Tonight we’re hosting a fun time of food and fellowship at our place. Whenever we have lots of company, I like to use my crock pot to make some sort of sandwich filling, and then set up a buffet, so people can just help themselves to food. Somehow this seems a lot less stressful to me than serving a sit-down dinner. This also makes it possible to invite lots more folks than we have room to seat at the table!
I think I’ll also bake a hearty potato casserole to go with the sandwiches. The friends are bringing such things as desserts, veggies, salads, and some of the beverages. Isn’t it fun to taste other people’s cooking? Yum!
For this get-together, I borrowed my girlfriend’s crockpot, too, and got up early this morning to start the following recipe. I haven’t tried it before, but it sounds really good, so here it is:
Tex-Mex Beef Barbecue
(from the Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker Cook Book)This recipe is for a 5 ½ to 7 quart slow cooker:
6 pounds brisket of beef
2 (18 ounce) bottles hickory-smoked barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce)
2 (1.25 ounce) envelopes chili seasoning (or 6 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning)
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chopped onion
Combine all ingredients, except meat, in crock. Stir well. Brown meat first, if desired. Add meat and stir well to coat. Cover and cook: Low – 10 hours OR High – 5 hours.
Remove the meat and shred. Return the meat to crock. Stir well. Serve on soft rolls. Makes approximately 16 servings.
When serving something like this, I also provide sliced cheese, extra barbeque sauce, and additional toppers such as sliced fresh onion.
Now I’d better get going with the day’s work. 🙂
P.S. – Here’s the homemade Taco Seasoning recipe:
TACO SEASONING MIX (from Set for Life by Jane Merrill and Karen Sunderland)
Ingredients:
2/3 cup dry minced onion
4 teaspoons salt
¼ cup chili powder
¼ cup paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ cup flour
Mix ingredients. Cover and store in cool place.
2 to 3 tablespoons equal 1 package taco seasoning mix.
Stir seasoning mix into meat or beans. Add ½ cup water and simmer 10 minutes.
Yield: 1 ½ cups