Rabbit Recipe

Yesterday, I shared our deer season and mentioned that deer is not the only wild meat we like to eat.  Warren and the older boys went for a partridge walk yesterday and came home with a rabbit.  Honestly, it's not my favorite, but it will help feed the troops.  Recently, I made pheasant and venison tenderloin and prepared it a new way.  First, I dredge it in seasoned flour, then pan fry (hot and quick).  The meat stays so moist so Warren decided to prepare rabbit in a similar way.

This morning after making our morning eggs, he dipped the 4 leg quarters and 2 backstraps in milk and then dredged in House Autry Chicken Fry.

 Then he fried the pieces in vegetable oil until brown and crispy on the outside.

At this point the inside is still raw, so he placed them in the crock-pot with 1/4 inch of water.  Turned it to low and ..........I'll give you an update after supper.  We're all looking forward to this with some venison steak, fried mashed potatoes, and a big salad.

Now doesn't that look good?  And to think, it's rabbit!

Deer Season - 2015

Just as practicing our Faith nourishes our soul, hunting, for our family, nourishes our bodies.  And it's nearly just as important to the well-being of our family.  This year we are so fortunate for the large deer harvest; our freezers are full.  Yes, I said freezers (plural); we filled 3 chest freezers and two above the fridge freezers.  And believe it or not, it'll all be gone by about next September.

If you're counting deer, you'll need to add two more because Nick shot two does, but I forgot to get pictures before they had them skun.  (Spell check is telling me skun is not a word, but skinned doesn't sound right either).

Wild meat isn't as tricky to cook with as one might think.  I've seen so many cookbooks claiming to have all the secrets.  I've been cooking with wild game for 19 years and have found that since it tends to be leaner than most farm raised animals, keeping the meat moist is very important.  For a few of our family favorites check out the links below.

Recipes to Use With Ground Venison

Recipe - Hug and Kiss Soup

And lest I make Nick feel forgotten by not mentioning his major contribution to our full freezer, I better say that he put 29 ducks and an unknown number of geese and squirrels in the freezer and frying pan as well.

I may try to post a few more wild game recipes to the blog soon.  Stay tuned.

Advent Week 2 ~ Peace

We ate by candle light for the 2nd time on Sunday evening.  It's so very peaceful for me; however, the kids don't feel the same way.  Truthfully, they whined a little about having to eat in the dark.  They actually said it reminded them of the pilgrims eating in the dark on the Mayflower so as not to see the bugs in their food.  Really?  They need to get a grip.  Anyway, last week we focused on HOPE.  We have hope because we trust in the Lord.  This week we focus on PEACE.  Our hearts can find peace because we have hope.

May you have a PEACEFUL week as you prepare for Christmas.

And for the record, sometimes peace is a little hard to come by around here.  Take for example last night's sing along.  Warren brought out his guitar and we had an impromptu sing along.  I caught a little footage of the moment (in the dark).  Most of the singing is drowned out by one child whistling and if you listen close enough you'll hear another child scolding the whistler.  

The lights turn on, the phone rings, the singers were a little off key.

Let there be PEACE on Earth!

Tis the Season to Shop.....or Not

Shopping, shopping, shopping!  This is the time of year for it.  Or is it?

As I made a Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping list, I was given a gentle reminder that all the gifts in the world don't make tiny tots happy.  See, as I was trying to decide on which tights Maria would like better and what type of gun Peter would like, plastic or wood, they had their own idea of what fun really is.  At first, their fun looked like a collection of trash bags from the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Really?  We have bins of animals, blocks, Duplos, cars, a play kitchen and I'm trying to decide what else to buy for their toy collection and they play with garbage.  

Once I took a closer look and asked, "What in the world are you doing?"  did I realize that this little game of theirs was actually quite sweet.  They were wrapping stuffed animals in plastic bags and tying them with rubberbands. These were all presents for me.  One look around and I counted 18 of these presents and they wanted me to open each and every one.  I obliged with oohs and aahs and then convinced them to help me with the clean up of all the bags, rubberbands, and stuffed animals.

Little kids don't need much.  Save your money for those big kids with big wants.  After this little escapade I tossed the Black Friday list and decided to keep Christmas VERY simple for our little ones.  Simple for them translates to simple for me.  A win-win!

HAPPY ADVENT

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.  Desmond Tutu

First Snow

We've had a few flakes, but nothing that's really accumulated.  Until today!  We woke to a couple of inches of wet snow.  So after a morning of lessons, laundry, and lunch (warming in the crockpot) we headed outside to enjoy the snow.  It was quite wet, and didn't lend itself to fast sledding, but we still had fun.

Fuel for us.

Fuel for the horses.

The girls convinced Nick to help them place Christmas lights on the barn.  They've been wanting to do this for years.  I'm happy for them and am excited to see it tonight.

The weather forecast is calling for another warming trend, so it looks like the snow will be gone by Friday night.  This snow has helped to put everyone in the Christmas spirit.  I've been thinking about gifts and cookies and wrapping and appetizers and decorations.  Trying to keep my focus on Advent, though.  I placed the Advent wreath on the dining table and we are lighting the HOPE candle at dinner each evening and praying:

O Lord, stir up our hearts

that we may prepare for

your only begotten Son,

that through His coming,

we may be made worthy to 

serve you with pure souls.

Through the same Christ

our Lord.

Amen.

Happy Advent to you all.