Overnight Bbq Brisket

Beef brisket is among the wonderful cuts of affordable meat. In our area, Walmart has packer cuts for about $1.86/lb. Two different muscles make up the full brisket with the smaller and thicker point lying on top of the longer flat cut. The packer cut includes both muscles and is usually cryovaced from the meat wholesaler. A huge piece of meat; smaller packers run 13lbs. Since the grocer does nothing more than toss it into the meat case, this is a tremendous bargain compared to the trimmed cuts that run 2-6lbs and cost $4+/lb. Ridiculous! Just buy the whole deal, sharpen up a good chefs knife and cut the size you need. Wrapped properly the remainder will freeze fine till needed for another meal.

Brisket is the bbq meat of choice for Texans. After smoking one up last summer, it is clear why. Incredible beefy flavor! Unfortunately, it is sometimes a wee bit too chilly to smoke outside, so here is a recipe to bring it inside. The original recipe is from Erin Kornu's family. Erin is a Texan by birth and a classical teacher at Aubrey's school by choice.

Directions
Preheat oven to 450
In a small bowl mix the following:
- 1 bottle of your favorite basic bbq sauce
- 2 tblsp liquid smoke
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
Place 5-6lb brisket in oven bag. Pour mix over brisket. Place the bag in a pan or pyrex dish. Reduce heat to 275 and bake for 2 hours. Reduce heat further to 225 and bake overnight (another 6 hours). Slice or shred and enjoy!

Our Adaptations
Liquid smoke would have been great but we didn't have any, and Nashville was paralyzed by 4" of snow, so we skipped going out for it. We added a thinly sliced onion and about 2 tsp Worchestire sauce to the bbq sauce. By the way, just go with a basic sauce and avoid the weird variations that are plaguing grocery shelves these days. We added a light rub of steak seasoning to the brisket before saucing.
We also did not have an oven bag, so we just stirred up the bbq mix in the bottom of a large (10x14) pyrex dish and sealed it tightly with heavy-duty foil.

Brisket gives off a surprising quantity of great juices. We simmered the juices and sauce for a while to reduce, and then used the immersion blender to puree the onions.

Verdict?
Simple, simple recipe and really effective. Hearty flavor, tender beef. Add some of the sauce to the brisket to keep it moist, and use the remainder on the side at the table. Makes a great bbq sandwich.

Tuscan Chicken Simmer

Once again, Kraftfoods.com is my friend. Not my onlyfriend mind you, but becoming a very faithful one, none-the-less.

what you need:
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup pesto
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend

make it:
HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 to 7 min. on each side or until done (165ºF). Remove chicken from skillet; cover to keep warm.

ADD cream cheese, water, pesto and tomatoes to skillet. Cook, uncovered, on medium heat 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

My chicken didn't have any color to it when it reached the finished temp, so I left it in longer. Next time I won't use a non-stick skillet because the chicken dried out when I left it in to brown. Live and learn!

Easy-pleasy Sticky Buns

(adapted from Ina Garten-Food Network)

Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup nuts, chopped in very large pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
For the filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup Cinnamon sugar mix (appr. 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar,and 1 tblsp cinnamon. These measurements are very much estimated. Just mix it till it looks and tastes right. If it tastes good 'raw,' it will taste great baked or on toast, etc.)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the nuts evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Unfold onto a floured surface 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1/2 inch border on one long edge of the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with half the cinnamon sugar recipe. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Lightly press each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful - they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and nuts out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Comments
The original recipe calls for raisins in the buns with the cinnamon sugar. It also called for pecans, but we were out, so I used a variety of salted nuts-mostly peanuts. It tasted fine, but faintly reminded us of peanut brittle. Pecans or walnuts would be better.

These sticky buns are incredibly sweet, almost too much. If you have a family history of diabetes, you might want to avoid this one! However, the puff pastry makes for a really flaky roll. Needless to say, it is much easier to just unfold the puff pastry rather than having to make the dough. Overall this is a recipe worth repeating occasionally.

Michelle's Week 3: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I got the urge to bake yesterday while the boys were napping. I also got thinking about my opportunities this week to make my recipe of the week and they were very limited as we have a lot going on this weekend. So I decided I was going to satisfy my urge to bake and my desire to try a new recipe each week at one time.  I surfed the web and found this recipe by Martha Stewart and let me tell you it is AMAZING. ( I did substitute 1/2 cup of walnuts for the 1 cup of salted peanuts that were called for.)The batter is pure bliss and the cookies are delicious too!! This is for sure a keeper.

Michelle's Week 2 Slow Cooker Chinese Lemon Chicken GONE TERRIBLE

I saw this recipe and thought it would be easy and yummy and I was sadly mistaken. Don't try this at home. :) It was not even photo worthy.
So I regrouped and made this super delicious slab apple pie. Who doesn't like apple pie especially when its served warm with ice cream! You can even make each layer and freeze them separately in ziploc bags ready to assemble and bake at your convenience. It was SO good!

Crust

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 Tablespoons cold water

In medium bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup butter and salt with a pastry blender, or two knives held together. Kids can do this with a fork if that is easier. Work these ingredients together until they form pea-sized crumbs. Quickly stir in cold water and combine until a dough forms. Pat into a pie plate, pushing the dough thin and up the sides.

Filling & Topping

6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare pie crust according to directions and pat it into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. In large mixing bowl, combine apple slices, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Spread in an even layer over crust. In food processor, combine flour, butter, and brown sugar, pulsing until coarse crumbs are formed, or in a large mixing bowl, combine these ingredients, cutting butter into sugar and flour with a pastry blender or two knives held together. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle crumb top over apple layer.* Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until filling bubbles. Cool completely.

If preparing ahead of time to freeze. Wrap with foil and label at the *. Then, when ready to serve, bake frozen pie at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375° and continue baking as directed.

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

Another hit from kraftfoods.com. Everyone cleaned their plates on this one! I didn't advertise the fact that it was spinach to the kids, and they ate it better than I had hoped (sometimes ya never know!).

What you need:
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained (I used a partial 14 oz. can as my WalMart didn't have frozen in stock when I was getting supplies.)
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
6 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness (Do this in a ziploc bag...I had chicken goo flying as I pounded.)
1 egg
10 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, heated


make it:

HEAT oven to 375ºF. Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and 3 Tbsp. Parmesan until well blended; spread onto chicken breasts. Starting at one short end of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired. Set aside.

BEAT egg in shallow dish. Mix remaining Parmesan and cracker crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken bundles in egg, then roll in crumb mixture. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve topped with spaghetti sauce and remaining mozzarella.

Potato Soup

Well, I'm a bit late posting, but better late than never. My first recipe was one I've wanted to do for a while, and just finally got around to it. I decided to do a variation to this recipe for potato soup.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
6 slices diced cooked bacon
3 1/4 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Instructions

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Tuna Patties

(Pretty obvious that I'm not "JAcreative," but I did the best I could!!) Found this recipe at kraftfoods.com. For some reason the ratings box was covering the "how to" section, so I googled the ingredients and found the how to steps from another site. I think we'll be keeping it in the go-to file.

What you need:
2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken (I ground the mix until large chunks were minimal.)
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup water
1 carrot, shredded
1/3 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. CLAUSSEN Sweet Pickle Relish

Combine all ingredients and form into patties. (I got 8 patties [1 I halved for the girls] out of this amount.)
Chill patties in fridge for at least 10 minutes. Place patties on a Warm greased skillet. Cook @ 3 minutes per side, until golden brown on each side.

We garnished with a dollop of sour cream.

Crazy Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This is quick and easy comfort food at its best.

2 cans Crescent Rolls
2 cups Chicken, cooked, chopped/diced
Your choice of veggies, as many as you like [we love to combine broccoli (frozen), peas (frozen), carrots (canned, drained), and mushrooms (canned, drained)]
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 cup Sour Cream

Butter 9"x13" baking dish (the deeper the dish, the more goodies you can pack in). Roll out 1 can crescent rolls in the bottom of dish. Layer chicken then vegetables. Mix soups and sour cream together, then pour over chicken and veggies. Roll out second can of crescent rolls and place over top of casserole. I try to pinch the edges of the bottom and top crescent roll layers together as possible.

Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Week 1 - Breaded Tilapia with Black Bean Salsa

So, I wanted to try some more seafood recipes and I happened on this one on kraftfoods.com. I modified the recipe slightly to accommodate 3 & 1 year old sons.

Ingredients

1 cup Club or Ritz Crackers, finely crushed
4 tilapia fillets (1 lb)
3 Tbsp Mayo
2 Tbsp oil
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
10-15 cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp Lime juice

Instructions

Place cracker crumbs in pie plate. Brush fish with 3 Tbsp. mayo. Dip fish in crumbs, turning to evenly coat both sides of each fillet.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add fish, in batches; cook 3 min. on each side or until fish is golden brown on both sides and flakes easily with fork. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients.

Top with bean mixture & Serve.