Friday, October 9, 2015

Super-Douper Easy Brisket

Hello there!  I've been meaning to post about this recipe for a while.  I'm doing this especially for my brother, David, because I told him I would tell him about this.

This is a brisket that I make in the crock pot, and then I shred it up for slider sandwiches.  It's super easy and very good.  And I love that my dinner is cooking while I'm busy working or doing something else. 

We like our sandwiches with a pickle and some sharp cheddar cheese, but just plain is great too.

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Here's what you will need -
  • Brisket - for these pictures I used a 3lb brisket
  • 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Buns
  • Condiments (pickles, cheese, whatever you like)
I trimmed quite a bit of the fat off of the brisket because it grosses me out.  Then, I put the brisket in at 7:00am, fat side up.  I sprinkled with salt and pepper and put the lid on it.  I set my crock pot to high for a couple of hours and then let it go at the medium setting for the rest of the day.


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Around 4:00pm that day it was done and looked like this.

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I pulled the brisket out and set it in a pan to work with it a bit.

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I scrapped off some more of the fat, see below.

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Then I sliced the brisket into easily manageable bites.  Since I'm going to shred this, I don't want pieces that are too long.  Cutting the brisket makes this happen.

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To shred the brisket, just take two forks and pull the meat apart.  It's quite tender and easy to do.  Here's one section done.

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A couple of more sections done.

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And finally, all done.  Yum!

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I skimmed the juices that were left in the crock pot to get any remaining fat out, and then added 1 bottle of BBQ sauce.  I've done this with many different types - so use whatever you know your family likes.  Then I add the brisket back in.

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Stir in the meat with the juices and cover the crock pot with a lid again.  Let this cook for at least another hour.  It can go much longer if you get distracted and dinner is later than you planned.

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We like to serve this on mini slider buns (toasted) and my family has found that we love sharp cheddar cheese and a pickle on each sandwich.  It's messy and delicious.  If I have any leftovers, I like to make quesadillas with the meat.  That's fantastic too!

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Enjoy!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Rocky Road Chocolate Cookies!!!

Hello!  Yes, I know it's been a very long time.  Tons of things have happened in the time since my last post, and I'll maybe write about them sometime in another post.  But for now - you MUST try these cookies. 

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I made these a few days ago and they have stayed soft and chewy - which is my cookie preference.  They aren't too sweet either (which normally I prefer).

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Here's the goods you need -
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I'll explain below)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup pecans - chopped, or use my lazy method below.
  • 1-2 cups of miniature marshmallows (read below)

My new oven takes FOREVER to preheat, so if yours is like mine - start your oven preheating to 400 degrees F. 

On the stove, melt together the butter and 1 cup of the chocolate chips.  Don't let them burn, just melt everything together.  Set this aside to cool.

Mix together the sugar, melted chocolate/butter combo and then add in the eggs, vanilla and salt.  Blend in the flour, baking powder.  Add in the chocolate chips and 1 cup of the miniature marshmallows.

Because I'm lazy, I took pecan halves and with my KitchenAid mixer on, I added the pecan halves into the batter at this time.  The mixing of the KitchenAid chops up the nuts well enough for me. 

I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper and the cookies didn't stick at all.  This also makes for an easy clean up, which I love.  Drop the cookies in round balls onto the cookie sheet (I use a cookie scoop). 

From the remaining cup of marshmallows, add several miniature marshmallows to the top of each cookie.  Use your judgement here - I liked the look of 3 on each cookie. 

Bake at 400' for 7 minutes (your oven might take a tad longer - my oven seems to be cooking hot).  I let them cool on the cookie sheet for about a minute and then I move them to a wire rack for longer cooling. 

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Seriously, these are fantastic. 

Enjoy!