I'm going to let you in on one of my favorite SECRETS!

 Cooking with Venison!
We are a deer hunting family! I had NEVER eaten deer or even really known anyone that hunted till I met my hubby..... wow, has my world changed!

Anyway, cooking with venison is something that I struggled with at first..... I just couldn't get used to it and I thought it always tasted gamy..... well, not any more!!!! I learned the SECRET!

Secret to fantastic (you will never know it is venison) meat:
VINEGAR!!!!!!!!!! The acid totally takes away the game flavor! Period.... no more!
When I brown ground meat I simply add it while browning (I don't measure, but about 2 TBL per pound). When I make a roast I just always add vinegar to the cooking juices and I cook it in the crock pot.

I have also started canning deer meat.... talk about NO game flavor and a jar full of yummy!  I will have to post on that later!!


****Linking with

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Celebration Bread Braid and EASY, wonderful fudge

My husband and oldest son went ICE fishing over the weekend.... NOT me! I like to stay WARM and I can think of no better way to stay nice and warm than baking in the kitchen. The wood stove has worked over time this December.... Indiana has had a very unusually cold month. Never has my husband been able to ice fish before Christmas
(the pond he fishes had 8 inches of clear ice already). They brought home a nice mess of fish for us to enjoy.

I busied myself in the kitchen this weekend baking up some goodies to give for Christmas gifts. I made several batches of Celebration Bread Braid and pounds of candy! Gotta LOVE this time of the year!!!! Celebration Bread Braid is one of my favorite gifts to give. Home made bread is such a treat and this one is very beautiful to look at, too. My favorite fudge recipe is both fantastically wonderful to eat and is also easy on the budget. ENJOY! You will find both recipes below.

Celebration Bread Braid

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the butter, sugar, salt, eggs and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into four pieces. Shape each piece into an 18-in. rope. Place ropes parallel to each other on a greased baking sheet. Beginning from the right side, braid dough by placing the first rope over the second rope, under the third and over the fourth. Repeat three or four times, beginning each time from the right side. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Beat egg yolk and water; brush over braid. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 1 loaf.



Pair up the Celebration Bread Braid with some Better Butter and you have a wonderful gift to share!

Better Butter
Set butter out and bring to room temperature. In blender whip together equal parts of butter and oil (I use canola). Whip till very creamy. Store in containers in the fridge... will stay soft and yummy!

Variations: Honey Butter.... simply add in some honey in replace of some oil.
Cinnamon Butter.... add in some brown sugar and cinnamon
Garlic and Herb.... add in some garlic powder and herbs


Amazing Fudge

Combine the following in a large bowl:
3 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet is the best!)
½ lb. (2 sticks) butter, cut into chunks

In Sauce pan measure:
4 ½ cups sugar
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
1- 12 oz. can evaporated milk

Mix together and stir constantly over med-high burner. Keep stirring until it comes to a full bubbling boil- NOT a rolling boil. Time for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over chips and butter in bowl. Add 1 tsp. vanilla, stir until chocolate is melted. Add nuts if desired. [Try dried cherries too- yumm-o!]
Pour into GREASED 9x13 pan and cool.
Cut into squares and serve. Keep refrigerated or at least in a cool place.
Warning: Very rich- you must have a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. Eating more than 3 pieces at a time is known to give you sugar overload.

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather
What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

Deer Down! MEAT in the freezer

Last night my handsome husband shot this BIG, 224 pound, 8 point buck with his bow. God is so good. Yummy meat for the winter and a good hunt.

The first two does (hubby got one and oldest son got one) I canned up. We LOVE canned deer meat and I am working on a "how to" post on canning deer meat. However, with this one we decided to do sausage and jerky.

So I now have 50 pounds of ground sausage in my freezer and 5 pounds of jerky meat marinating in the fridge. I will post the sausage and jerky recipes tomorrow... right now I am tired and the kids all need tucked into bed.

We ended up with 55 pounds of boneless meat. We process ourselves and are careful not to be wasteful, but we do trim off as much fat as possible (the fat is full of game flavor in addition to extra calories). Chris gave the hide to our taxidermy friend and in trade he is going to mount the antlers on a Oak board. God is good!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

For Turbo

This is for our friend, Turbo, and for any one else that enjoys BIG bucks!!
Turbo shot this incredible footage! Very Cool!!

Wes' first DEER!!

Our 13 year old son, Wesley, got his first deer this morning during this year's Indiana youth hunt weekend! His Uncle Dana was with him through the whole thing and even got it on video! YEAH!! What a fun and special day for all involved. My husband is so excited. I am getting ready to pressure can up the meat.... Yummy meals in the future. Thanks Dana for helping Wes with his monumental first deer! (Photo: Dana on left, Wesley on Right)



Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

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Home stead supper

My husband laughed at me for taking this picture, but I just HAD to!! This was the BEST meal we had this summer.... Why?? Everything we ate was either grown on our property or hunted by my husband! We had corn on the cob, broccoli, potatoes, venison and gravy, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, fresh peaches and blackberries for desert! YUMMY!!!!!!!!

Most of our meals have some element of 'home grown', but not usually the entire meal... it felt really, really good! I have to admit that it would take a ton more garden than I grow to do this every meal. My appreciation and respect for the pioneers of our great nation continues to grow. I so appreciate all I have learned in my life from my parents and grandparents about 'simple living'.

Hunting Turkey

Last week, our 7 year old ETHAN, shot his first turkey during Indiana's turkey youth hunt weekend!! EXCITING!! Nate got in on the picture taking action and has big plans of getting his first turkey next year.

Ethan had such a GREAT time with his Dad on this hunting weekend.

The turkey tasted great, too! I cooked the turkey breast in my crock pot seasoned with a packet of Italian seasoning (mixed according to the package). It was moist, yummy and special. The next night I turned what meat we had left into creamy turkey and noodles.

This past weekend it was my husband's turn to bag a turkey! More yummy meat and great memories of the hunt.

Anyone else have turkey hunters in their family?? No, I didn't ask if any one has any turkeys for family! LOL!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Soup Season and Successful Weekend

Cool fall weather is here! As I did my outside 'chores' (I'm not sure that feeding cats and baby chicks qualifies as barn chores) the wind on Saturday had a bit of sting... Winter is coming. The 6 ricks of wood I ordered will be here this week. It is time to start using the wood stove.

The "Harvest of Blessings" women's retreat on Friday night was wonderful! The food was fantastic and the speaker line up gave insightful and encouraging messages. I shared on the blessings of the family meal. Thank you, Leanne, for inviting me!!

Saturday was my BABY'S 5th birthday!!! FIVE!! He shares his birthday with Chris' grandfather. Grandpa turned 91 this year and the family got together to have a fish fry in his honor. I made a big crock pot of Cheesy Sausage and Potato Soup. Chris' aunt made Grandpa a cake and made Nate a cake.... very FUN!! I have to say that Nate wasn't quite sure what to think of 50+ people all singing happy birthday to him... He LOVED his cake and couldn't wait to play with the construction equipment! Chris took Nate out deer hunting on Sunday afternoon as part of his birthday weekend. Nate had a good time, but was evidently worn out from the weekend festivities because he FELL ASLEEP!!! He got in a nap up in a tree! Precious memories..... How did he grow up so fast??

Regular BOW deer season started on October 1st. Right now I have TWO deer hanging in the barn to be processed tonight. Chris got a doe and a 9 point buck! Chris LOVES bow season.... He would rather take up the extra challenge of the bow any day... He likes a good challenge. Meat for the winter! We are going to try something new this year: Canning some of the meat... anyone ever done that?? I have been researching it and am ready to give it a try!

FAll means SOUP season!! My crock pot stays busy this time of year. My Simple Family Supper Fall/Winter and Money Wise Menu E-books are on SALE right now!! You can get each of them separately for only $5 or bundled together for only $7.50!! Hop on over now to grab your copy before the sale is done!
Here is a yummy soup recipe from the Money Wise Menu:

Smoked Sausage Chowder

Crock pot or stove top

Ingredients: 1 (12-16 oz) package kielbasa sausage, diced 4 ½ cups water 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, un-drained 1 envelope onion soup mix 1 package (9 oz) frozen cut green beans 3 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced 2 ½ cups peeled and diced potatoes ( or frozen shredded hash brown potatoes) Salt and pepper to taste ½ tsp dried oregano ¼-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Crock Pot Directions: 1) Dice the sausage and put in crock pot 2) Peel and thinly slice the carrots 3) Add remaining ingredients 4) Cover and cook on LOW 8+ hours or on HIGH 4-6 hours till carrots are tender Stove Top directions: Same as above except simmer in large soup pot for 30 minutes till carrots are tender.

Side suggestions: Warm rolls, cheese cubes, fresh fruit

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Ice and fishing????

Ice fishing is a FAVORITE winter activity for my husband! Now our oldest son has been bitten by the ice fish bug.... not me... I went ONCE, I much prefer reading a good book by the warmth of the wood stove. However, Chris and Wes had a blast and came home with 75 fish!! It took Chris more than 2 hours to clean them all.... A big mess of fish in the freezer for a fish fry come spring. (one more thing to look forward to when warm weather returns.)

Today they went coyote hunting... It was good for them to spend so much time together. The other kids and I stayed warm at home reading books and watching "The Walton's".....

Hope you stayed warm this weekend!




Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Turkey hunt success, fruit trees, and silence....

TURKEY hunt!!!! My hubby got his FIRST turkey yesterday morning!!! YEAH! It is a beautiful one!
We now have some turkey in the freezer. There is a one Tom limit (no hens allowed) here, so he is done. He is going to take a friend out on Saturday.


The boys thought it was COOL!!!!!


FRUIT TREES: The past few days have been BEAUTIFUL weather! I really love warm weather. I feel like a different person in the spring/summer than I do in the winter. I literally CRAVE the sunshine warming my skin. CRAZY?? Probably, but it is who I am! I spend as MUCH time as possible outside on days like today. My Hubby had the day off (he took it off for turkey hunting, but since he is "bagged out" we spent the day together). We planted FRUIT trees!!!!!!!!! When we purchased this place it came with 2 mature peach trees (that produce fantastic peaches) and 1 junk apple tree (that we have cut down). Last year we added 4 apple trees and 2 apricot trees. Today we planted 2 more peach trees, 2 pear trees, 2 cherry trees and 10 more apple trees!!!!!!! Five years from now I will (God willing) have fruit coming out of my ears!!! PTL!!!!!

SILENCE:
I will not be posting any new posts for a week. I will go into more detail later, but for a week I am following God's leading and stepping into a world of silence. I am participating in 2 Bible studies that have both hit on the same topic (I must be hard headed if it takes not one but TWO studies for me to get it!)..... Getting into the word on a DAILY basis. Why is this soooo hard???? The biggest reason we all give is because we are BUSY!!! Yes, I am busy.... so are you! We live in a BUSY world. However, I still make time to get online, read other things, watch tv, listen to the radio, talk on the phone, etc.... God has been really convicting me on my choices, my priorities, my focus, my attitude, my personal discipline. We live in a world of constant "input", constant noise of some kind. For the next week I will be entering a world of silence..... (yes, I will still talk). I am ready to HEAR God! I am ready to be "still"!

Have a great week! I will be back after this time and look forward to another addition of "Tour Tuesday". I am going to show you my "views".


May Menu comes out on the 25th! Grill season is here... I have included a grill recipe each week. The sample menu will be updating soon. www.simplefamilysupper.com

Youth Trurkey Hunting Weekend!

My daughter completed her Indiana Hunter's Safety course earlier this month. She was excited to get it done before youth turkey hunt weekend! Robyn (age 8) and Chris (my hubby, her dad) went out yesterday morning (they left at 5am and saw THREE! (2 hens and 1 jake) She was able to take a shot at the Jake, but unfortunately didn't hit her target (can I say nervous first time jitters?) She didn't get a turkey, but she did bring home some wonderful memories of time in the woods with her Dad. They even went out for breakfast together after the hunt! Now that is what I call a great Daddy/daughter date!

Yesterday evening and this morning, Chris took out our oldest son, Wesley(age 10). They saw some hens and heard gobbles, but never had a shot on a Jake. They had a blast.... good Father/son bonding. I really admire the way my husband enjoys spending time with our kids and passing on his love for nature and his enthusiasm for hunting, fishing and trapping. He has been so patient as he teaches the children the skills required for these activities. The children have thrived under his training and are great shots, love to fish (note I am not saying that they love to clean the fish!) and have respect for nature.

Today is going to be beautiful! This afternoon we are going to plant some trees and then Chris is taking the kids fishing. I have to finish typing up the next addition of Simple Family Supper!
Have a great Day!
Heather