Lasagna Soup

I was on the prowl for a tasty soup/stew I could make in the crockpot that we haven't had before. My father-in-law and brother-in-law were over working on Russell's car and I had cub scouts to do. I needed something that I could make during the day and leave for a few hours to simmer. I've seen this recipe several times on recipezaar's Aussie/NZ recipe swap and the pictures people took were so outstanding! The chef is Seasoned Cook from Eastern North Carolina.
Just before we served this tasty soup.
Christopher said this soup was Amazing! Michael took it to school for lunch the next day.

Lasagna Soup

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

28 oz chicken broth (I used my homecanned chicken broth)

28 oz diced tomatoes (I used my homecanned tomatoes)

15 oz tomato sauce (I ran a pint jar of tomatoes through the blender to make sauce)

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (I only had the non-grated kind)

1 1/2 cups lasagna noodles, broken (I used the kind that don't have to cook first)

2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In large 5 qt saucepan - brown meat and onion. Drain. Put in 5-6 quart crockpot. Add remaining ingredients except lasagna noodles and mozzarella cheese. Two hours before serving add broken lasagna noodles. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. We loved this with garlic bread.

**This makes awesome leftovers! I bet it would freeze well too. There wasn't any left to find out.

Pumpkin Bread

We first had this tasty fall quick bread when Russell was attending Brigham Young University. I have found it's a great way to use a portion of all the pumpkin I canned last fall. And it's pretty healthy as it uses applesauce instead of vegetable oil. Sometimes I add mini chocolate chips and nuts to the batter. I didn't this time. The kids like to take mini loaves of these to their teachers.
This bread also freezes very well if you like to make double batches like I just did because you have many mouths to feed. Not that it will last very long - even in the freezer!

Pumpkin Bread
1 cup applesauce
4 beaten eggs
2 cups pumpkin, pureed
3 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
handful chocolate chips, optional
chopped nuts, optional
Combine all ingredients in a large mix. Mix very well. Pour into loaf pans. (2-3 large pans. Can also use mini-loaf pans.) Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour then test for doneness. May need additional cooking time. Enjoy!

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

I was at WinCo yesterday stocking up on essentials in their bulk section. I love the bulk section! I came across a wild rice mixture so bought just enough to try. I knew I had saved this recipe and today was the time to make it! This recipe comes from recipezaar and the chef is Juenessa. This is a thick hearty soup and one we will be making often!
Chicken Wild Rice Soup
2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, chopped (this was the only item left out)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules (I ended up with 4 tsp. Personal preference)
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3 cups cooked wild rice
2 cups cubed cooked chicken

In a dutch oven melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in chicken broth. Add vegetables, bouillon and spices. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are done. Add cream soup, rice and chicken. Heat through and serve with your favorite bread. We enjoyed this with homemade biscuits. It will be awesome in school lunches on Monday!

Canning Venison

The procedure for canning venison comes from the University of Georgia Extension. This procedure can be applied to a variety of meats such as bear, beef, elk, pork, sausage, veal and venison.
You want to choose quality chilled meat. Obviously if you are the hunter there isn't going to be a deer waiting near a freezer for you. Remove excess fat and soak strong-flavored wild meat for 1 hour in a brine consisting of 1 tablespoon salt/quart of water ratio. Rinse and remove large bones.

There are two ways to can meat. You can hot pack or raw pack. Raw pack is easy. Fill jars with raw meat leaving 1 inch head space. Add 2 tsp salt per quart. Process 75 minutes pints/90 minutes quarts at appropriate altitude.

Today we are going to hot pack. I've done raw pack many times and wanted a change. I am canning the venision and thought it might help with the flavor. This actually was a good experience for me as this deer has great flavor. Almost a roast beef flavor. Much to my family's happiness. We aren't big game fans. But I didn't want to say no to something free!
If you are not so lucky to have someone do the butchering for you - well roll up your sleeves and get to work. Here in the bag are 2 hindquarters, backstrap and a couple other cuts. I have no idea what they were.
I was wondering how long it would actually take to carve up this slab of meat. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. I wasn't aiming for steaks, roasts, etc. I just cubed the whole thing for the meat size I would use for stew.
And I don't think I could get anything else off the bone.

I did freeze some of the bounty. This bowl is what we are working with today. We are canning it.

According to the University of Georgia instructions for a hot pack we need to do the following...precook the meat until rare. There are various methods such as roasting, stewing or browning in a small amount of fat. I chose the browning in fat method. My fat of choice is bacon fat. I browned all the meat in batches and filled 8 quart jars.
Jars filled with hot browned meat. I haven't added any liquid just yet.
For precooked meat add 1 teaspoon salt per quart. The following may be added - boiling broth, meat drippings (I didn't have any), water, or tomato juice. Leave 1 inch headspace. I chose boiling water. Which I didn't take a picture of. Fill jars with the water, put on lids, screw on bands and put in pressure canner.
I have only quarts so I processed for 90 minutes at 10 lb pressure in my weighted-gauge cannner. Don't forget to let your canner vent for the required time.
The finished product. I will use this venison for stew, in a gravy over mashed potatoes and drain- heat and add bbq sauce for bbq sandwiches. We aren't adventurous in our venison usage just yet.

Stew and Homemade Rolls

These rolls won a red ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair!  The texture for some reason didn't turn out like the normally do.
These rolls. I love these rolls! It seems my mom made them every Sunday that I can remember for Sunday dinner. Maybe not every Sunday - but it sure seemed that's when we ate them. We have them at family reunions on her side of the family. Dinner is just not complete if we don't have mom's rolls. They are very light and fluffy and I dare you to eat just one.

Mom’s Rolls
2 cups hot water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 TBSP yeast
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6-7 cups flour
Dissolve sugar and salt in water. Add yeast. Let rest 10 minutes. Add egg and oil. Add flour. Make a smooth but elastic dough. Let rise until double (about an hour). Shape into rolls. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Brush tops with butter.
Yield: 24 rolls
(This recipe can be halved. If you do that still use 1 egg.)
Stew.
You are probably thinking this is a beef stew. Well - it's a good guess but not correct. Remember the part of the deer I had to butcher the other day? Well today I seared about 2 cups of venison cubes in hot oil and 1/4 cup flour. While the meat was browning I mixed 1 package of brown gravy mix, 1 package of onion soup mix and 1/4 cup flour in a bowl. I sprayed my crockpot with veggie spray and added the meat. I added 2 cups water to the gravy/soup mix and mixed well. I poured that over the meat. I added 1/2 chopped onion, 2 carrots peeled and sliced, 2 celery stalks sliced and 2 cups diced potatoes. (I used one of the pint jars of potatoes that I canned last month.) I let all this goodness cook on low for about 6 hours. I tell you what. Russell thought I made the stew with beef. The deer meat was that good! I am so glad because I was a little apprehensive of eating it myself. My parents used to disguise venision in a handful of different ways and we always knew something was up. The meat just tasted "funny." There were hardly any leftovers - which Russell wants to take to work tomorrow for lunch.