Yummy Breakfast Biscuits

Breakfast can be a little haphazard around our house, and often my hubby leaves without eating. This is a very bad thing for him since his day job is very physical (he's a massage therapist). He doesn't like muffins, so the breakfast muffin recipes I've seen wouldn't work. He does like biscuits, though. Eureka!

I rifled through a bunch of recipes and then made up my own when I couldn't find one. I made these the other night. They were very, very good out of the oven and easy to make. They are edible reheated, but not quite what we were hoping for. So they won't work for our breakfast on the go, but I'm pretty sure I'll be making these when the kids come to visit.

Yummy Breakfast Biscuits
2 cups of flour
4 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of milk

2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 Sausage recipe*

• 1 lb. ground venison
• 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/3 teaspoon rubbed summer savory
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2/3 teaspoon ground marjoram
• 1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425. Mix all the ingredients, except the cheese and sausage, to make the biscuits. Roll thin and divide into two parts. Sprinkle one half with the cheese and venison sausage, then lay the other half of the dough over the cheese. Cut with a small cutter and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

*This is great sausage, but if you don’t have time to make sausage, you can just work the spices into the meat and brown it. You’ll only need half of this recipe for the biscuits. The remainder is delicious mixed into scrambled eggs.

Steak on Stick--the perfect party appetizer

Rick is out hunting in the rain today. That doesn't sound like my idea of fun, but he seemed pretty psyched. At least he decided to skip the morning hunt and stay dry a little longer (often his need for coffee in the morning outweighs his need to sit in the tree). He left mid-morning, after doing part of the prep work for the teriyaki venison skewers we're taking to a party tonight (that is slicing the meat into strips).

The hunting widows reading this may be wondering how I've convinced my husband to go to a party on a Saturday night during hunting season. Trust me, this is unusual. The only reason he is going is because the people upon whose land he hunts are throwing the party. His plan is to come out of the tree at dark, walk up to the house, a
nd join the fun. I'll be getting a ride to the party with a friend.

We're bringing Rick's famous Steak-on-a-Stick, teriyaki venison style. Every time we've made this, it's gone immediately. Even our picky young nephews have told us we can make it whenever we want.

Steak-on-a-Stick—Venison Teriyaki

• ½ lb to 1 lb venison chunks, cut into strips (about ½ inch wide by 3 to 5 inches long) (note: because you are marinating this, you don’t have to use prime cuts of meat. Just make sure you’re using pieces of venison that you can cut to into the strips)
• Teriyaki sauce
• Skewers (we use bamboo skewers if we're taking these to a party)
  
• 1 cup sesame seeds

Cut the venison into strips and place in container with lid. Cover the meat with teriyaki sauce. If the sauce doesn’t cover the meat, add water until all pieces are submerged. Place in fridge and let marinate for at least 4 hours (the longer the meat marinates, the more tender it will be). After marinating, put meat on skewers, threading well enough so the meat won’t fall off when cooking. Clean out the container and put the meat on the skewers back in it. Pour the cup of sesame seeds over the meat, cover, and shake so that the seeds cover all the meat. Heat grill to 350. Place the skewers on the grill. By the time you’ve put the last one down, it will be time to flip. It generally takes 3 to 5 minutes to cook.

For the Teriyaki sauce

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbs minced ginger (fresh or from a jar)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp honey
• ¼ cup cold water (if needed to thin sauce)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to allow the sauce to thicken. Once it reaches a boil, take it off the heat and let it cool. If it looks too thick, add the cold water until it’s the consistency you want.

A few notes:

• These are best when cooked on the grill, but they work in the broiler too. Either way, watch them closely because they cook very fast.
• You can probably use pre-made teriyaki sauce, although we’ve never tried it. The homemade sauce is very easy to make and really doesn’t take much time.
• The recipe makes a lot! We usually take it to parties, and we never bring any leftovers home.

Warm Chili for a Chilly Day

brrrr...it's cold here. The fact that our brand new furnace is broken probably isn't helping! Thank goodness for cuddly pets and space heaters. Chili also helps on day like this, and I just so happen to have some ground venison already thawed.

I love chili in pretty much any form. This recipe, though, is my old standby (perhaps because I've memorized it by heart). It's adapted from the Vegetarian Chipotle Chili recipe in the Colorado Collage Cookbook published by the Junior League of Denver in 1995 (one of my absolute favorite cookbooks).

Venison Chipotle Chili

2 lbs ground venison
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tbs chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 28-oz can plum tomatoes with juice, chopped
1-2 tbs chopped canned chipotle chiles in adbobo sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, brown the venison and set aside. In large, heave saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and peppers. Cook until tender (about ten minutes). Add chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, for two minutes. Add the meat, tomatoes, and chipotle chiles. Heat to boiling. Add a little water if it looks thicker than you like. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Like most chiles, you can eat this immediately, but it's really better the next day (after the flavors have gotten to know each other a little better). Note of warning...the chipotle peppers can pack a punch, so if you're feeding people who prefer their chili mild, than only use 1 tbs of them.

I'll post a picture when I make it and get one!

Florida Key Deer...aren't they cute?

I call myself a hunting widow, but that's only partially true. Rick is really very reasonable; if we're home, he'll be hunting. But he is willing to do things like have dinner with friends or go on vacation during hunting season.

The vacation thing is fortunate since our anniversary falls at the beginning of the season (in fact, we got married on opening day! He picked that day, not me.)

We went to the Florida Keys to celebrate our first anniversary. We went for the diving, and were pleased to learn that the Florida Key Deer reserve was only miles away from us. So, Rick got to spend our anniversary looking for deer. There is no hunting of these little cuties...we did all our shooting with the camera.

Happy Dawg

Rick and I fell in love today. Can you blame us? She's gorgeous. And sweet. And doesn't bark. And loves children and cats.

Here's what happened. I asked Rick if he wanted to go to the grocery store with me so I could get the ingredients for a venison pot pie and some venison breakfast biscuits. Since he had spent Friday night and all day yesterday hunting, he turned off the Dolphins game and came with me.

Boy, did I learn my lesson. (Just kidding...he can go to the store with me any time.)

We were cutting through the PetSmart parking lot, and saw that it was adoption day (actually, every Sunday is adoption day). Rick has been wanting a hunting dawg so he can find his deer on those rare occasions that he can't track them. We'd been looking at Bassettdoodles (because Rick has horrible dog allergies) with the thought of getting one next summer. He innocently said "let's just see if they have one." Niether of thought they would because the breed is not all that common. And sure enough, they didn't. But they had Happy, a bassett/beage mix, and she immiately stole both our hearts.

Rick has never spent time with a beagle, so he wasn't really sure whether he was allergic. So he played with her, then rubbed his eyes and we went to the grocery store to wait and see if his face would swell up. Twenty minutes later, his face was fine and we were filling out the paper work.

Happy Dawg adapted to her new home in about ten minutes, and now is acting like she's lived here forever. As expected, the two cats aren't thrilled. Oscar has been hiding in a closet all afternoon, but she did venture down to eat so she'll be fine. Sid is much braver, although still not sure about the dog. Happy likes the cats and would like to be friends. I think they'll all be fine with each other within the week.

Rick's going to take Happy Dawg hunting on Saturday. She is definitely a scent dog, but at least today she thought all scents were good ones. She'll need some training on that.

Thanks to the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation for their work. The volunteers were great and there were so many wonderful animals, and if weren't for Rick's allergies, we may have brought home more than one!

The pot pie was yummy too, altough the recipe needs a little tweaking before I'll call it ready for public consumption. I'm making the biscuits tomorrow.

Fiesta Venison Chowder

As I sit down to find a good pot pie recipe, I thought I'd post the recipe for a yummy stew I made the day.

A little side story: the meat I used came from Rick's first big buck. Since he's doing urban hunting, he focuses on does. But this buck practically came up to him and said "shoot me," so he did (he'd already tagged two does, which in our area hunters must do before they can take a buck). Unfortunately, Bucky changed his mind about being bagged right after Rick released the arrow. The result was a hit right in the old behind. Rick didn't think the shot could possibly have been fatal, but followed Bucky anyway. Apparently, he'd managed to get a artery, so Bucky came home with him.

So, we're used to does, who are just a little more tender than the old bucks. We can usually start eating the meat in two days. That is not the case with bucks. However, this chowder was still excellent, even if the meat was a little tough. We've learned our lesson!

Fiesta Venison Chowder
adapted from the Southwester Chicken Chowder recipe in "The Best Slow Cooker Recipes"

Ingredients
1 to 2 pounds venison, cubed (the amount depends on how much meat you like in your stews...we like a lot)
1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups milk (whole milk is best, but use what you like)
1 can (11 oz) cream of chicken or cream of corn soup
1 1/2 cups mild salsa verde
juice from two limes
1 can (15 oz) mild chili beans
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
tortilla chips

Put all ingredients EXCEPT the cheese and chips into a slow cooker. Cook on low for 1 to 2 hours, or until the meat is cooked through. Put in bowls and top with cheese and chips.

Serves...good question. I'd say 8, but I'm a girl. If you're feeding your hunter, then it probably serves 4.

A Cold Fall Morning

Fall is here in Northern Virginia, at least this morning. I had planned to stay snuggled under the covers after Rick left to hunt this morning...that's what I usually do. But this morning the bed was to chilly without him there, so I woke early.

I wasn't too bummed about being up at 5:00. I figured I could do some writing while I sipped my coffee. But the fates had other plans. Rick called at 6:15 to say his sister needed a ride to the emergency room. It took a minute to register what he was saying because 1) I was afraid he was hurt or something, and initially relieved that he was okay and 2) he was whispering so I could barely hear him. But I poured the coffee in a travel mug, pulled on some sweats, and took off for my sister-in-law's place. She did, in fact, need a ride to the hospital, and she is completely fine now. So I'm back home now getting ready to peruse some cookbooks.

Another Friday Night on the Couch

It's mid-October and do I know where my husband is? Yes indeedy. Right about now he is settling into a tree-stand and hoping to get his fourth deer of the season. If he's successful, I'll probably be in bed when he gets home. If he sees nothing, then we'll be able to catch up tonight. Since he plans on spend the entire day tomorrow in the tree, I'm selfishly hoping he gets nothing tonight.

I am yet another hunting widow. Worse, I'm the widow of a bow hunter living in an urban area that has a serious deer over-population issue. Opening day was a month earlier than last year, and closing day is so far away I'm not sure it's going to actually happen.

My motto, though, is "when life hands you venison, make venison burgers." Hunting makes my hubby very happy. Eating good food makes me very happy. Venison is very good. So, I've decided to spend this hunting season finding the best venison recipes. Yum!

If you're a hunting widow and have a recipe to share, I'd love to see it. When I come across particularly good ones, I'll post them.