a recipe a day for St. Patrick’s Day heading up to next Thursday (yes, it’s next Thursday already…where is the year going?). Here is the first one, something I came up with last weekend on the fly, and it came out really good…..

BRAISED CABBAGE WITH GUINESS

Cabbage isn’t for everyone. It’s sort of an acquired taste, and the kind of vegetable that is big and bulky and might seem intimidating. But once you slice it up and fry it and do a few more things to add flavor, anyone can become a cabbage fan. Of course, it’s a cruciferous vegetable, which means cabbage is very good for you, but also might make you fart up a hurricane. Well, not literally, but, you might prepare yourself and your significant other….

Ingredients
1 medium size head green cabbage, core removed and thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 of a 12 oz. can Guiness beer
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds

Directions
Heat oil in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage and stir for about 3-4 minutes or until starting to get tender and reduced in volume. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook a few minutes more, until cabbage begins to brown just a bit. Then slowly add Guiness to pan (and of course, drink the rest of it), scraping up the brown bits as you do this (that’s called de-glazing). Cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until beer is almost all the way absorbed. Sprinkle with caraway seeds and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serves 2-4 people.