Baby Reason - Making Food for New Parents and Our Family + Recipes for Corn Cheese Souffle, Apple Crisp, BBQ Brisket + Pot Roast with Veggies

A dear friend, Missa, who recently got married, went into labor nearly a month early. That was last week. She was developing a dangerous case of eclampsia so the doctors decided to do an emergency "C" section. Even though Baby Reason was born nearly a month early, he still weighed in at around six pounds and has fully developed lungs. He had a touch of jaundice, so they gave him some light therapy. Missa's condition was a bit more serious and so they kept her for a few days. Both were released to go home this afternoon, so I made a full meal for the family. Missa and Sean live with Connie, Missa's mother, as well as Christy (sister), Josh (brother) and Chris ( a friend). Sean's older kids, Raven and Duncan were also there, so I made a large meal of True Blueberry tea, BBQ Brisket, Corn Souffle, Roasted Potatoes, Carrots and Grape Tomatoes with Olive Oil, Rosemary and Garlic. I also made Apple Crisp. I thought it would be nice to have a hardy, easy to heat up meal of comfort food so that the family can focus on settling in, instead of having to go out and get food, or make a meal.


I also made a similar meal for us, swapping out the BBQ Brisket for Pot Roast with Veggies. Don had surgery on his head on Thursday, and so a calm, quiet meal was in order. Doug and Kohlton joined us as well. After dinner we sat around a fire in the fire pit in the back yard and told stories. Kohlton played the guitar for a while. It was a lovely way to end the weekend.

Corn Cheese Souffle
via: Liz Wilcox

1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1 can Creamed Corn
1/2 Large Bag of Corn, Frozen
2 Eggs, Beaten
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 cup Sour Cream
1 1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the corn and add the melted butter. Stir in the eggs and sour cream. Add in the corn bread mix, as well as 3/4 cup Cheddar Cheese and stir to mix.

Place in a casserole dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Add the remaining cheese on top of the casserole 10 minutes before the cooking is done.

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Apple Crisp

Apple Mixture:
6-8 cups Apples, skinned and sliced
Juice of 1 Lemon or 3 TBL Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 tea. Lemon Zest
1 tea. Cinnamon, ground
1/2 tea. Nutmeg, ground
1 TBL Minute Tapioca

Crispy Topping: (Larr likes double topping)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Stir in the tapioca. Place in an 8" x 8" pan.

Place the melted butter in a bowl. Add in the sugar and cinnamon, then stir to combine. Add in the oats and flour, mixing again.

Spread evenly on top of the apple mixture.

Bake for 30-35.

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Brisket with BBQ Sauce
via: Allrecipes.com


4 pounds lean beef brisket
2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour liquid smoke over brisket. Rub with onion salt and garlic salt. Roll brisket in foil and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place brisket in a large roasting pan. Cover and bake for 5 to 6 hours. Remove from oven, cool, and then slice. Put slices back into pan.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, ketchup, butter, water, celery salt, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir, and cook until boiling.
4. Pour sauce over meat slices in pan. Cover and bake for 1 more hour.

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Pot Roast

2 cups water
1 5 to 6-lb. beef pot roast (I used a small chuck roast and a small arm roast)
1 1-oz. pkg. ranch salad dressing mix
1 .7-oz. pkg. Italian salad dressing mix
3 TBL. Worcestershire Sauce
(2-3 TBL. Beef Broth concentrate or beef broth cubes, optional)
1/2 - 3/4 cup Red Wine
6 to 8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 to 10 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
Grape Tomatoes
1/4 cup Water, cold
3 TBL. Cornstarch

Pepper

Pour water into a large oval slow cooker; add roast. Sprinkle mixes, Worcestershire sauce and wine over roast.

Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 7 hours; add potatoes, carrots and tomatoes during the last 2 hours of cooking. Taste the broth to determine whether you need to add beef broth concentrate or beef broth cubes.

If you cook the meat ahead of time, you can let it cool enough to have the fat floating on the top thicken, allowing you to remove it. You can also pour the broth through a sieve to remove little bits of fat.

To thicken the stew you will need to dissolve the corn starch in cold water and stir. Add to the very hot or broiling broth. Stir to combine. It will thicken in a few minutes.