Before you question our dinner tonight, let me preface this by explaining that tonight's dinner is a result of a great sale on corned beef the day after St. Patrick's Day! So although its a little late, I prepared corned beef with potatoes & carrots.

Corned beef refers to beef that has been preserved and flavored in a brine solution that is usually prepared with salt, which acts as a preservative. Sugar is stirred into the brine solution, which prevents the meat from getting hard due to the presence of the salt. Also added to the solution is saltpeter, which helps to maintain the red coloring of the meat and various spices are added for flavoring. The reason it is called corned beef is because the old English word "corned" was used to describe beef that was cured and the word "corn" was the word describing a small kernel or particle such as the particles of salt that were used. Corned beef is available as a sliced deli meat for sandwiches or whole corned beef briskets are available that are often served with cooked cabbage.

To prepare my corned beef, I chose to simmer it all day in my slow cooker/crockpot on low with a few slices of garlic, covered in water. It produced a moist, juicy beef with little effort.