Super-Easy Apricot Chicken

 Everybody needs a recipe that's easy, fast, and relatively inexpensive. Oh, and that even toddlers enjoy eating. You really do not want to hear "I don't yike dis" from a toddler. That means the show is over, they won't eat anything unless you have French fries on hand. The secret in this excellent recipe is: caramelization. That's what happens when you cook sugar long enough. And there's a lot of sugar in apricot jam.

Ingredients:

1 C Apricot preserves

1 C bottled French Dressing

12 chicken thighs, or 4 lg. chicken breasts, or 12 drumsticks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir together apricot preserves and French dressing in a medium bowl. Place chicken in a greased 9X13-inch baking dish. Bake in preheated oven 50-60 minutes, until no longer pink when cut into. 

Holy Brisket, Batman!

Brisket is a fond favorite in Texas. All the best BBQ restaurants in Austin have tasty brisket. However, a lot of home cooks come very close. You know, everything is bigger in Texas, and Brisket is no different. It can come in very large sizes, easily serving a herd of people at a relatively low cost. I found this recipe online at "All Recipes". Then I altered it a bit. So, is it mine? Probably not. However, I did rename it, "Holy Brisket, Batman!" because it is truly shout-out-loud good.

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized onion

1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut in chunks.

6 lg. cloves garlic

1 c. ketchup

1/2 C red wine

1/4 C cider vinegar

1/4 C soy sauce

1/4 C honey

1 T pepper

1/4 t cloves

1 1/2 C cola

1/2 C olive oil

1 Brisket cut of beef (any size that will fit in your roasting pan)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl and let stand 30 minutes. Put brisket into a large roasting pan that has been greased. Add sauce, cover tightly and bake until fork tender. After brisket is done, remove from pan and set aside.  If sauce is too thin, boil it down to desired thickness in the pan on top of a stove burner. Then return meat to the pan and slice it thinly to serve warm with a spoonful of sauce after it "rests" 20 minutes.