Venison Fry Meat

 Ken grew up in a family of 10.  Their chief source of red meat was the annual deer hunt.  They ate a lot of venison.  Their favorite way to eat it was as Venison Fry Meat.  At least that is what his mom called it. It was a simple recipe.

 Venison Fry Meat

Cut a venison roast into thin slices.  Put flour and salt and pepper on a plate and dredge the steaks in the flour.  Put oil in a fry pan and heat.  Fry the steaks in the hot oil.  When all are fried, make a mixture of the leftover flour mixture and water or beef broth.  Add to the pan drippings, making a nice gravy.  You can also add a beef gravy mix.  When gravy is done, serve the meat with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Kristen's Broccoli Cheese Soup- Kid Friendly

This is in Kristen's regular dinner rotation because most of her children will eat it and most love it.  She has made the recipe her own.  Some of her kids don't like carrot, onion, and celery chunks so she immersible blends it before adding the broccoli and cheese.   It makes a beautiful and delicious soup.  She triples this recipe for her family of 8.

Broccoli/ Cheese Soup

4 T. butter

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large head of broccoli, chopped  or broken into small Florettes and cooked in the microwave

2 cups whole milk or half and half

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large pot, melt butter and saute the onions until soft.  Add the celery and carrots and cook until soft.  Whisk in the flour and cook for  5 minutes.  Add the stock and salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.  Use an immersible blender to blend all until smooth.  Add the cheese and milk and whisk until smooth.  Add the broccoli and mix well.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.  Serve with crusty bread.

Cream Cheese Chicken Soup

We make soup often in the fall and winter.  I saw this recipe online and thought it sounded delicious.  It was!  This recipe is a keeper!

 Cream Cheese Chicken Soup

1 T. butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

2 stalks celery, finely diced

2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped

3-4 cups chicken broth

2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded (rotisserie chicken was delicious)

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of red pepper flakes

1/4 cup flour

1 cup whole milk or half and half

1 8 oz bar of cream cheese, softened

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pot.  Add the onion and saute  until tender.  Stir in the carrots, potatoes, broth, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.  When veggies are tender, you can use an immersible blender if you wish to blend some of the vegetables.  I did this, but left a lot of the veggies as is.  Then add the chicken, parsley, garlic powder, basil and pepper flakes and stir.  In a bowl, mix the flour with the milk until it forms a smooth paste.  Add to the soup and stir and cook until thickened.  Add the cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese is melted and soup is smooth.

Serve with bread.

Crockpot Turkey Breast

 

Turkey breast cooked in the crockpot is so moist and tender.  This sauce makes a delicious thin gravy over potatoes. Turkey is great any time of year! 

Crockpot Turkey Breast

1 turkey breast, thawed

1/2 cup orange juice or orange juice concentrate

1 can whole cranberries

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch pepper

Put the turkey breast in the crockpot.  Mix the other ingredients together and pour over the turkey.  Cook all day on low until thermometer reaches 165 degrees.  Remove from Crockpot and let sit for a few minutes before carving.

Delicious Fudge Frosting

 This is a delicious fudge frosting.  You can put it on any cake or brownies. I like it on a yellow cake.  It is fudgy and delicious.

Fudge Frosting

2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

pinch salt

Combine all in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Boil gently for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Beat until lukewarm.  To make this go faster, you can fill the sink with 2-3 inches of ice water and put the pan into the sink to beat it.  Don't let the water get into the mixture.  Add 2 teaspoon vanilla.  Beat until thickened frosting is spreading consistency.

Stir while in the ice water in the sink.

Doesn't that look delicious?

Spread on any cake or pan of brownies.  Or eat it with a spoon!  It's yummy!

Skinny Cheesy Potatoes

 Michelle wanted to try a skinnier version of our traditional Funeral potatoes that we always serve with ham for our Christmas dinner.  I made the recipe she found.  It was good, but was, well, skinnier! My observation is that they were good, but less moist than the traditional version.

 In case you are looking for a recipe with less calories, give this a try.

Skinny Cheesy Potatoes

6 T. butter, melted and divided

2 T. flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp chicken base (Better than Bouillion)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 lbs. frozen diced hash brown potatoes, thawed

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/3 cup crushed Ritz crackers (1/3 a tube)

 Preheat oven to 350

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, add 2 T. butter and melt.  Whisk in the flour and allow to brown and bubble, stirring constantly for two minutes.  Slowly whisk in the milk and add the chicken base.  Stir frequently while the mixture simmers and thickens.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 4 Tablespoons of melted butter, sour cream, yogurt, and onion powder.

Add the white sauce into the sour cream mixture.  Stir in the hash browns and cheese.  Put all in a prepared 13 x 9 pan.  Bake for 50 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  Top with crushed Ritz crackers.  Put back in the oven for about 10 more minutes.  Let set for a few minutes before serving.

Peanut Marshmallow Bars

 A family favorite at Christmas-time of the Prince family are these delicious Peanut Marshmallow Bars.

Peanut Marshmallow Bars

1 yellow cake mix

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 egg

Mix together .  Press into a 13 x 9 pan.  Bake in 350 oven for 13 minutes.  Take out and cover with

3 cups mini marshmallows

Bake 2-3 minutes more until the marshmallows puff up.  

Let cool.

Topping

1\4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup Karo syrup

1 pkg peanut butter chips (Reeses brand)

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together on low-medium heat until melted.  (Do not cook longer- heat just until melted.)

Stir in 

2 cups salted peanuts (The ones in the bottle.  Planters or Western Family)

Then add:

2 cups rice krispies

Mix together until well blended. 

Pour over cooled crust and let cool.  Cut into squares to serve.  

Store in tightly covered container.