Spice Delight

One of the things my sweet Hubs gave me for Christmas was the gift of organization, in the form of a new system for storing my spices. The more I've delved into cooking over the past few years, the more spices I've collected. The collection outgrew my previous system (if you could call half my spices on a stair-step thing in the cupboard and the other half jumbled in a basket in my pantry a "system") and it had gotten to the point that I had a hard time remembering which of the more "exotic" (i.e. rarely used) spices I actually owned vs. had only thought about buying. Which resulted in lots of rummaging, and a few accidental duplicates.

After quite a bit of research online to see what my options were (the Hubs knows me well, and wisely discerned that while I asked for a spice rack for Christmas, I would want to pick it out myself, and so at his invitation I did), and after contemplating what was really important to me when it came to my spices, I decided on The Spice Stack. It met my criteria of:

• I can leave my spices in the bottle they came in. 
• It can accommodate various sizes of spice containers.
• I can arrange the spices in the order I choose. 
• It fits in a cabinet (and specifically my unconventionally-sized over-the-sink cabinet).
• It has space for labels, so that each spice has a designated home.
• It requires no hardware or installation (since we rent).

Each drawer of the Spice Stack has six divided slots for spices. The three slots on the top can accommodate larger spice bottles, while the slots on the bottom can accommodate standard size spice bottles, or two of the little ones (see photo below). Each drawer pulls out and can rest open on its own as you select your spices. There's space on the end of each drawer to affix a label identifying the contents as they lay inside.

I regret that I did not think to take a "before" picture before I embarked on my spice system overhaul. It was only after I'd finished and stepped back to admire my organized cupboard that I thought "this is so beautiful I should take a picture and blog about it." And so here I am. I apologize that the photo quality isn't great, but hopefully you can still get a sense of the blessed orderliness the Spice Stacks have brought to my kitchen. (These go for $24.99 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond if you're interested. And don't forget to use one of their 20% off coupons!)

The start of a new year always seems to get us Americans thinking about reorganizing, decluttering, simplifying, etc. Have you taken on any such projects in this new year? Discovered any helpful products? Have a great tip to share? Leave a comment!

Destination Date Night: Marrakesh

When we got married, the Hubs and I set aside Friday evenings as our regular date night. Sometimes date night means we go out; sometimes it means we stay in and do something special together at home. For Christmas, I gave the Hubs a DVD set that I found at Costco: Jamie Oliver's Food Escapes. It's a 6-volume set in which Jamie Oliver (a.k.a. The Naked Chef) travels to various cities to experience and introduce the viewer to the local customs, culture, and cuisine. My idea behind it was this: for those weeks when a low-budget date night is in order, we'll stay in, watch one of the travelogues, learn something together, and enjoy a home-made (or perhaps take-out) dinner representative (or at least somewhat resembling) the cuisine of the featured country.

This last Friday was our first of these "Destination Date Nights," in which we savored a Moroccan-inspired dish (keep reading for the recipe) and went along with Jamie on his adventures in Marrakesh. The evening ended with an SDP (spontaneous dance party), attended by Brutus (who is still adorned with the ornaments of the season). He's a bit of a wallflower, though.

Moroccan-spiced Chickpea Chili

2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup diced carrot
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 ground cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (29-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tb lemon juice

Heat oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic to pan; saute 5 minutes. Stir in spices (cumin through cayenne); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Salt to taste.

This chili has a nice heat to it without being too spicy (for my tastes). Besides being a low-budget wonder, it's also vegetarian (if you use veg broth) and gluten-free (if that's a concern for you). 

Best. Appetizer. Ever.

I don't remember exactly when I fell in love with bacon-wrapped dates, but I do know that from the moment I let that first scrumptious bite melt in my mouth with all of its warm, sweet and savory, fruity and bacony goodness, I have never been the same.

In the early years of my love affair with bacon-wrapped dates, I limited my encounters to infrequent visits to tapas restaurants (such as Cafe Babareeba, the Chicago dining establishment where I met the Hubs for the first time, and where I've been known to polish off an order of BWD all by myself). No more. Now I make them myself. And once you see how incredibly easy it is, you will too. The next time you have people over and need an appetizer, whip up a batch of these. Then stand back and watch with satisfaction as the unsuspecting, uninitiated pop that first bite into their mouth...you'll see their eyes widen in surprise, then roll back in their head as they release a soft moan of pure satisfaction. Or something like that. If you've never tried one, trust me on this: they're that good.

Bacon-wrapped Dates with Cider Gastrique

What you'll need for the BWD:
A package of dates*
A package of bacon (avoid thick-cut, which is harder to wrap around the date)

*There are several different varieties of dates, which affects their size, color, and degree of sweetness. Medjoul dates are probably the most widely known by name in the U.S., but they can also be the most expensive. Use what you can find at the grocery store. I've found that once you wrap a date in bacon and bake it up in the oven so that the sugars caramelize and turn the date flesh to a soft, melt-in-your-mouth consistency, the variety of date doesn't matter too much. 

Yes, that's all it takes for the BWD themselves. The name pretty much says it all. 

However, you'll also need: 
A large, rimmed baking sheet
Aluminum foil
Oven-safe cooling rack
Toothpicks
Patience

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line the baking sheet with foil (this makes clean-up so easy!). Place the rack in the baking sheet. (You don't have to use a rack, but doing so allows the grease to drain off and helps your bacon get crispier all around.)
2. Cut the package of bacon in thirds. (Since raw bacon is on the slimy side, I find it easiest to use kitchen shears or a sharp knife and cut it up all together, packaging and all.)
3. If your dates didn't come pitted, pit your dates. Use a paring knife to make a slit in the side of the date, pull out the pit, then squish the date back together.
4. Take a date, wrap it in bacon, secure the bacon with a toothpick, and set it on the rack in the baking sheet. Repeat until you run out of dates or you run out of bacon, whichever comes first.

5. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip dates using tongs, rotate pan, and return to oven for another 10 minutes or until bacon is crispy.
6. Allow to cool slightly before serving. (This is where patience is required. The dates will smell AMAZING and you'll want to pop one in your mouth right away, but trust me...you'll burn your mouth and then your taste buds will be ruined for the dates to come.)

Now, you can stop right there and have a truly delectable appetizer. Or, while the dates are in the oven, you can go the extra mile and make a cider gastrique to drizzle over the BWD that will add a subtle complexity to the flavor and make you feel all chef-like because then you can say "I made a gastrique." And then your guests will ask, "What exactly is a gastrique?" and you can tell them:

A gastrique is a classic French reduction sauce made from a base of vinegar and sugar. Gastrique is the French word for “gastric,” pertaining to the stomach, from the Greek word for stomach, “gaster.” While the term first appeared in 1656, the word “gastronomy” wasn’t coined until 1800, when French poet Joseph de Berchoux created it as the title of a poem on good living. 

What you'll need for the Gastrique: 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
a small saucepan

Instructions:
1. Dissolve the sugar in 1 tablespoon of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
2. Increase heat and boil, without stirring (don't even think about it), until amber, about 5 minutes.
3. Add vinegar (mixture will bubble vigorously...it's kind of exciting) and stir until all of the caramel bits dissolve and the sauce thickens slightly.
4. Remove from heat; sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Once you've nicely laid out your slightly cooled BWD on a serving platter, drizzle them with your mostly cooled gatrique. Then try not to make a noticeable dent in the platter's contents before your guests arrive.

If you give this a try, have any questions, or simply want to share your love of BWD, please leave a comment!

Comfort Food: Cinnamon Cranberry Applesauce

One of my favorite comfort foods this season has been homemade applesauce, cooked up in my crockpot. It's easy. It's healthy. It fills my home with lovely autumnal aromas while cooking. And it's inexpensive, but feels fancy and tastes rich; in fact, we usually have it for dessert. It's also open to endless variations of spices and mix-ins. Here's the recipe for my favorite version:

Slow-Cooker Cinnamon Cranberry Applesauce

5-6 apples, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
1 Tb lemon juice
1/4 C water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (or a bit more, if you really like cinnamon, like I do)
1 Tb brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. (Recipe could be easily doubled for a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker, or halved for a 1.5 or 2 quart slow cooker). Put the apples in the crock. Add the lemon juice, water, vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Give it all a stir.

Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. The apples are done cooking when tender enough to mash up with a fork. Do that, and then stir in the dried cranberries. Let cook for another half hour or so to allow the cranberries to plump up nicely. Serve warm (which I find most comforting) or cold, whichever you prefer. Serves 4-6.

Notes: The cranberries give this applesauce an extra texture element, and also a sweet-tart zing, which I really like. Depending on what kind of apples you use and your own tastes, you may want to adjust the amount of sugar used.

A Year of Deer, Episode 21: Slow Cooker Shepherd's Pie

Well, friends, we are coming to the end of both the year and the deer. Not including the pound of ground meet I used for today's recipe, I have one more pound of ground venison and about two pounds of chops left in my freezer from the doe Travis shot in Michigan last Thanksgiving. When it is gone, I think I will feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction...which I will hug tight to my chest as I brace myself for a possible Second Year of Deer. The Lord has generously provided a place for Travis to go bow hunting for deer in Illinois this year (about which my handsome hunter is positively giddy) and so there very well may be a whole new deer coming soon to a freezer near me.

On to today's episode. My goal was this: make dinner using a pound of ground venison and other ingredients I already had in the house. The answer came (as many do) from my favorite cookbook of late, Stephanie O'Dea's Make it Fast, Cook it Slow. I substituted venison for the beef in her recipe for Shepherd's Pie. The spices, frozen veggies, shredded cheese, and potatoes were all things I had on hand. This recipe takes more prep than many slow-cooker recipes because everything goes in already cooked. Thus, the meat had to be browned, and the potatoes had to be cooked and mashed. Not that big of a deal, though. The reward has been tasty aromas all afternoon, and dinner that's ready to go whenever my husband gets home, which varies on Mondays.

Update: here are pics of the shepherd's pie at the end of the cooking time, and then plated. Travis was a big fan of this meal and asked for seconds. He also took the leftovers for lunch today.

Spaghetti Squash

If you've been following my blog this fall, yes, I've been a bit obsessed with squash. Once I got past the intimidation factor, you see, there was no turning back - they're just too good! And there are so many different ways to prepare them!

Last night I cooked my first spaghetti squash. Oh my! Spaghetti squash, where have you been all my life? I let this recipe be my guide (halved for one squash and just the two of us), and dinner was served. Husband was equally in awe of this magical foodstuff. Our post-dinner conversation in the kitchen went something like this:

DH: How'd you get it to do that?
ME: I just split it in half (without hurting myself...whee!), drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled on some salt and pepper, and then roasted it on a baking sheet at 450, cut side down, for about 40 minutes. Then I took it out, let it cool, scraped the flesh out with a fork, and VOILA! Spaghetti from a squash.
DH: [shaking head in wonderment] Who thought of such a thing?
ME: Um, God.

A Year of Deer, Episode 20: Slow Cooker Harvest Stew

It's harvest time, and that means lots of yummy ingredients are in season. Ideally, we would have enjoyed the warmth and heartiness of this stew after coming in from a chilly autumn stroll, our cheeks flushed from the brisk wind. Instead, we ate this stew while sweating in our 84 degree apartment at the end of another unseasonably warm day here in Chicagoland, our faces red from the heat. Oh well. It didn't feel like fall yesterday, but I did get to wear one of my cute summer skirts to church, so I really shouldn't complain.

For this meal I branched off a recipe from my slow-cooker cookbook and then made the rest of it up. Two peeled & chopped sweet potatoes, two peeled & chopped red potatoes, one peeled & chopped acorn squash, one can of red kidney beans, about two pounds of cubed venison steak, 4 cups of beef broth, 4 cloves of minced garlic, some black pepper, thyme and rosemary went into my slow cooker. This came out:

Pictured with a popover, which is my new favorite thing to bake. They're easy, magical, and oh-so-good! I will have to blog about them some other time.

Squash Season

Last fall I had my first kitchen encounter with a squash. I came away from that side dish injured and wary. However, I'm determined not to be intimidated by squash and to have another go at it this season. Multiple varieties. Various preparations. All potentially yummy. And this time, hopefully no Band-Aids required.

Caputos had squash on sale for 29 cents/pound this week, so I stocked up! First attempt: butternut squash soup in my slow cooker. Starting...now.
______________________________________

UPDATE: The soup was DELICIOUS! Here's the Butternut Squash Soup recipe from Stephanie at A Year of Slow Cooking.

Additionally, I came away from this encounter unscathed. Hooray! Here's a Helpful Tip for prepping butternut squash: microwave the squash for 3-5 minutes on high. This softens the skin a bit so that it's easier to cut through. Then, carefully use your biggest, sturdiest knife!  

An Apple a Day: Friday

I won't be posting the recipe for today's apple dish until later because, well, I made it up, and I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. A few hours ago I threw a bunch of stuff (including 3 apples) into my crockpot. When it's done cooking in a few hours, it will be Slow-Cooker Chicken, Apple, & Sweet Potato Curry. Right now it's creating lovely aromas in my kitchen. How it will taste at dinner, however, is yet to be discovered. If it's a hit, you'll see the recipe posted here in the near future. If it's a miss...well, I suggest you go back to Tuesday and make apple butter, because that stuff is GOOD. I've been eating it every chance I get - on English muffins at breakfast, on my turkey sandwich at lunch, as a dip for crackers...

- BTW -
I'm participating in the inaugural edition of The Pick of the Patch over at Windy Poplars - a Friday collection of best posts from the week.

An Apple a Day: Thursday

Today's apple recipe comes from Aarti, winner of the most recent season of The Next Food Network Star. Travis and I really enjoyed watching this show over the summer. I was pulling for Aarti all the way and was delighted when she won in the end, giving her a shot at her own show on Food Network, called Aarti Party. Her "angle" is adding an Indian touch to both familiar and new dishes, thereby helping home cooks get comfortable and familiar with the spices, flavors, and cooking techniques used in Indian cuisine.

On Tuesday my best friend and I joined cooking forces for our second "Aarti Party dinner & pinochle night" and made two dishes from her show. The main dish was Mango BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, which turned out super yummy. The second dish (and this is where the apple comes in) was an Apple-Lime-Peanut Slaw. The lime juice base of the dressing really gives it a kick, and the cumin brings in some Indian warmth. This is not your typical slaw, but it's very tangy and refreshing and we all liked it. When I make it again, I will probably go the easier route of buying a bag of pre-shredded cabbage. This was my first encounter with a head of cabbage, and I discovered that achieving small, even strips is no easy thing!

An Apple a Day: Tuesday

Today I'm cooking up a big batch of apple butter. Early this morning I peeled, cored, and cut into eighths a combination of Cortland, McIntosh, and Gala apples (15 in all) and set them to cook on low for 8 hours in my 6-quart crockpot, with a tablespoon of vanilla extract drizzled over the top. While I was peeling I had the idea to include a few of the long, curly peel pieces on top, thinking perhaps they'll lend some of their color and flavor to the apples cooking below. Not really sure, but it looks pretty!

When time's up on the first phase of cooking, I'll pick out the peels and mash up the apples. Then I'll stir in 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, then let the mixture cook on low for another 6 hours.(Below: the apple mixture after phase one)

This is a new recipe for me, so I am eager to see how it turns out. It should be done cooking just before bedtime tonight, so I will update this post tomorrow some photos, a report on the taste, and whether any recipe adjustments are in order.

~ UPDATE ~

After cooking for 6 hours in phase two, the apple mixture smelled AMAZING but was still rather thin, so I set it to cook on high for about 45 minutes with the lid off to cook off some of the liquid. That seemed to do the trick. Next, I was looking for a smoother consistency, so I used an immersion blender to even out the texture, then let it sit for another half hour or so on low to really come together and get thick. (In case you're wondering, bedtime got moved back quite a bit! Next time I think I'll do phase one overnight and begin phase two in the morning.)

The 15 apples I started out with cooked down to about 7 cups of apple butter. On my last trip to the grocery store I was happy to discover that Ball (the canning company) now makes plastic 8 oz. freezer jars (in a pack of 5) perfect for projects like this.

I had some of the apple butter on an English muffin for breakfast this morning and it was a perfect taste of autumn. I like my apple butter just a little on the tart side, so the amount of sugar I used was perfect. If you try this out, you'll want to adjust the sugars (up to 3/4 cup of each) based on your taste preferences and the natural sweetness of the apples you use.

Tomorrow's Apple a Day Recipe: Apple Spice Bundt Cake!

An Apple a Day: Monday

Since I have a bushel of apples in my fridge from going apple-picking on Labor Day (see previous post), it's time to put them to good use. Each day this week (M-F) I'll be posting a recipe that uses apples...some of them are tried-and-true favorites, while others I'll be testing out for the first time this week. I hope you'll find one or two recipes intriguing enough to try yourself! Happy autumn!

Today's recipe is for Creamy Chicken Apple Chili. There are so many things I appreciate about chili. Among them: (a) the way it warms you up from the inside out; (b) beans are a really inexpensive, healthy, and filling ingredient; and (c) there are endless variations. Of the many different kinds of chili I've made (including three-bean turkey chili, Hawaiian chili, smoky BBQ venison chili, vegetarian chili, and pumpkin chili), this is the recipe I come back to most often. It's not what most people think of when they think chili, but BOY OH BOY is it good. It's like a hug in a bowl. Even my meat-loving husband has declared this his favorite chili.

I make a few changes to the original recipe (by Rachael Ray):

• I use only about a pound or so of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (vs. 2 lbs of chicken tenders)
• I use about half as much shredded cheese (1 cup is plenty!), and whatever I have on hand, whether it's a jack-cheddar blend, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, or most recently, havarti. The flavor changes a little bit, of course, but it's always been good. 
• I make it with pinto beans; I really like their texture in this.
• I usually serve it with corn muffins instead of tortillas.

Leave a comment and let me know if you try this recipe yourself!

A Year of Deer, Episode 19: Gorgonzola & Dried Cranberry Slow-Cooker Meatloaf

After an unintentional hiatus from the realm of venison cookery, I am back with a new episode! Going into the preparation of this meal, I was both excited and skeptical. I've only made and/or eaten meatloaf a handful of times, but I'm familiar enough with the dish to know that cheese and fruit in meatloaf is not normal. However, when I found the recipe, something about the combination of Gorgonzola and dried cranberries and meat really appealed to me. It sounded fancy; gourmet even. I also wasn't so sure about making meatloaf in a loaf pan, in my crock pot (I've always made it as a free-form lump/loaf in the oven). However, Stephanie told me I could do it, and she has yet to steer me wrong. I made some modifications to her original recipe to accommodate what I had on hand, and here's what I came up with:

Gorgonzola & Dried Cranberry Slow-Cooker Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 lb ground venison (you could use lean ground beef or turkey instead)
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 Tb dried minced onion
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1 Tb chopped fresh basil
1 large egg
cooking spray

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine meat, salt, pepper, onion, bread crumbs, cranberries, cheese, basil, and egg. Mash it all together with your hands until the ingredients are well incorporated into the meat. Spray an 8x4 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Press the meat mixture into the pan, and place the pan into the stoneware of your 6-qt oval crockpot. (According to Stephanie, if you have a 3.5 or 4 qt round crockpot, you can plop the meat in a large round blob directly into the stoneware that's been coated with cooking spray.) Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours. The meatloaf is done when it is cooked through and has browned on top and darkened along the edges. Lift the meatloaf out of the crockpot and let stand on a cutting board for 15 minutes before cutting.

 

 

The Verdict: This is like no meatloaf I've ever had; it's so much better! The gorgonzola gives it a little tang, while the cranberries add a little sweetness. I served it with a salad of baby greens, diced apple, grapes, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, and gorgonzola, tossed with a cinnamon-pear balsamic vinaigrette, a side of wild rice, and some rosemary bread. (In retrospect, aside from the salad it was a rather monochromatic plate. Oh well, it tasted good!) It's been a while since I've been this excited about a meal I've prepared. For dessert I made Stephanie's Blueberry Buckle recipe in my 2-qt mini slow cooker - served a la mode, of course. A perfect ending to a super easy and yummy meal.

A Year of Deer, Episode 18: Seasoned & Grilled Venison Steak Kabobs

I have my friend Heather to thank for directing me to the recipe for this episode. I modified it a bit (what else is new?!) and decided to cut up the steaks for kabobs rather than keep them whole, since the size and shape of the venison steaks we received are rather inconsistent.

The marinade ingredients: 

The final product, plated (with thanks to Rachel for the bottle of wine! It did, in fact, pair quite nicely with venison): 

The verdict: The marinade imparted the steak pieces with great flavor. Next time I will probably scale back the recipe even more than I did this time (it made way more than enough to marinate 2 lbs of meat) and leave out the mustard. I don't like mustard. I keep including it in recipes that call for it, thinking that it might be masked enough or that in some magical ingredient combination I will like it, but the fact is I always taste it, and I still don't like it. So, with the measurements scaled back and sans mustard, this will make a repeat appearance at our house for sure.

Kindred Connection: Food Edition

I was perusing the blog of a high school friend today and learned about the Kindred Connection. I've decided to participate, since I could use a little encouragement and inspiration. My default of late has been chronicling the venison endeavor, but I would like to get back to blogging about other things as well, and one of the best ways to be inspired is to discover what other kindred spirits are blogging about out there! Besides, the topic for this week was irresistible: food. 

 This was my entree from a recent date night at Shokran Moroccan Grill. I don't remember what it was called, but it was absolutely delicious. It was also an enormous portion that fed me twice! Travis ordered a lamb dish, and it was the best lamb either of us have ever had. My fork kept wandering over to his plate for another bite!

1. What is your favorite ethnicity of food? This is a tough one! My husband and I are in the midst of a "culinary world tour," in which our goal is to try the national cuisine of as many countries as we can find restaurants. (Yes, I could (and have) tried making some dishes at home, but it's hard to judge the cultural authenticity of a dish and cuisine you've never had before!) We recently tried Moroccan, and it was delish. I would probably say Spanish food is my favorite, though, and what's great is that I'll be eating it, in Spain, for the next two and a half weeks!
2. If you could eat only one meal for two weeks straight, what would it be? I would be  content with Egg Harbor's Door County Chicken Salad for a fortnight. Great taste, and all the food groups represented!
3. What is the "signature" dish that you cook? (you know, that always receives rave reviews and/or you get requests for the recipe - feel free to share the recipe!) Well, since marrying a hunter, I've become the wild-game-go-to girl among my friends (although to date I've only actually cooked venison and some Lake Michigan salmon). I think my signature dish, though, is my Three Bean Turkey Chili. It's probably the one meal I've made the most times, and everyone who's tried it has eaten it right up.  
4. Is there something that you just can't handle eating - like gag reflex? Chicken feet. My best friend's husband orders them when we go out for dim sum, and I can't even watch him eat them.
5. Do you think that the Kindred Connection should continue through the summer, or take the summer off? Please continue! I just found you!

A Year of Deer, Episode 17: Memorial Day Cookout

Memorial Day. The kick-off to summer. A time to gather with friends and grill some deer. Along with some brats and dogs and corn. Mix up some salads. Serve it all up to a hungry crowd. The dogs can only hope for scraps.

A Year of Deer, Episode 16: BBQ Venison Chili

With all that ground venison in my freezer, it was about time to make another batch of chili. This time I modified a recipe from a Weight Watchers slow-cooker cookbook I've got on loan from Allison.

The Ingredients:

1 lb ground venison (if you lack deer, you can use lean ground beef instead, of course)
1 orange pepper, diced (use any color pepper you like; I like orange)
1 onion, diced
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 in chunks
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cups beef broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (29 oz) can pinto beans, drained & rinsed (next time I might try kidney or half & half)
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 Tb ancho chile pepper powder
3-4 Tb cilantro, chopped
Shredded cheddar or co-jack cheese, for topping

The Directions: 

1. Brown meat in skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up with utensil, until no longer pink. Put meat into the crock of a 5-6 qt slow cooker. 
2. Add pepper, onion, squash, and garlic to crock. Give everything a good stir. 
3. Add broth, tomatoes, beans, BBQ sauce, and chile powder to crock. Give it another good stir.
4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or 4-5 hours on high.
5. Just before serving, stir in cilantro. Ladle into bowls and serve with shredded cheese for topping.

The Verdict: Another winner! Both hubby and I really liked this chili. An interesting set of ingredients (for a chili, anyway) resulted in great flavor and an amazing aroma. Now that I'm working from home (in a room directly off the kitchen, no less), I've got all day to enjoy (and at intervals, be driven to salivating by) the smell of whatever's simmering away in the crockpot. I sent leftovers to work with Travis today, and he just reported to me by phone that when he heated it up for lunch it he was the envy of the cafeteria. Travis said I could make it spicier next time, which I'll consider.

A Year of Deer, Episode 15: Country-Style Skillet Dinner

And with this post, I'm up to date! Hurrah! I prepared this meal on Tuesday of this week. Monday night found me on the couch, flipping through cookbooks to find a simple recipe in which I could use a pound of ground venison and other ingredients I already had in my pantry. My search ended when I found a recipe for a "Country-Style Skillet Dinner" in the Kitchen Keepsakes cookbook that had been compiled as a fundraiser for FBC Wheaton back in 1994.

As I looked over the recipe, I realized that as written, it would taste okay, but not like much of anything beyond ground meat, pasta, and tomato sauce. And that's when I went to my spice cupboard and grabbed several jars of spices and seasonings. The more time I spend in the kitchen (cooking & baking), the more comfortable I'm getting with deviating from recipes: adding spices, changing quantities, substituting this for that. I am gaining confidence as a cook, becoming more comfortable with the ingredients that pass through my hands on their way to our table, and finding great satisfaction in the process.

A Year of Deer, Episode 14: Venison Tips with Seasoned Rice & Peppers

This is the second meal I've made from the I'm Hooked, I'm Game cookbook. I fussed with the recipe a little, increasing the amount of various spices, but in the end I thought it was still a little too bland for it to rightly have "seasoned" in the recipe title. It was an easy dish to prepare, however, unlike anything we've had with venison so far, and the different colored peppers made for a pretty dish.

A Year of Deer, Episode 13: Slow Cooker Lasagna (Again)

This turned out so well the first time (see Episode 2) I had to make it again. Take 2 was just as tasty as the first time around, and once again we relished the leftovers. Since posting this recipe on my blog and Facebook, several friends have made it also (though with beef or turkey instead of venison) and all I've heard are good reports of the results. If you have a slow cooker, why haven't you made this yet?! It's so good!