For Dad’s birthday, it wasn’t enough to just spend one day on the meal. So we cooked Friday and Saturday to truly make his birthday special. We started out the weekend with the baking of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and then moved on to the spice rub of our Brisket, which we cooked in a slow-cooker. On Saturday, we started out the day by placing the brisket in the slow-cooker after letting it sit in its rub for the night. We then made our favorite summer salad – Spinach Orzo . We also made corn-on-the cob.

Day 1:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

First I mixed the butter in with the sugar,

using the back of my spoon

Then I added in the flour mixture into the

bowl and…

…Stirred it into the mixture along with

oats and…

…RAISINS!

Then I molded the dough into small balls

ready for the oven

Then I baked the cookies

The final result!

Brisket Rub

These were all the ingredients of the Brisket.

The Spices/Rubs we used included Onion Powder,

Garlic powder, Salt & Pepper, cumin, paprika, and

red pepper flakes.

After mixing the spices together, I rubbed

them all over the brisket. I let it sit for the night

for the brisket to be more flavorful.

The brisket in the slow-cooker with our home-made,

secret BBQ sauce. Hint: there’s molasses in it.

The delicious end result.

Day 2: Orzo Salad

The Ingredients

The Ingredients right before being put in the

salad – the onion and the spinach finely

chopped and the Orzo cooked.

After making the balsamic vinaigrette with

pepper and basil and adding it to the the salad,

I tossed it, then refrigerated the salad until use.

Note: We did not initially add the pine nuts to the salad, but when we were preparing to serve, we roasted them and then tossed them in. (This is because the pine nuts will get too soggy.)

Corn on the Cob

We just boiled 12 ears of corn in salted water

and served with my homemade butter (Vlog to come)

And here’s a photo of part of the barbecue (friends brought some stuff too):