I killed BBQ Beef Brisket

Alex and I are relocating to Colorado so we have been trying to clean all the food out of our freezer. I pulled out a beef brisket we got from Costco a couple of weeks ago and found a pretty decent recipe at Allrecipes.com for BBQ beef brisket. It looked easy enough...but I managed to kill it. I blame it on the vague instructions in the recipe.

BBQ Beef Brisket:

4 pounds beef brisket
salt to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup barbecue sauce - I used Famous Dave's BBQ sauce.
1 cup water - I used beer because of the suggestion from the other users.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees).

Sprinkle both sides of brisket with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Place in a large covered roasting pan.
Cook covered with no water at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) allowing 1 hour per pound.

Before last hour of cooking, remove brisket and slice.

Return slices to pan and add barbecue sauce mixed with water. Cover meat with sauce, cover, and cook 1 hour longer.

I don't like recipes that tell you how long to cook the meat based on the weight of the piece of meat you are using. Because we purchased the meat at Costco we had repackaged it from the original packaging. As a result, I didn't know exactly how much meat I was working with. I cooked the meat for too long and charred the outside. UG! Fortunately, it was still edible.

I definitely suggest trying out this recipe. It is KILLER! Word to the wise...know the weight of the meat you are using!

Cooking After Baby

On July 7th, 2009 I delivered our daughter Kate. WOW! Has life changed. I still LOVE to cook, but haven't had much time to do it now that Kate has arrived.

Being a mother takes a lot of time and energy. I did manage to cook up my first meal (besides peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) this last week. Alex and I make this dish a lot with many variations. It has become a quick and easy favorite.

Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage and Peppers:

1 pound Pasta - any kind that suits your fancy

1 pound precooked Spicy Italian Sausage

2 Red Peppers, sliced lengthwise

1/2 White Onion

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 tablespoons Olive Oil for cooking

Cook pasta according to instructions on package. Cut precooked spicy Italian sausage into 1/2 inch wedges and set aside. Heat olive oil in pan and add onion. Cook until onion is still white, but on the verge of turning translucent. Add garlic and red peppers. I wait to add the garlic until this point because I am the QUEEN of burning garlic in dishes like this. Cook until peppers are soft, but not falling apart. Add sausage wedges and cook until they are warmed through. Prior to serving, add Parmesan cheese to the sausage/pepper mix. Serve hot over cooked pasta.

There are seriously a ton of different ways you can do this. You can add the past to the sausage/pepper mix with a 1/2 cup of the cooking water to create a little bit of a sauce. You can also use beef stock instead of the pasta water or you can leave out the water all together like we did this time. This is a really EASY and fast dish for those lazy cooking nights.