I often find my greatest inspiration for dinner comes when I am not really thinking about it, and that was the case with this recipe.  I had a brisket that I wanted to use up, and I had looked up a few recipes, but nothing really struck me as “the” recipe.  So, I put my brisket in the crock pot and just decided to wing it and came up with this yummy dinner!!   Side Note: If you don’t have a CrockPot, you need one! 



This one seems more labor intensive, but it is really quite easy.  To help in the timing of everything I have included a timeline below:

Timeline:

8-10 Hours before serving: Place beef brisket in the CrockPot
1 Hour before serving: Add the carrots and mushrooms
30 Minutes before serving:  Start the Polenta
10-15 minutes before serving:  Start the vegetable sauce


Ingredients:

1, 4-5 pound beef brisket, thawed
30 ounces of beef stock
½ cup white wine
Onions, diced, to your liking
Salt and Pepper to your liking
Mushroom-I used a mixture of Shitake, Portabella and Morel
1 pound Carrots, sliced
4 cups Milk-I used 1% milk
2 cups Cornmeal-I used Bob's Red Mill Cornmeal
¼ cup of Butter/Margarine-I use Brummel and Brown
8-10 ounces quartered Tomatoes-I used grape tomatoes and yellow tomatoes
4-6 ounces of Spinach
1 medium Zucchini, diced to your liking.
Xanthan gum/cornstarch/flour-Something to use as a thickening agent for the vegetable sauce.  I use Xanthan Gum. 
2 cups brisket broth, taken right from the CrockPot
Garlic-to your liking
Goat Cheese


Brisket Directions:

-Place your brisket in the Crock Pot on low
-Pour in wine and beef stock, enough to cover all or most of the brisket
-Add salt, pepper, and onions to your liking
-1 hour before serving add carrots and mushrooms


Polenta Directions:

-Place milk and butter in a pot, heat until just before a boil
-Add in the cornmeal, cover and reduce to low heat, stirring occasionally
-After about 5 minutes turn off the heat, keep covered and stir occasionally
-The Polenta will thicken to the consistency of Mashed Potatoes.  If you find they are a bit “runny” add a little more cornmeal.  If it is a bit “stiff” add a little more milk


Vegetable Sauce Directions:

-Place tomatoes and 1 cup of brisket liquid into a pot
-Heat on medium heat until the tomatoes start to soften
-Add zucchini and remaining liquid to the pot until the zucchini starts to soften
-Add the spinach and garlic and continue to cook. 
-Gradually add your thickening agent to the mixture until you get the consistency you desire.


I layer this dish starting with the polenta then the brisket, followed by the veggie sauce, and topping it off with the goat cheese crumbles.  But you can layer it however you would like.  



Healthy Eatings!!

Rachel

 
I love eggs for breakfast.  But lets face it, on busy weekday mornings it is hard to cook eggs for the whole family and get out of the door on time.  My mother in law had a great recipe for a breakfast casserole, but I wanted to make it my own--easy to remember, and toppings my family would enjoy.  This recipe is great to make the night before and cook in the morning (it does take about an hour to bake) or to make over the weekend and just re-heat during the week.  So here it is:



Ingredients:

1/2 loaf of wheat bread-I love to use home made or artisan wheat bread because it is heartier
10 eggs
1 cup of heavy cream-you can use milk, I just like the thickness of the cream.
2 cups shredded cheese-I like to use a colby jack or whatever I have in the fridge.
Toppings (whatever you like):
My usual toppings included:
Zucchini
Red Peppers
Portabella Mushrooms
Spinach
9x13 pan




Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Grease 9x13 pan
-break bread and spread it evenly across the bottom of the pan, and set aside
-in a bowl break eggs and whisk them about 30 seconds
-add cream and 1 cup of cheeses to the eggs and whisk together, then set aside
-chop you toppings then layer them on top of the bread
-pour the egg mixture over the bread and veggies
-Let the pan sit for a couple minutes to allow the egg mixture soak into the bread
-Cover and place in the oven for about 45 minutes
-Uncover and spread the remaining cheese on top, place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the middle is firm.


I hope you enjoy this great breakfast with your family!!


Healthy Eatings,

Rachel