Another Expo under my belt & Preparing for Thanksgiving - testing recipes

Not much happening around here since I last posted after Hurricane Matthew. After cleanup I packed & headed to the country. I had volunteered to work the Ag Expo again this year. Not much different than last year (2015 Expo) except for a few new veggies to display, plus they had a few white fly problems on several beds. Oh, & I had Nelly this year. The Expo is about 8 miles from our house so I left each day to go home to let her out & to change into cooler clothes each day. It got hot in the afternoons. It was a lot of work 7:00a - 5:00p each day, standing outside talking to strangers (w/1 hour break for lunch). Much like the job I used to have ...

Our refrigerator in the Country House died a few weeks back & when they brought out a new one they damaged the doors in the process. So, another new fridge was to be delivered while I was there. They got that one in on Friday & I finally found some time to rest over the weekend.

Came back to the city & haven't been doing much of anything except trying a few new recipes.

My friend Debbie gave me a recipe for broccoli casserole a few years ago. Instead of the one I used to make (w/Velveeta & water chestnuts), it is now my go to broccoli casserole recipe.

I made mustard chicken Monday night. Had some broccoli & cauliflower that I decided to roast with a red bell pepper (toss in olive oil, sprinkled w/s & p & bake on 375 for about 30 - 45 minutes). Served with some Quinoa cooked in meat broth & it was all very good.

We got a 1/2 cow recently, yes that's right a 1/2 a cow!!!! Of course that comes with brisket which I had never cooked before. I had the processor cut me 3 small briskets so that if the 1st or 2nd didn't turn out, then I wouldn't have ruined all of them. Yesterday I took out the smallest of the briskets & searched the Internet for a recipe. I settled on a braised recipe. Seasoned the brisket w/salt & pepper & seared all sides.. Removed from pan, added carrots & onion to the pan & then 2 T. of tomato paste. Then added 3 c. of meat broth, about 1 c. of red wine & a splash or 2 of red wine vinegar. Put brisket back in pan & put lid on to braise at 325 degrees for 1 hour in the oven. Then turned the oven down to 225 to let it finish cooking for about 2.5 additional hours. Very good.

I had the left over roasted broccoli & cauliflower & decided to make the famous Burgess Broccoli Casserole to go w/the brisket. I adjusted the recipe just a bit & here's my version:

1 small head broccoli & 1 small head cauliflower - roasted in S & P & olive oil
1/4 c. chopped onion (I used about 1 T. freeze dried shallots this time)
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. mayo
1/4 c. sour cream
1 egg
Buttered bread crumbs (I prefer Panko) Plus, I added a bout 1/4 c. of freshly grated parmesan.

Roughly chop broccoli & cauliflower, add onion & cheese & mix until combined.

Mix soup, mayo, sour cream & egg.

Add to broccoli mixture, stir well & put in buttered casserole dish.

Top with buttered bread crumbs & bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Served brisket & casserole with real life mashed potatoes & it was another fine meal! Gotta stop cooking like this during the week. My waistline doesn't need to grow any more before the holidays, or maybe it does ....