Brisket

My first ever Brisket was delicious thanks to the Pioneer Woman! It was my first time tasting and making a brisket and it was sooo good! She calls it "Tangy Tomato Brisket" and it was so juicy and tender! It's a pretty simple recipe too as long as you have patience! I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 5-8 pounds beef brisket ( I used 9 pounds because they were out of the smaller sizes,you can ask the butcher to trim the fat or trim it yourself)
• 1 20-24 ounce bottle of ketchup 
• 1 package of dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• Any spices you'd like, but it is wonderful without any!

Directions:

• In a medium bowl mix together the ketchup and onion mix 
  
• Mix in the water and other spices and set aside
• Now you can trim any excess fat and put the brisket in a large pan, I used a heavy duty aluminum pan as directed by the pioneer woman 
  
• Then pour the mixture onto the beef and make sure every part, front and bottom side to side, has been covered!
• TIGHTLY wrap the top of the pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate over night
• The next day preheat your oven to 275 degrees
• Then, with the aluminum foil still tightly on, put the brisket in the oven!!
• At the half way point of the cooking, I flipped the beef over but that is totally optional
• I cooked mine for 9 hours, but I would do 1 hour for every pound

• To check if it is done, put two forks in the middle and it should easily spread apart (fork tender)
• Slice then keep warm or serve!!!

This goes great on hamburger buns! And if you are in a hurry you don't have to marinate it overnight, it just allows for more time for the flavor to set in.

Chicken Salad

I must thank the Pioneer Woman again for another scrumptious recipe. This was my first time trying and making chicken salad, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it! I love all the colors in it, and its really easy to add or change up the ingredients for different occasions for this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 cups of shredded or diced cooked chicken
• 2 or 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 green onions, sliced(white and light green parts only)
• 2 or 3 cups red and green grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• sandwich bread, croissants, lettuce, etc for salad

Directions:

• Rinse the chicken
• Put in a large pot and fill with water
• Bring to a boil then put on low medium heat for about 45 minutes to an hour or until chicken is done (keep an eye on the pot while waiting for the water to boil because mine almost spilled over the edges)
• Drain and cool, once cool either tear apart with your hands or chop and set aside
• In a medium bowl, stir together mayonnaise, yogurt, and half and half
• Then add and mix in the lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper and set aside
• Throw the chicken, celery, green onions, almonds and grapes into a bowl and toss together
• Pour half the dressing onto the mixture and stir together
• Taste and see if you need more dressing or seasoning
• Serve or refrigerate and enjoy!

Additional options: Dill would be a good seasoning to this salad. Pioneer Woman has it in her recipe, but I was out and it tasted yummy with out it! Also, if you didn't want to cook the chicken you could buy a roisterer chicken and simply peel and shred pieces off it!

Broccoli Slaw

I've never had anything like this before until today, and I have been missing out! Its a refreshing dish, and has a cool taste and texture. I got the recipe from my mom's school's recipe book. Its a book of all the teacher's favorite recipes, and this one was from Cristy Layman. You will want to try this! Its easy and it makes me feel like I'm being healthy because it has broccoli and other vegetable like things in it!

 

Ingredients:

• 1 package fresh broccoli florets
• 1 package broccoli slaw
• 2 bunches of green onions
• 1 cup of sunflower seeds
• 3 packages chicken flavor ramen noodles
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, oil, vinegar, and 3 packets of seasoning from ramen noodles
• In a large bowl, toss together the broccoli, slaw, onions, sunflower seeds, and crumbled/ crushed dry ramen noodles ( make sure broccoli is in small florets)
• Pour dressing mix over the broccoli mixture and either refrigerate or serve!

ENJOY!!!

Garlic Butter on French Bread

Simple recipe for garlic bread that goes with any Italian dish!

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of French Bread
• 1 stick of softened butter
• 2 tablespoons of parsley( dried or fresh)
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

Directions:

• Line pan with aluminum foil and preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Cut the bread in half length wise
• Mix butter, parsley, and garlic in a small bowl together with a fork
• Evenly spread butter mixture on both halves
• Bake for around 20 minutes, making sure the butter is melted and the bottom is not burnt
• And enjoy with your meal!

Baked Ziti

This is the first time I have made and tried baked ziti and I love it! I saw it on Pinterest and used the recipe from the website momswhothink.com and my family and me thought it was awesome! I'm not a fan of sour cream so I was put off by this recipe at first, but it is wonderful!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of dry ziti pasta
• 1 pound of lean ground beef (I used 3 frozen hamburger patties
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 (26 ounce) jars of spaghetti sauce of your liking
• 1 1/2 cup of sour cream
• 6 ounces of shredded Italian blend cheese( or sliced Provolone cheese, they were out at the grocery store)
• 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese for topping
• 6 ounces of mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish
• Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil
• Add ziti and cook until al dente and drain
• In a large skillet, brown onion and meat over medium heat, drain excess grease
• Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15 minutes
• Layer as follows: 1/2 the pasta, Italian blend cheese, sour cream, 1/2 meat mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese, and remaining meat mixture( you may need to press dowm with spoon to fit all that goodness in the dish)
• Top with Parmesan cheese
• Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted
• Enjoy! 

Salad and garlic bread are yummy additions to this dish!

Ham and Cheese Rolls

My oldest sister Erin allows makes these for New Year's Eve, and they are so good! They are a perfect addition to a get together if you have family or friends coming over. I hope you like them!

Ingredients:

• 1 small package of dinner rolls( King's Hawaiian Rolls)
• 1 package of thinly sliced ham
• 1 package of thinly sliced Swiss cheese
• 1 stick of butter
• 3 teaspoons of mustard
• 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Poppy seeds
• 1 small chopped onion

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a pan with aluminum foil
• Combine the butter, poppy seeds, mustard, onion, and Worcestershire sauce in a sauce pan and heat on medium until all the butter is melted, stirring occasionally
• Let cool and slice the rolls in half length wise
• On the bottom half of rolls, layer the ham then cheese evenly
• On the top half, pour mixture except for a few spoon fulls
• Put top and bottom halves back together on the lined pan
• Spoon remaining mixture on top of the rolls
• Bake for about 25 minutes( make sure the bottoms are not burning)
• Cool and slice and enjoy!

Optional: These roll sandwiches could also be enjoyed cold by simply refrigerating instead of baking 

Bacon Crackers

These things are so wonderful! They are perfect for holiday parties and just require 3 ingredients! And this recipe is from none other than The Pioneer Woman!

Ingredients: 

• 1 package of club crackers ( About 36 crackers)
• 1 pound( maybe a little more) of thin sliced bacon
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees
• Place the crackers on a baking pan
• Spoon about a tablespoon of the cheese on each cracker
• Then wrap a half piece of bacon around each cracker, snugly
• Place in oven for about 2 hours

Tips: It would be beneficial to have a trap with a rack for this recipe, I will soon be investing in one! Also there is another recipe that swaps the cheese for brown sugar for a more sweeter snack!