remember when I said God was good??

Yeah, I wasn’t joking about that. It’s truly amazing how God works in our lives… case and point:

I struggled to write my post about Emma. I cried a few times writing it, then reading it, but fully believed every word I wrote. God IS good. He has an amazing plan for me and I have full faith in Him.

Fast forward to today, two weeks and one day later. Asleep to my left (and snoring) is a precious little Boston terrier named Lucy Lou. It all happened really fast, but a friend from college (who oddly enough fell in love with Bostons because of Emma) had a little more on her plate that she could handle…living in a new city, two dogs, a new baby… and Lucy required more attention than she was able to give her. So, she made I’m sure one of the hardest decisions she ever will, and decided to re-home Lucy. Thanks to Facebook, we were able to chat with my friend, and Lane and I decided that Lucy would work well for us and us for her. We picked her up on Friday and she’s been here ever since! We are smitten!

   

Things we know about Lucy:

1. She’sVERY playful. She nips and paws at Knox because she wants to play!

2. She’s kinda clumsy. Like me. She’s fallen out of our bed twice and off of the couch once. (She’s ok.)

3. She’s really, really smart. She’s already learned a few commands, and knew a few before coming to us. Even the vet said she could tell Lucy was super smart.

4. She always wants to be touching someone. She’s a little snuggle bunny and I LOVE IT.

5. She is OBSESSED with nylabones and Kongs. She has three of each and is always working on one. (THANK YOU MAKERS OF THESE TOYS.)

We’re excited about the future getting to know LL. I don’t think she can fill the shoes that Emma left behind, but I do think that Lucy will be able to fill her own….Christian Louboutin’s, I’m sure. She’s such a princess.  And yes, of course she has a cupcake collar. It’s taking all that is in me not to buy every one I see on Etsy.com.

So, praise be to God who fills our hearts in ways we could never imagine. I never knew that 3 yearsalmost to the day after Emma died, would I have a new little love muffin in my home. I am still in awe of Him and pray that he continues to bless my family and my life.

Easter Lunch

Normally for Easter, we head to Tyler, go to church and then to the club for brunch and enjoy the family time. This year, because we have a ton going on, we decided to stay here and have our own little celebration. While I really look forward to the day that we have kids and can do all of the Easter stuff, (Dye eggs, Easter egg hunts, baskets) we were thankful this year to have a quiet, relaxing holiday.

I wanted our lunch to be a traditional-ish Easter meal, so we decided on: Brisket, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and a chocolate icebox pie. Everything was REALLY good and we’re really happy with how it all turned out. I’ll post the other recipes soon, but here’s the brisket.

Oven Baked Brisket and BBQ sauce

This is my mother-in-law’s recipe for oven baked brisket. We actually smoked the brisket in our smoker for a few hours  then baked it instead of using the liquid smoke, but I think I prefer it the original way. I was able to get a 7 lb brisket for about $10 at my (beloved) Kroger and we have had several meals from it.

5-7 lb brisket (I bought untrimmed because it was cheaper)

Seasoned salt and garlic powder

1 small bottle of liquid smoke

Worcestershire Sauce

1 bottle KC Masterpiece Original

Tear off enough foil to line a baking pan and completely surround brisket with enough to spare to seal up tightly. Sprinkle brisket with seasoned salt, garlic powder and liquid smoke. Spread the liquid smoke over all surfaces, seal up the foil and let it marinate in the frig. overnight.

The following day, drain off the liquid smoke and sprinkle with pepper and Worcestershire Sauce.  Reseal tightly (you’re going to use quite a bit of foil) and bake at 250 for 5 hours.  Open, drain off most of liquid and save for sauce.  Spread top of brisket with barbeque sauce  and reseal foil and continue to bake 1 more hour at 250.  Remove from oven.  Wait 30 minutes before opening foil.  Slice into 1/4 inch slices.  May be served or wrapped in fresh foil and refrigerated.  Reheat for about 30 minutes at 325 when ready to serve. (We cooked it on Saturday night and served it on Sunday. This allowed us to let the sauce separate overnight.) Also, we waited to trim the fat off until we ate it. It just gives such a good flavor. If we were serving it to guests, we would have trimmed the fat off before it hit the plate.

To make sauce, reduce the saved drippings to about half what you started with by simmering.   Add more KC Masterpiece to the liquid to give it a good taste. Let cool overnight in fridge. The next day, remove layer of fat (it’s kind of gross, but the it is worth it!) and re-heat sauce. 

After it’s cooked, it can be frozen for future uses, or just plan to eat on it all week, like we did! Our favorite leftover brisket meal… GUT PACKS!!!

Gut packs originated at a little place called Vitek’s in Waco. They are AMAZING. Chopped brisket, fritos, diced onions, cheese, BBQ sauce, and PICKLES. The pickles are the best part! mmmmmmmmmmmmm.