Recipes

Brisket Tacos… Repurposing Leftovers!

Nicole


I made an amazing Coca Cola Brisket last week. It turned out better than I could have ever imagined. One of the things I did with the brisket was I made brisket tacos. I never really thought about a brisket taco until a few weeks ago when I was at a restaurant that had them on the menu.

Brilliant! What a great way to use up some leftover brisket. I hate when food goes to waste, but yet I had the same old left overs. With that in mind why not take the brisket we already had left over and turn it into brisket tacos? Might I say … repurposing!

My brisket already had bell pepper and onion in them so I didn’t have to add any extra veggies. I paired the brisket meat with anything and everything you might normally have on a taco. We used flour tortillas, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. Topping off the brisket with veggies was a huge hit. The entire family devoured the brisket leaving none left… not even a single drop.

I may not like leftovers but I am more than happy to call it a fancy name like repurposing food!

What leftovers do you like to repurpose?

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Recipes

Coca Cola Crock Pot Brisket

Nicole

This recipe turned out fantastic. We actually ended up using it for two different meals. This is the brisket that keeps on giving! I got a 12 pound brisket for $10 and we have gotten at leave 6 meals out of it. 

I couldn’t be any more pleased with this recipe. I have one more quarter of a brisket that I plan on using exactly the same way. We all loved it. Not only did we use it to make brisket tacos, but we used it for barbeque sandwiches.  Excellent!


Ingredients:
  • 3 lbs. brisket
  • 1 bell pepper sliced
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
  • 2 cans Coca Cola (Not Diet!)
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Instructions:

  1. In a large Dutch oven add olive oil then turn the burner on a medium high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke add brisket and keep turning until all sides including the ends are a nice deep brown. The meat may stick a bit. If it’s sticking give it an extra minute or so on that side and it should life off the pot.
  2. Once each side has been browned add the brisket to a lined crock pot. Then coat the brisket with the spices. 
  3. Add the sliced onions and bell pepper to the crock pot (just spread them out evenly)
  4. Next not only pour the Coca Cola on to the brisket, but add the remaining juices from the browning pot also.  That’s too good to waste!
  5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on your brisket and crock pot (Mine took exactly 8 hours then the meat fell apart). 
  6. Every hour I would turn the brisket so that all sides were getting coated and wouldn’t dry out.
  7. Remove from the crockpot and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
  8. Slice against the grain (This will prevent it from being stringy)

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Recipes

BLT Wraps (Paula Deen)

Nicole


This recipe is delicious! I really loved it. I made it a little different than the directions listed below. I made the dressing in a large bowl then added the chopped lettuce and the bacon to the bowl so that everything was evenly coated I thought it would taste better to have everything combined together. Then I added the salad mixture to tortillas and topped with tomatoes (Not everyone in my house eats tomatoes or I would have probably added everything to the bowl).

This recipe is so good assuming you like honey mustard. It’s easy to make and great for the summer heat. Boy is it hot here in Texas! We are looking for anything to stay cool and keep the house cool. This recipe hits the spot.

You could even cheat and use bacon bits instead of actually having to cook bacon! I love cheats!!

Ingredients:
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
  • 8 slices bacon, cooked crisp (You could even use bacon bits)
  • 8 green leaf lettuce leaves
  • 8 slices tomato
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
  1. In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, and mayonnaise. 
  2. Spread evenly on the tortillas. 
  3. Top each with, 2 slices bacon, 2 lettuce leaves, and 2 slices of tomato. 
  4. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Fold 1 edge of each tortilla over the filling, roll up tightly and put them, seam side down, on a cutting board. 
  5. Cut as desired and secure with wooden picks, if needed. Arrange them on a serving platter and serve.

Original Recipe Source

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Recipes

Avocado Bacon Sandwiches … Yumm #Avocado

Nicole

There is nothing new about a bacon sandwich or a BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato), but what has recently stolen my heart is a bacon avocado sandwich. It’s delicious! Simply delicious! It’s so full of flavor and creaminess that I just love it. Bacon and avocado are a nice pairing of flavors.

Avocados are very inexpensive here 2 or 3 for $1. You can’t beat that! I have been eating them like crazy one, because I love them, and two because they are very good for you! A good fat! 

I like to keep the avocado simple. One avocado with salt to taste, a splash of dry onion flakes and a few shakes of garlic powder smashed up but a bit chunky. 

Replace the mayo that you might be adding to your BLT with avocado. Not only is avocado better for you than mayo but it’s also an anti-aging super food! It will give you the creaminess of mayo and will keep your sandwich moist and it’s good for you! Yummy! Make it a double!

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Recipes

Zesty One Pot Spaghetti Dinner

Nicole

I was reading a blog post on Under the Big Oak Tree a few nights ago and decided that I loved the idea of Alison’s One Pot Spaghetti Dinner. I loved the ease and simplicity of the recipe.

I decided I would follow Alison’s lead but come up with a different variation of the same recipe.  I had a large loaf of garlic bread left over from last week, and a bag of salad in need of use, so why not make something simple! I had everything I needed on hand! What more could I ask for?

I got a bright idea and decided that since I had the time during the day I would chop everything up and stick it in a zip bag and stick it in the refrigerator so it would be ready to go for dinner. Another time saver. Humm… now that’s an idea! Chop, bag, and freeze! That would really make dinner go fast for future meals!

It turned out fantastic I mean really fantastic! To my shock we didn’t have a drop of this left over! Bummer! Not only was it super easy and fast the flavor was incredible!! It’s so ridiculously good! 

The best part of this recipe is you can add pretty much anything to the pot and come up with a really great recipe. I think you could have called this recipe “trash can spaghetti” because anything you have left in your refrigerator can be added to this pot. I added a few extra veggies (mushrooms, carrots, bell pepper) to the pot and changed up the spices a bit.  I think this would be awesome with corn, and maybe Brussels sprouts, green beans, even some peas. This is a keeper recipe! Easy, fast, hearty and delicious!

Ingredients: 
  • 12 oz. spaghetti or linguini (I used linguini)
  • 1 cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 2 carrots diced (1/4 inch pieces)
  • 1-8 oz. can of mushrooms (drained)
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (add more for more of a kick)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon Celery Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Camino (Cumin)
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • Salt (as needed)

Directions:

  1. Break spaghetti in half and place in a large pot. 
  2. Add in the onions, bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms and garlic.
  3. Pour broth into the pot, then sprinkle in the spices.
  4. Drizzle olive oil over the top. 
  5. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are tender. (Note: The original recipe says this is going to be done in about 10 minutes but mine took more like 25 minutes).
  6. Season to taste with salt stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot.
*Notes: Add more or less red pepper flakes to change up your heat. Keep in mind that the 6 cloves of garlic add heat to the pot. I found that the 6 cloves of garlic plus 1/8 tsp of the red pepper flakes kept the dish kid friendly*

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