Brisket, Ranch Style Beans, Napa Cabbage Noodle Salad

Tonight I tried three new recipes. Brisket was on sale so I thought I'd try my hand at it. The multitude of recipes out there sent my head spinning! I don't have a smoker so I considered oven vs crockpot and decided on a highy rated oven recipe on AllRecipes. It took hours but very little work on my end and was very tender and tasty. Jason thought it tasted like pot roast... I'm not sure that's good or bad. He used botted BBQ sauce on his and said it was good. I liked a little pan sauce on mine and dad ate his without. It was not dry at all - perfectly cooked, tender, and flavorful.

Brisket

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon ground back pepper

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1 (4 lb) beef brisket
1.5 cups beef broth

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and blend thoroughly. Apply rub to surface of brisket. (I tossed some ground dry mustard in as well).

Cook, uncovered, in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and add beef broth to pan (I also threw in a bottle of dark beer). Lower oven to 300, cover pan tightly with foil, and cook 3 more hours. Let brisket stand for 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes - I added a bottle of beer to the pan and I added dry ground mustard to the dry mix. My brisket had a lot of fat on it so I trimmed a lot off prior and then sliced around it when it finished.  

The beans were also from AllRecipes; I wanted a change from baked beans, which I've made a couple of times. Now, these seemed bland at first bite and then it hit you with a bite of spice and flavor. The three of us weren't sure what it was missing to make it bland - the obvious (salt) didn't make a difference. Otherwise, it was tasty but is missing something. Any ideas?

Ranch Beans

1 pound dried pinto beans

1 quart water

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon chile powder

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (I used ground cayenne)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

Place beans in Dutch oven or soup kettle; add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain, discarding liquid. Return beans to pan; add 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours, or until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1-1/2 hours longer.

Instead of a creamy cole slaw to go with dinner, I wanted the oriental slaw that is served often at church events. I searched on All Recipes and found one that sounded tasty. This was soooooo good. My dad hasn't had this dish before and he declared it "freakin' awesome" and ate several helpings. Cheap, very easy, good for a crowd.

Napa Cabbage Noodle Salad

1 large head napa cabbage, shredded and chilled

1/2 cup olive oil

1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, crushed

1/2 cup sesame seeds (I skipped)

3 ounces blanched slivered almonds

1 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

6 tablespoons white vinegar

Add olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and brown ramen noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds (you do not need this much oil - I used just a drizzle). Set aside to cool.

Prepare dressing by mixing canola oil, soy sauce, white sugar, and both vinegars in blender until smooth (I didn't want to use a blender so I used a small whisk and did it by hand instead).

About 30 minutes before serving, toss the dressing and cabbage together. Chill. Just before serving, toss noodle mixture and cabbage together.