Happy St Patrick’s Day to all my Irish and “I wish I was Irish” friends out there! I fall into the latter category, but that doesn’t stop me from having a 4-leaf clover and a Celtic triskele tattoos on my ankle. Nor does it stop me from loving the heck out of all things Irish. OK, except the beer. But I don’t drink any beer so I figure it’s a moot point anyhow. Today on one of my favorite holidays, I am making one of my all time favorite meals: Corned Beef and Cabbage.

You know you love it too! It’s seriously one of the easiest things to make too. I’ve never made it in a crock pot before, so this is a new recipe for me. Normally I boil it for hours then bake it to let the sauce cook it. I’ll post that recipe as well.

But for today, I am following the “Traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage” recipe that I found via Crock-Pot.com. Actually, I got it from their iPhone app, but it’s the same thing really.

Ingredients
12 new potatoes quartered
4 carrot(s) sliced
4 pounds corned beef brisket
2 onion(s) sliced
3 bay leaves
8 black peppercorns
1 head cabbage wedged

Directions
* Place potatoes and carrots in bottom of slow cooker.
* Add brisket, onion, bay leaves and peppercorns.
* Add enough water to cover. Cook on Low 8-10 hours or High 4-5 hours.
* Add cabbage halfway through cooking.

Now, here’s the thing. I generally followed the above recipe. I left out the bay leaves and peppercorn, used 8 white potatoes, and only 2.5lbs of corned beef. What I don’t understand is how they managed to cram all that food into a 6qt crock pot. With my modifications, the lid barely fits. I can’t even imagine how over crowded it would be with 1.5lbs more of meat. Hopefully it will shrink enough for me to cram the cabbage into the pot in about 4 hours.

My go-to recipe is not only super easy, but unbelievably delicious as well. I’ve been making this version for well over 10 years and not just on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s great any time of the year!

Brown Sugar/ Mustard Glazed Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients
Corned Beef
1 head of Cabbage
Red potatoes
Carrots
Brown Sugar
Yellow Mustard

This is much more of a guideline, than a recipe. Make enough to feed your family. And don’t forget that the corned beef will shrink roughly 1/3 of it’s original side after cooking.

Follow package directions to boil the corned beef and enclosed flavor packet. This usually takes several hours. You can either trim the excess fat or leave it. I leave it because it adds to the flavor while cooking.

Cut the potatoes and cabbage into quarters and slice the carrots. Place around the corned beef and completely cover with water.

Once the corned beef is fully cooked and extremely tender, remove from water and let cool for about 10 minutes. Leave the vegetables in the water, but turn off the heat.

Preheat the oven to 325*.

Mix the brown sugar and yellow mustard together. The ratio is roughly 1:1, but you can add extra brown sugar for a sweeter sauce.

Place the corned beef on a large piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Liberally spread the brown sugar and mustard glaze on the widest part of the corned beef. Wrap in foil to seal completely.

Bake the corned beef for about 20 minutes or until the glaze begins to darken and get crusty.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!