La' Fhe'ile Pa'draig Sona Daoibh!

I decided not to wait until tomorrow to enjoy the wondrous foods of the Isle.  Tomorrow night will be delicious Corned Beef and Cabbage - yes I do really like it!!  I cook it in the crock-pot on low for 12 hours, so I will be getting up extra early for Sunday to get it started - but it will be so worth it.  But more about that tomorrow.  Tonight is another fabulous meal and one  my daughter thinks sounds weird.  It's Toad-in-the-Hole.  A classic English meal that I am giving an Mick twist to by using Irish bangers. I served it with roasted carrots and potatoes.

Roasted vegetables Barefoot Contessa style!  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper on a sheet pan.  Trust me there is nothing better than roasted veggies!

Now onto the Toad-in-the-Hole.  Basically T.I.T.H. is bangers in Yorkshire pudding.  A batter of milk, eggs, and butter; just like Popovers.

While the batter rests, brown the bangers in just a wee bit of olive oil.

Warm the casserole pan in the oven while it is heating up.  Place the hot bangers in the pan and then pour over the pudding mix.

Cook for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and puffy!

Add a side of pub mustard........And then eat and enjoy!

• • 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1 scant teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 lb of bangers (an English sausage made with pork and breadcrumbs), or good quality pork or beef sausage links (in casings) 
   
• 1 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with the salt and a pinch of pepper. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the eggs, milk, and melted butter into the well and whisk into the flour until smooth. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.
• 2 Coat the bottom and sides of an 8x12 or 9x9 casserole dish with vegetable oil (we use high smoke point grapeseed or canola oil). Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Put the empty dish on the rack. Preheat the oven with the dish in it to 425°F.
• 3 While the oven is coming to temperature, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet on medium high. Add the sausages and brown them on at least a couple sides.
• 4 When the sausages have browned, and the dish in the oven hot, pull the oven rack out a bit, put the sausages in the casserole dish, and pour the batter over the sausages. Cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the batter is risen and golden.
• Serve at once.
   
  

Homemade Laundry Detergent

In my quest to be more healthy, I have also decided to do it externally as well.  A lot of this comes from my having migraines from strong scents.  It used to be just bleach, but sadly now it has expanded to all sorts and detergents and perfumes. 

I found this great recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent on Pinterest (have I ever told you how much I love Pinterest?)  Anyway I made the detergent and it works great.  I spent about a little more this go around as I got the 2 gallon glass jar ($10 at Wal-Mart) and then another $3 on the 2 Tbs. scoop from Sur La Table.  Now the recipe says that you can use between 1-2 Tbs per load.  I have done a small load using the 1 Tbs and a larger load with the 2 Tbs.  Both seem  to work fine.

Now does it really work you ask?  Here is a picture of my daughter's white leggings.  Yes they are suppose to be white, however the school's blacktop is not so friendly towards her clothing as you can see.

I washed them in a normal load and it helped a little, but then I decided to try and soak them in the detergent.  Here is how they came out.  Not perfect by any means, but about 85% better than they were before!!

The recipe is super easy, the only challenge I had was finding the ingredients.  I had to get most of them at Wal-mart (and I hate shopping there), but they carried all the items.  I did go to 3 other stores and finally gave in and went there.

Check out the author's blog.  She has some real great stuff on there - and I do recommend the detergent.  She made it and said it lasted her about 9 months.
 http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html#comments

Give it a try and let me know if it works for you too!