Crock Pot Brisket

Crock Pot Brisket

4 to 6 pound brisket

1/3 cup Dijon or Honey mustard

1/3 cup ketchup

2 Tablespoons dry onion soup mix

1 - 10 or 12 ounce Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon red pepper (optional)

In a small bowl, mix mustard, ketchup, onion soup mix, and spices. Spread mixture over brisket and place into the crock pot. Pour cola over the meat. Cook on high for 8 hours. Slice and serve. Save your leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

*Briskets are usually larger that 4 to 6 pounds so I buy a 10 to 12 pound brisket and cut it in half. I use one half and freeze the other for another day.

Try black beans with jalapeno peppers, they are fantastic!

Louisiana Meat Pies

Louisiana Meat Pies

The filling:

1/2 to 3/4 lb spicy pork sausage

1/2 lb ground beef or ground buffalo

1 large chopped onion

2 chopped green onions

Chopped parsley

Salt to taste

Tony's cajun seasoning to taste

Red pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Brown meats and onion in olive oil. Add seasonings to taste. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons flour over meat mixture, mix well and set aside.

The Pastry:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup Crisco

1/3 cup milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

Mix dry ingredients together, cut in Crisco till the size of peas. Add liquid and mix till the dry ingredients are all wet. Chill about 10 minutes. Roll out onto a floured surface and cut into 4 to 5 inch rounds. Place some filling in each round. Wet the edges of the pastry with water or egg and fold over, press edges with a fork to seal. Chill the pies while you are heating your oil. In a large skillet heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry pies till golden brown on both sides. Drain on a papertowel. Eat them hot. Great with sour cream or Greek yogurt. Substituting plain Greek yogurt for sour cream can really save you on fat and calories.

Homemade Buttermilk

3 cups milk, you can use prepared powdered milk or store bought milk, whole or 2%

1/2 cup cultured buttermilk (store bought)

In a quart jar, combine milk and buttermilk and mix well. Cover with a coffee filter and let sit out on the counter over night at room temp. In the morning you will have buttermilk! I know this sounds nuts to buy cultured buttermilk to make more, but if you use buttermilk a lot you can just wait till you are near the end of your store bought jug and make your own. We use the powdered milk to make ours. We start with warm water to mix up the powdered milk, then add the cultured buttermilk.