Well I happy to say that the party we threw last night for my husband’s work group was a big success. The brisket ended up being one of the best we’ve ever eaten. I am talking better than Rudy’s or any BBQ restaurant for that matter (for those of you Texans that know it). We talked about it all night and we think the cut of the meat was just exceptionally good, but even though it was only my hubby’s second time smoking a brisket, he has it down. We had 24 pounds of brisket slow cooking all day and I made my pinto beans, coleslaw, some appetizers, 4 pies and stuffed chocolate chip cookies. A few guests were kind enough to bring extra food so we also had a baked mac & cheese, a fruit salad, potato salad and 4 extra pies! It was a really fun night and even though my feet were about to fall off at 8pm, we were happy with the success of it. If anyone wants a Texas BBQ catered, feel free to call us!
🙂
I wish I could share some pictures but I didn’t have time to take any! So sad.
Before we talk about meal planning, I just want to show off a little more of our garden. When my mother-in-law was here she planted some green leaf lettuce seeds that I picked up randomly at Walmart….I was pretty skeptical that anything would actually grow. I was SO surprised that in about a month we had this beautiful green leaf lettuce!
I made this simple strawberry-feta salad with the greens and an apple cider vinaigrette- the lettuce was delicious. Part rabbit perhaps, but I love lettuce. Even though fall brings about the yummy roasted and baked vegetable dishes, we still have salad almost every night. Lettuce is a low calorie food and a good source of Vitamin A and Folic Acid. Fill up on the stuff at your dinner meal and I promise you’ll eat less overall. Fruit is also a great addition to any salad. My favorites are figs, strawberries and apples, but you could also try pear, plum, dried cranberries, blackberries or mandarin oranges…to name a few options!
And remember next year when it’s time for planting, throw some seeds in the ground, water them from time to time and see what happens! Maybe you’ll luck out too and have some beautiful greens outside your kitchen door.
So Meal Planning is going to be simple, simple for me this week. I’d love to try and use up some of our pantry and freezer goods plus some of the extra stuff we have left over from the party.
Menu for the Week of October 2nd
Sunday
Leftover BBQ Brisket Sandwich, Beans, Coleslaw and Potato Salad
Monday
Black Bean Burgers and any other leftovers
Tuesday
Soup (haven’t decided what kind)
Wednesday
Salmon, Asian Slaw
Thursday
Ground Turkey Tacos, Lettuce/Tomato/Cilantro & Guacamole
Friday
Pizza night
Saturday
Leftovers (tacos or pizza)
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Strawberry-Feta Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Mixed Spring Lettuce or Bibb Lettuce
Strawberries, halved or quartered
Thin red onion slices
Toasted almonds
Feta Crumbles
Apple Cider Vinaigrette
1/2 cup walnut or olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons minced shallots (optional)
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk together vinegar though maple syrup. Slowly add in walnut or olive oil until well combined. Season with salt & pepper.
2. Â Toss salad ingredients in a bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine.
To make toasted almonds: heat a small skillet on medium heat. Add sliced almonds and stir occasionally until light browned, about 5 minutes.
Measurements for salad ingredients not included. Use as much or as little as you want.
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Your salad looks great, I can’t wait to try some lettuce in the garden next year. I will have to remember to try it sometime. Here are our meals for the week. I am still going to be eating vegan, I have enjoyed it more then I thought I would so I will continue the discipline (that is what I am enjoying the most).
Sun–Crock pot lasagna for the family, this is a new recipe so we will see how it tastes. Smells really good! I added extra sauce, sauted shredded summer squash and chopped frozen spinach. I will have pasta with sauce, brocolli and sauted summer squash.
Mon–I am doing greek night for us and the smiths. I will make crockpot falafel and your chicken swarma (we love it). I am going to try your tahini sauce recipe (you gave britt) instead of the traditional yogurt sauce served with greek salad stuff.
Tues–Leftovers
Wed–Southwestern baked egg rolls this is a new recipe that I am very excited about. I will make a few without cheese served with salsa to dip maybe guac if avocados look good and fresh fruit.
Thurs–Taco salad with fake bean and quinoa “meat”.
Fri–Dinner out
Sat–Winter veggie stew in the crock pot with grilled cheese for the family (this is a new recipe also)
Ooh, let me know how the egg rolls turn out. They sound great so would love the recipe if they’re good 🙂
Gretchen…are these baked? Can you bake rice paper? Or are they a wheat flour wrap? I saw that recipe recently and they look amazing!
Britt, They are baked (they are on my pinterest account) They call for egg roll wrappes which HEB was out of so I need to still get some. I am not sure about baking rice paper. You can fry it so I would think you can bake it. Would definately be worth a try.
Ok so the egg rolls turned out really well. I did six without cheese so they were vegan, and I used rice paper for allso they were GF (never bought egg roll paper but I am guessing there is some egg in the paper since egg is in the name–we are now doing GF for one twin to see if it helps his concentration). I also used some roasted hatch chilies from my freezer stash. I need to play around with the baking time and temps since the rice paper did not brown up like the other recipe I was consulting, but they were still really good. My one son who has eaten them was asking if he could eat more in the car on the way to football. Melanie if you want to try these they are on my pinterest account. Let me know if you can’t find it.
Sunday: Field peas (black eyed peas-ish, but fresh, not dried) and brown rice. I also made an asian marinated cabbage dish(slaw?) and your cucumbers!
Monday: Gretchen’s yummy Greek
Tues: National Night Out (our street is doing a cookout, so sausage for the fam and leftover “taco” meat for me over a salad)
Wed: Homemade marinara over pasta for fam and steamed broccoli for me
Thursday: leftovers or grilled cheese
Fri: pizza night
Sat: Garage sale, so no cooking for me
Hi Mel, Sounds like the Texas barbeque was great–would love to have Toby’s brisket recipe–must have been awesome to beat Rudys!! Am sure you were both tired but very pleased to have such a fun night with such delicious food! The salad looks so yummy–hope you still have some greens left by the end of the month when I come! Can’t wait! xo Mimi