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.