Criss-Cross Cheesy Bread

I found a round loaf of bread on the mark-down rack at Kroger,
& it reminded me of a recipe that I found years ago in a Taste of Home magazine.
I haven't made it in a long time, so I thought it was time to dig it out ...
& share it with all of you.
I can't remember the exact name of the recipe,
so I made one up that I think suits it just fine.
If you like bread, butter, cheese & garlic, well, you're sure to love this recipe!

Here are the ingredients you need:

1 round loaf of bread, any type or flavor you prefer

shredded mozzarella {a cup or so}, garlic, parsley, & butter

Slice into the bread, not cutting completely through to the bottom, first in one
direction & then in the opposite.
This makes the criss-cross pattern.

Now, for the next couple steps, I can't remember the exact method, so I improvised a bit.

In a small bowl, stir together a cup cheese {more or less}, 2 tsp. of minced garlic
& 1 tsp. chopped parsley.
After mixing well, begin to stuff the cheese mixture into all the criss-crosses in the bread.
Distribute the cheese mixture evenly throughout.

Dot the top {or brush} with butter.
Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted throughout.

The best thing about this is how the mozzarella streeetches when you pull it apart.

Triple Berry Cobbler

This is a recipe I came up with when I found the triple berry bag of frozen berries at Aldi.
They were practically begging me to put them in a cobbler.
So I did.

Here's how you can do it ... easy peasy.

For a 9x13-size cobbler, you'll need the following ingredients:

2 bags of the frozen triple berries - it's blackberries, strawberries & blueberries
{can't remember for sure, but I think they are sold in a 10 oz. bag - around $2.69 each}

1 cup each:  self-rising flour, granulated sugar, & milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. butter

Simmer the frozen berries on the stove top until they are softened ... approx. 15-20 mins.
OR, throw them in a microwavable dish & zap them for 3 or 4 minutes until thawed.
That works just as well when you're in a hurry.
I usually sprinkle a bit of granulated sugar over them as they are simmering ...
maybe a 1/4 cup or so.

While the berries are doing their berry thing, in a mixing bowl, stir together
the flour & sugar ... then adding the milk & vanilla.

Pour the berries into a 9x13 baking dish.
Evenly pour the batter over the berries.
Dot the butter here & there over the top.
Bake at 350 for approx. 35-45 minutes.
Keep your eye on it ... you want the batter to be baked through & slightly
browned on top, but not over-baked.

This would be an excellent dessert to make sugar free.
Just substitute Splenda for the sugar {same amount listed on the recipe}.

Serve warm with ice cream over top.
Serve warm with milk drizzled over top.
Serve plain ... or serve cold.
Any which way you serve it up, it's BERRY good!

shredded beef brisket tacos w/homemade pico de gallo

As promised in yesterday's post, I wanted to show you how I turned leftover
smoked beef brisket into another meal!
This 'cook once, eat twice' dinner was so delicious ... & tasted so authentic
that for a second there, we almost thought we were south of the border ...
especially since we had Mexican music playing. 
Seriously.

OK, so the pico de gallo, well, that just put this meal over the top!
Let's start with that first cause it looks so pretty in my pic!

Told ya!
Isn't this gorgeous?!
It's super simple to make.
You need a few firm tomatoes, 1 small onion, 3 jalapeno peppers, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. These quantities are approximate ... you might need to increase or decrease the numbers, depending on the size of the vegetables you find, or less peppers if you don't like things too spicy.
Dice up all the veggies, squeeze on the lime juice & sprinkle with salt.

I used a mix of red & yellow tomatoes ... ya, that took the wow factor up a notch or 2;)

Now to the tacos.
Here are the ingredients you'll need:

                                                        And a beef brisket, of course!

Shred it up with a knife & fork into bite-size pieces.

Add in your seasoning & about 1/2 cup of water & mix together.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes for meat to absorb all the flavors.

Lastly, toss in some chopped cilantro & 1/2 cup diced onion.

And...Ole! DINNER IS SERVED!

Muy bien, if I say so myself!

Beef Brisket in the Smoker

James decided to pull out his smoker.
He loves that thing.
He smoked his favorite, a beef brisket, & for the 1st time, he smoked 2 whole chickens.
That's now my favorite.

Oh my, that's a LOT of meat!
Carnivores ... eh, you could say that.

He likes to refer to himself as 'Famous James'

Look at that purty lil' chicken!

There are 5 of us, but I still knew we'd have plenty left-over.


We like having left-overs though & I love being creative with them.
The whole 'cook once, eat twice' method is super!
Only with this amount of meat, it was more like 'cook once, eat about 5 times!'

Here's how it all panned out:


1st meal {early lunch}:  smoked chicken, bread 'n butter & potato salad
2nd meal {late supper}: smoked beef brisket & baked beans
3rd meal {sent in lunchboxes the following day}:  shredded BBQ beef brisket sandwiches
4th meal {supper the next day}: shredded beef brisket tacos on corn tortillas
5th meal {lunch in lunchboxes the following day}:  tacos leftover from supper

You think they're tired of eating smoked brisket?
I think not.
James only smokes a brisket a few times a year, so they are more than happy to eat
on it a couple days.

Now, since the tacos were so divine ... & I made homemade pico de gallo for the 1st time
to serve alongside,  I'll share the recipe to both tomorrow.
Be sure & check back.

Wanna get 40 washes out of 20 dishwasher tabs?

article 7 in $$ Stretching Your Dollars $$

Check out my video for this money-saving tip!

Isn't this great?!
Most repair guys say too much product is not good for the dishwasher anyway,
so cutting back to 1/2 is even better for the dishwasher itself.
{If you use the powder, use only 1/2 the usual amount}

In addition to this, I use 2 other products to keep my dishes sparking clean: 
the little basket rinse aid {I hang this inside the dishwasher on the top rack}
& a liquid rinse aid that is filled into a compartment inside the door.
Both of these last quite a while & do a good job of keeping the film off the glasses.

The next thing I want to experiment with is using vinegar instead of the liquid rinse aid.
I've heard it works great & of course, would be much cheaper.
I'll be sure & report back on that.