Anwen's Venison Soup

My step daughter loves making soup, and thinks making it up as she goes along is preferable to using a recipe. So I gave her some stew meat and told her to have fun. The resulting soup was pretty tasty.

Anwen's Venison Soup

2 lbs venison stew meat, cut into chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 cups fresh green beans, cut into bite size pieces
1 handful of linguine, broken into 3 inch strips
venison (or beef) broth; enough to cover the ingredients and/or make the soup as liquid as you like
1 tbs rosemary, ground
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

Throw all the ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours (depending on how tender you like the carrots and onions).

Venison Breakfast Strata

I hosted Christmas brunch for the family, and made this strata (modified from the Colorado Collage cookbook (big surprise!)). Since this strata has some very sophisticated ingredients in it, and since I was serving waffles for the kids, I assumed one strata would be plenty. Wrong! Everyone loved this. My guests practically licked the serving dish clean. And I was once again reminded that my 12-year-old stepson loves fine foods.

I did take a picture, but it didn't turn out...perhaps I was too junked up on caffeine to hold the camera steady. Trust me, it's very pretty.

Venison Breakfast Strata
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 loaf day-old French bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 lb venison meat, cut into thin slices
2 cups loosely packed, chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbs olive oil
1/2 pound smoked Gouda cheese, thinly sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup basil pesto
4 eggs
salt and pepper
1/2 cup whipping cream

Lightly grease 12-inch au gratin dish or 10-inch deep-dish pie pan. In shallow bowl, combine milk and wine. Dip bread, 1 or 2 slices at a time, in milk mixture. Gently squeeze as much liquid as possible from bread, taking care not to tear. Place bread slices in prepared dish.

Cover bread with slices of meat and cilantro and drizzle with olive oil. Layer half of the cheese and half of the tomato slices over the bread. Top with half of the pesto. Repeat layers of cheese, tomato, and pesto. In medium bowl, beat eggs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour evenly over layered mixture. Carefully pour cream over top and cover with plastic wrap. Chill overnight.

About three hours before serving, remove strata from refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350. Place pan on baking sheet and bake, uncovered, until puffy and browned (about 1 hour).

Enjoy...this is delicious!

Taco Soup with Venison

I recently participated in a recipe exchange. Alas, I believe it was with my friends where the chain fell apart...after two weeks, I've only received three recipes. But the three I got look great!

Meg Poston sent me this taco soup recipe. I don't know where she got it, but she said she's modified it over time, getting it down to it's very simple current form. It is very good. I would really classify it more of a chili than a soup, but does that really matter on a cold winter night? No, not at all.

Making this recipe also gave me a chance to do some internet research. It calls for Rotel tomatoes, which I'd never heard of. In a rare fit of sanity, I decided to find out what they are before going to the grocery store. Good thing too, because my local International Market doesn't carry them. So, what they are is a brand of diced tomatoes with green chiles. After much poking around, I found a can of tomatoes with green chiles that I suspect was the same thing (or very darn close).

Taco Soup with Venison
1 lb lean venison, cubed (stew quality meat)
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg taco seasonings
1 pkg dry Ranch seasonings
2 large cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn (or one can of corn)

I made this in a crock pot. To do that, sauté the onions in olive oil. Then put all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hours.

If you want to use the stovetop, then brown the meat with the onion in a soup pot. Add seasonings. Drain beans and corn. Add to meat along with tomatoes. Simmer until well blended and hot.

Serve with Tostitos or Fritos, sour cream and grated cheese. Eat and enjoy.

Easy Venison Calzone

I've been looking for recipes that are easy for Rick to take to work...that means easy to heat, can be eaten hot or cold (he gets interrupted a lot), and not to fragrant (he owns a massage center, so the smell of spicy food isn't a good thing).

Calzones seem to fit the criteria, so I've been searching for recipes. I found this one on YouTube (actually, I found it anywhere I searched for Venison Calzone, so I thought I should try it).

The video doesn't provide amounts, so I looked up other recipes to get an idea of about how much of each ingredient is necessary. I think I got it about right. We ate this two nights in a row, and it was definitely better the second night. Also, it doesn't have any of the usual Italian flavors...that was okay with me, but Rick wanted the oregano. That said, it was very easy to make and looks pretty.

Easy Venison Calzone
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Fennel seed
1 tbs Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb ground venison
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 cup romano cheese
4 oz mozzarella, shredded
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Pizza dough recipe (I used the prepared dough from Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out dough, making oblong shape about 1/4 inch thick. Spread tomato down center of dough, and top with browned ground venison, green pepper, mozzarella, and romano cheese, salt and pepper. Fold ends of dough and roll. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame. Bake in a jelly roll pan until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool five minutes, slice and serve.

If you want to make your own dough, I found this recipe on Cooks.com:
GOOD 'N EASY PIZZA DOUGH

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. salad oil
2 1/2 c. flour
If using self-rising flour, omit salt in dough.) Note: Unbleached flour can be used in this recipe.

Venison & Chile Cheesecake

Today was the annual Appalachian Hunting Club holiday party. I thought this would be a good time to try a new appetizer out. I figured with a bunch of hunters, something of the cheese and meat variety would be a likely hit.

I was right.

I turned to my trusty Colorado Collage cookbook for inspiration, and found it on page 33 in the Chile Cheesecake. I made a few modifications (mostly adding ground venison, substituting the sour cream with guacamole, and omitting the green onions and black olives).

It was delicious. This would be a wonderful dish for your Superbowl party...it's a nice change to 7-layer dip.

Venison & Chile Cheesecake
2 cups tortilla chips, crushed
6 tbs butter, melted
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softended
2 eggs
1 4-oz can diced green chiles
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
8 oz colby-jack cheese, grated
1 lb ground venison, browned
1/2 cup qucamole
2 plum tomatoes, diced

Preheat oven to 325. In a medium bowl, combine tortilla chips and butter. Press into bottom of 9-in. springform pan. Bake 15 minutes, remove from oven, and leave oven on.

In large bowl, blend cream cheese and eggs. Add green chiles, jalapeno, colby-jack, and venison. Pour over crust and bake 30 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook.) Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Run knife around inside edge and remove sides from pan. Spread guacamole over top and sprinkle with tomatoes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Warm Winter Lasagna

This past weekend was a cold one. So it was only natural that we decided to go get our Christmas tree, braving the chill winds to find the perfect tree to cut (it was in the absolute, farthest corner of the 40 acre property).

But we warmed up after with a gooey, cheesy venison lasagna. I actually made three versions of it--one following the recipe below, one substituting zucchini for pasta, and one without any cheese. All were delicious, although the zucchini had so much water in it that that one was kind of messy. Someday I'll find the right thing to use instead of pasta, but I don't know what it is. (I'm open to ideas!)

Sorry...no picture. We were all too hungry to think about that. It looked like lasagna.

Warm Winter Lasagna

2 c. (15 oz.) Ricotta cheese
3 c. (15 oz.) shredded Mozzarella
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 lb lasagna (Rick made the pasta, but left to my own devices, I'd buy it)
1 recipe meat sauce

Combine cheeses, eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour about 1 cup sauce on bottom of 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Layer 3 pieces of uncooked lasagna over sauce; cover with about 1 1/2 cups sauce. Spread cheese filling over sauce. Repeat layers of lasagna, sauce and cheese filling. Top with layer of lasagna and remaining sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Remove foil; bake about 10 minutes longer. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Venison Meat Sauce
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 tbs olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced (depending on how much garlic you like)
1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground venison
1 tsp paprika
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can plain tomato sauce
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1 tbs dried basil
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
3 tbs dried parsley
1 tsp sea salt
Pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Add the ground meat and paprika and cook until meat is browned. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 to 4 hours (the sauce is ready to eat after 1 hour, but will be better the longer it simmers).

Grilled Venison Steak Salad with Cranberry Dressing

I like eating healthy. In fact, I love fresh veggies and fruit. Alas, I also love pizza and ice cream. I struggle with eating well, especially when it starts getting cold. Really, who wants a carrot on a cold, rainy day when there is a bag of tortilla chips on the counter? It doesn't help that Rick is not a big fan of green food.

But I'm the one writing a cookbook. Ha. I'm sure there are plenty of hunting wives out there who like the occasional veggie on their plate as well. So I'm going to start finding recipes that don't have pastry crust or potatoes as key ingredients.

My first is this fantastic salad. I discovered the dressing when I was hunting for winter salads to make for Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure I found it on epicurious, but honestly I can't remember (if you know where it came from, let me know). The dressing was so yummy, I thought it'd be great on a main dish salad. So here is my creation. It is delicious and very satisfying.

Grilled Venison Steak Salad with Cranberry Dressing
(serves 4)

1 lb venison steak, cut into strips for grilling
2 tbs olive oil

8 cups of mixed salad greens
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup gorgonzola, crumbled
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Cranberry dressing


Baste the venison strips with the olive oil and grill until cooked to your taste (we like our meat a little rare, so it only takes about three minutes to grill). If you don’t have a grill, you can broil the meat.

Put two cups of greens on a plate. Sprinkle with tomatoes, gorgonzola, walnuts, and onion. Add strips of meat and drizzle with a tablespoon of salad dressing. Set the extra dressing on the table in case anyone wants more!

Cranberry Dressing
3 tbs red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cranberries (if frozen, thaw)
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs water

In a blender or food processor, combine vinegar, oil, cranberries, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and water; blend or process until smooth. Note: this is a very thick dressing.

Crack Brownines for the Dog

I wish I had a camera with me when sweet little Shih Tzu Tamu snatched one of these doggie treats right out of her friend Olive's mouth. Poor Olive looked so confused.

If you want to make the dog in your life go crazy, make these treats. The process is a little messy, but the end product is worth it. We use venison liver, but if you don't have access to that, calf liver from the store will work too.

Doggie Crack
(Based on recipes on Dog Aware)

1lb liver pureed
1 cup flour
1 cup rice flower (or corn meal, graham cracker, other grain)
2 tbs spoon honey
2 tbs spoon garlic salt
Dash oil

Mix well in food processor. Spread in 8 inch baking pan and bake in microwave for 7 minutes. Cut into 1 inch cubes while still warm. Be prepared to feed a few to your dawg. Spread cut pieces on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate until crunchy. (You can also bake at 200.)

Store in the freezer...they will mold if you leave them out. We find Happy has no problem eating them frozen.

Doggie Crack Biscuits

I wish I had a camera with me when sweet little Shih Tzu Tamu snatched one of these doggie treats right out of her friend Olive's mouth. Poor Olive looked so confused.

If you want to make the dog in your life go crazy, make these treats. The process is a little messy, but the end product is worth it. We use venison liver, but if you don't have access to that, calf liver from the store will work too. Beware: Your dog will become addicted very quickly.


Doggie Crack Biscuits

The original recipe came from Dog Aware. We used the ingredients from one recipe with the cooking instructions from the other.

1lb liver pureed
1 cup flour
1 cup rice flour or corn meal (graham cracker would work too)
2 tbs honey or molasses
2 tbs garlic salt
Dash oil

Mix all ingredients together and spread in 8x8 microwavable dish. Cook for 7 minutes in the microwave. Remove from dish and cut into small squares (about 1 in x 1 in) while warm. Then dehydrate until all moisture is gone (about three hours). If you don't have a dehydrator, you can bake at 200 for about two hours.

A Spectacular Failure (of a Meat Pie)

A cook, even an amateur, wouldn't be a cook if she didn't experience the occasional spectacular failure.

My pot pies have been a hit, except for one little thing...I use aluminum pie tins that can't go in the microwave. I decided to make some hand held meat pies, which would be easier for Rick to take to work.

So, the other night I mixed up some pie filling, drained the excess liquid, placed it on some pie crusts that I'd rolled out like pizza dough.

It would have worked if I'd actually used pizza dough.

The result was not pretty at all. Tasty, but not pretty. Next time, I'll use the pizza dough. And maybe even find an actual recipe.

The filling was very good, though. So here it is.

Venison Meat Pie Filling
1 ½ lbs ground venison—browned in olive oil
2 tbs olive oil
½ cup peas
2 carrots--chopped
1 russet potato—chopped
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
1 can vegetable stock (about 14 oz)
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the meat and set aside. Add all other ingredients to the onions and simmer for 15 minutes.