Beautiful Meat and Veggies! Yum!

Some of you may wonder why I put so much food on my Facebook page and why I get so excited over cooking.  Well, those of you who have been around me know that until I retired, a very young retiree, I didn't cook.  Really, hardly at all.  I sat at a desk for over 30 years. I did the survival cooking thing, you know: breakfast of course, spaghetti, frozen dinners, and I ate out a lot! I actually grilled a little, but just a few things. I was the one who always brought the paper products to the party! Then I started culinary school!  Surprise!

The best explanation for this new love interest in fresh food and prepping and cooking and trying new dishes is the togetherness that food brings for friends and family, and you can't beat the smiles and looks on the faces of those who are truly enjoying your food. I believe you can taste love in food, don't you? I'll share with you later some of my "beginning" dishes that may have started all of this. In the past my scope of dishes was very, very narrow and now I want to try new things.  I hope you'll enjoy this work in progress with me!

---

I added this picture at the top of the beautiful fried green tomatoes because I'm trying to control what picture gets posted on the blog introduction.  We'll see what happens.  And now for the main event!  

Beautiful Cajun spice rub!

I didn't make too much of a mess!

Wrapped tightly to sit in the fridge overnight!

Aren't those spices beautiful? I may edit that picture and have it blown up to hang on my wall!  This was my second brisket ever and I used a Cajun Brisket recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I wish I had taken a picture of that beautiful cut of meat before I smothered it in spices!  If you live in Rome, Georgia or nearby you can order your brisket to size at GMC Food Store on the Alabama Highway. 

Don't forget to hover over the picture for a description, and click on pictures for recipes!

Maracas, just because!

My sunflower plant in the kitchen window!

Berry College deer in the back yard!

Just for the heck of it, here's a picture of beautiful hand-painted and carved maracas I got for $3.50 at the thrift store! The little plant is a sunflower that my friend Patricia gave me.  I am enjoying watching it grow!  I stand in the kitchen a lot, so it's nice when I get to see the Berry College deer occasionally, but you'll have to look closely in the picture.  The wooded property behind me belongs to Berry College so we see many deer here.

Gorgeous celery...

Vidalia onions...

Beautiful green bell peppers...

Fresh garlic...

All in a pan...

Beautiful shredded brisket!

Prepping food is the beginning of a great dish and the first hands on thing you learn in the kitchen in culinary school, along with knife skills.  It is an entry level job, if you know what I mean, but I just love it.  I love beautiful food and making it into something for friends and family to enjoy!  These were fresh vegetables that covered the brisket while cooking. I splurged (with my sister Janise, who pays half the grocery bill) on canned San Marzano tomatoes because I was curious about them and if you have a little extra money, they're delicious!  They have much more depth of flavor than other canned tomatoes.  I haven't tried organic, but only because of the cost.

Here's a little side dish I fixed separately.  I HAD to stop at the farmer's stand on Hwy 53 just because I was riding by and bought some green tomatoes.  I almost let some of them get too ripe, but they all turned into delicious fried green tomatoes! Click the fried green tomatoes picture for Paula Deen's recipe!

BBQ brisket sandwich!

Cajun Brisket - recipe attached!

So far, two uses for the brisket!  After I took the brisket out of the veggies and stew it cooked in, I shredded it and separated it to make barbecue sandwiches!  Goodness, it was so good!  I have discovered now that the ONLY way to heat cooked meat and sauce together is in an iron skillet.  The flavor is indescribable!  Last night's dinner was the original Cajun Brisket, topped with the beautiful vegetables it cooked in!

Well, Friends, that's all for now.  I'm going out of town with some friends so I'll be eating someone else's cooking for a few days.  Then we'll see what we can come up with next in the kitchen!

Dished With Love, Denise

P.S. Click on the icons at the top right of the page and join me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!  I'm also on Instagram at lorettadenise1221.