Briskets are a summer time staple at any Texas BBQ. I love one that has slowly been cooked on a grill all day long, but they can just as easily be made in your oven for a great dinner any night of the week!

There are two important things you want to remember when cooking a brisket 1) you want one with some fat on it, about 1/8″ to 1/4″ — it helps to seal in the moisture. 2) cook it slow, because brisket is a tough cut of meat you do not want to rush cooking it. Cooking it slowly ensures a moist and tender meat!

Because it is a fatty meat, I like to balance mine out with LOTS of veggies. Last night we opted for roasted corn, asparagus and mashed potatoes. The only thing that could have made this meal any better would have been a big, green salad!

Serve with mashed potatoes topped with juices from the pan!

This is what you will need:

• 1 small brisket (~2lbs)
• 1 large tomato, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
• 1/2 purple onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon dried onions
• 1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning (or combine equal parts parsley, oregano & basil)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Combine, dried onions, italian seasoning and cayenne pepper in a small bowl, set aside.

Place brisket in roasting pan. Using a fork, pierce brisket repeatedly to tenderize the meat, sprinkle with seasoning mix, flip and repeat on other side. Top with diced onions, tomatoes, garlic, salt & pepper. Add water to pan, cover with foil and bake for 6-8 hours.

Makes 8 servings. 

Stay tuned to see how I revamp the leftovers in to tasty meals throughout the week!

Have a suggestion for leftover brisket? Share it with me in the comments section (:

Jambalaya has been one of my favorite meals since I was a teenager. In fact, it was the first meal I learned to make on my own. It’s super quick and easy to make, there is a some prep time involved — but definitely worth it! Follows is my recipe for a quick, delish, healthy & protein packed quinoa jambalaya (as healthy as a meal with sausage can be anyway).

What you will need:

• 2 sausage links, sliced (I prefer Aidells or Applegate Farms)
• 1/2lb extra lean ground chicken or 12 medium shrimp
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 purple onion, diced
• 1/2 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 1 cup chicken stock (can substitute water or veggie stock)
• 1/2 teaspoon of the following: garlic powder, dried onion, cayenne pepper, chili powder & red pepper flakes (you can use more or less of each depending on how spicy you want it to be)
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt & Pepper

Using a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook your meats. Remove them from pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and using the same skillet, combine EVOO, onion and garlic. Cook until onion is opaque. Add green bell pepper and tomato, cook 1 additional minute. Stir in quinoa and broth. Add bay leaves and spices. Cover and cook until quinoa is done (add additional water or chicken stock if necessary) — this will take about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Add meat and heat through, 3-5 minutes.

This meal comes together in 30 to 45 minutes and makes 2 large servings (I actually had 1/2 serving for dinner and the other half for lunch).

Nutrition Facts: 552 calories, 23g fat, 42.2g carbs, 46.5g protein. PLUS 262.5mg potassium, 164% Vitamin C & 52.5% iron (when made using extra lean ground chicken & Applegate Farms chicken and apple sausage).

If you have kids or are just a picky eater yourself and want to sneak in more veggies (and a better nutritional content), you can add 2 finely diced carrots at the same time as the tomato & bell pepper!