See Mom, I'm Not an Orthorexic--Big Family Dinner #3

We had two great families over this week for dinner.  In the interest of full disclosure, and so my mom can see that I am not limiting myself to only healthy food, I am posting the menu for this week's dinner:

Challah
Green Salad with Hearts of Palm, Avocado, and Red Pepper (thanks Lisa!)
Kathy's Family's Brisket (recipe below)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Easy Peasy Broccoli Salad (recipe below)
Rice Pilaf (from a box!)
Dessert (thanks Shauna!)

Easy Peasy Broccoli Salad

Approximately 6 cups broccoli (I used two bunches), cut into small florets
1 1/4 cups raw cashews
1 1/4 cups craisins
3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise (they sell it at Whole Foods)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar or agave syrup

In a small bowl, mix together the vegan mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar (or Agave) and set aside/refridgerate until a few hours before you want to serve the salad,

In a seperate large bowl, combine the cut broccoli, cashews and craisins. Refridgerate until you want to toss with the dressing (a few hours before you serve it).

A few hours before serving, pour the dressing over the broccoli. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper, to taste.
 Refridgerate until ready to serve.

Kathy's Family's Brisket

1 big brisket (you can go as big as you would like, depending on how many people you are serving. I went with a 6.5 pound brisket to serve 15 people and there was enough left over for an extra dinner for my family)
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Garlic Powder
Pepper
Paprika (there are mild and hot versions--if you use the hot paprika your brisket will have a spicy kick--yum!)
1 jar Heinz Chili Sauce
3 heaping Tbsp grape jelly
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a fork, poke holes in both sides of the brisket.  Season the bottom side (the side without the fat) with Lawry's Seasoned Salt, garlic powder, pepper and a lot of paprika.  Flip the brisket and put in in a roasting pan (can use a disposable aluminum one with handles for easy clean up). Repeat the seasoning on the top side (the side with the fat), but not as heavily.

Pour the Heinz Chili Sauce on top of the brisket.  Sprinkle one envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix on top.  Put 3 heaping Tbsp. of grape jelly on top.  Mush it all around with your hand (or with a big spoon if you are squeemish like me).

Fill the jar of chili sauce with water one and a half times and pour on the sides of the brisket (there should be about 2" high of water around the brisket).  Sprinkle more paprika (a lot) in the water. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, take the brisket out of the oven. Let the meat cool off for a while and then slice it all up (against the grain--it should be fairly easy to slice). Place the sliced brisket back in the pan with the juices.

You can serve the brisket right then or cover and refridgerate until about 1 1/2 hours until you want to serve it. At that time you can put the whole pan back in the oven at 275 degrees and reheat it.