Chocolate Pudding!

It has been a while since I posted last.  I just haven't felt like I've had much to talk about but I found a new recipe and I want to tell the world how great it is! 

Whenever I think of chocolate pudding I think about my brother Joe running downstairs when we were younger to tell announce that mom was making chocolate pudding.  After stampeding down the stairs he took a flying leap to the couch while yodeling "Chocolate Pudding!!" Instead of landing on the couch he landed on the coffee table and burst into tears.  I don't remember the particulars but I feel like he landed on his face.  At any rate, whenever I think of chocolate pudding I think of Joe.  I've always loved chocolate pudding and this recipe from allrecipes.com that I've tweaked a bit is the best chocolate pudding I've ever had and I could eat it every day.  Of course if I did that, I'd gain quite a bit of weight. It is almost worth it.  Almost.

Chocolate Pudding

1/2 c. white sugar
3 heaping Tbs. cocoa powder
1/4 c. corn starch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 3/4 c. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. butter

In a medium saucepan combine the dry ingredients.  Whisk in the milk over medium heat.  Stir continuously until the pudding begins to boil  Let boil at least ten seconds, stirring the entire time.  Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.  Enjoy!

The whole process takes about the same amount of time as a box of cook and serve pudding mix but is infinitely better.  The whole milk makes it very rich and creamy but I would guess that the recipe would work just as well with low fat milk just fine.  

Brisket Tacos

Brisket Tacos

One or two days before you want to serve brisket tacos cook up a brisket. This is how I do it. I buy a whole untrimmed brisket, about 10-12 pounds. I generously salt and pepper the brisket with kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper. I coat the entire brisket with a generous amount of chili powder. I usually do this step in the sink to minimize the mess. The chili powder actually holds in the moisture from the beef so you don’t need to put in in a bag or cover it with foil. I put the brisket on a rack over a baking pan or a roasting pan, then into a 400 degree oven for about an hour. I turn the heat down to 200 and cook it for about 8 more hours. After this come out of the oven it needs to cool for at least one hour. Put the drippings from the meat into a fat separator. Throw out the grease but save the dark brown juice.


The day you are ready to serve brisket tacos slice the meat up into taco sized pieces and put into a large pan or crock pot. To the beef add the reserved brown juice, 16 oz jar of salsa verde, 14-16 oz can of tomato sauce, 1 T Cumin, 1 chopped onion, and 6 Cloves of Garlic, minced. Mix the sauce up with the meat. Cover and heat for a couple of hours at 350.


This make enough taco meat for about 20 hungry people.


Serve this on corn tortillas with queso fresco, salsa or pico de gallo, and guacamole.

This recipe is easily adapted to using leftover brisket