Well it's St. Patrick's Day! I've got my Kelly Green dress on, some corned beef slow cooking on the stove and a great big ring of Irish Soda Bread waiting to be devoured. Today I'm going to share with you my recipes for a delish St. Patrick's Day dinner!

  Slow Cooked Corned Beef 

- One 2 -3 pound corned beef with seasoning packet
 - 4 cups of water
 - 1 pint of Guiness
 - 1/8 cup of peppercorns
 - 1 tablespoon of sea salt
 - 1 tablespoon of parsley
 optional 1/4 cup of garlic powder
 optional 1/4 chopped onion

 1) In a large pot place corned beef fat side down. Fill with water and Guiness then add seasoning packet and spices.
 2) Bring contents to a boil, the turn down to simmer. Check once an hour and stir. The longer it cooks the more tender it will get. I simmer for about 4 - 6 hours. I actually throw red potatoes in during the last 45 minutes of cooking for a yummy side dish.
 3) Place meat on carving board or platter and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Then slice and enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

 Irish Soda Bread
 - 4 cups flour
 - 3/4 cups white sugar (or 1/2 c. Splenda)
 - 1 teaspoon salt
 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
 - 1/2 cup margerine, melted
 - 1 cup raisins
 - 1 1/2 cups buttermilk at room temperature
 - 3 eggs at room temperature

 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch cake pan or bundt pan. You can make this in a ring, a loaf or like a round bread. Whisk together buttermilk and eggs until frothy and set aside.
 2) Combine dry ingredients and stir. Slowly add in melted butter and buttermilk mixture. Stir until thick and dough like. Pour dough into greased pan.
 3) Bake until bread has risen and is a nice golden brown color. You should be able to put a knife through the center and it come out clean. Let it cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan onto wire wrack to cool for another 30 minutes.