Shelby

Good morning!!!! Sorry about the radio silence. I got way behind yesterday. Every time I was going to sit down and write, something popped up that I needed to do. @Smithy How fun that you have some venison with you! Venison backstrap or tenderloin are both so good just on their own that I don't get fancy with it. A searing hot skillet, butter, salt and pepper or on the grill. Venison has so little fat that you want to be careful and not over cook it. You can always cook it more if it's too rare--rare is what you want. Overdone, it tastes livery and tough. We are going to do the tenderloins tonight on the grill, so I'll document it. Here is more from Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook--it's an excellent site for learning about all different kinds of game cooking. The bread is a recipe I ran across years ago. It's nothing like real French bread-- like the kind @Ann_Tand others make so beautifully, so maybe the name "French bread" is a bit misleading lol. I was intrigued because it looked so easy. I swear, everyone that eats it raves about it. I don't tell them how easy it is lol. I think one of the reasons it's such a hit is because I brush it with egg white and sprinkle Everything Bagel Topping on it--a discovery that happened by accident because I didn't have any sesame seeds and I thought maybe the bagel topping would be good. I bake it in the CSO on the bread setting at 375F for 25 minutes. We ran out of breakfast burritos, so I made ham, egg and cheese sandwiches for this morning. But, before that, I had laid out more of the same cheeses and meats, plus some pimento stuffed celery. I was hurried because I knew the guys would be home soon so I got that out on the table and then went to the outside garage to get some eggs. Here is the spread before I left I was literally gone maybe a minute and this is what I came back to Miss Scout had helped herself.🙄 Sigh. On to making dinner. I was terrible about pictures --it turned into a seafood soup. I thawed out chicken broth, the oysters from earlier in the blog, some crappie and some shrimp. Dumped a half a stick of butter in the pot and softened diced potato, carrots, onions and celery. Then added the broth, salt, pepper, garlic and let it simmer a bit. Right before eating I dumped in all the seafood and let it warm a bit. Super easy and very good. Crusty bread toasted with butter to go with. Annnnnnd dessert The guys are now out working on the buck. I'll post pictures in a bit. They are going to hunt close to home so I think some venison tenderloins are going to hit the grill tonight. I'm pondering side dishes. The hunting gear really makes my Christmas decor pop don't you think......

OMG those pies are beautiful! I think mini pies are perfect for two people. I need to get some of those tins. It takes us forever to finish a normal size pie.

LOL! I didn't even notice I did that. I've corrected it. I wonder if my spell check changed it. I don't think I've ever actually typed the word wench on purpose in a sentence.

Yeah....everything is better with cheese 😁

Saturday! A nice buck is hanging in the garage They went to a closer place yesterday afternoon than the shooting house. I was surprised to look out and see the truck backing in (always a sign that a deer was gotten) when it was still daylight out! This is their little enclosure that they sit in View from the inside out I don't know if I've commented on this or not in the past. We have an electric winch that comes in handy big time when hanging the deer. Place slits in the legs Poke the hanger through Removal of the innards and the ever coveted tenderloins The knife in the pan was a gift to Ronnie from our friend. It's a sharp one! I think these tenderloins are going to be the opposite of tender--he is a tough buck, but we will see. I made another board similar to the day before except I added a new cheese and more meats Not spicy at all. Kind of a disappointment. If you'd have told me we would be having BLT's on December 3rd, I'd have patted you on your silly head and sent you on your way lol. But here we are. I still have a few precious tomatoes left. Broccoli salad and fries to go with. Our hunter wanted me to specifically show his plate and point out how gourmet it is. That's hot sauce on top of each sandwich 🙄 🤣 I gotta clean my stove. I made a hell of a mess making the fries.

No ducks or geese, but a NICE 11 point buck I'm told . Perfect timing for the cold front. They said they took tons of pictures so, tomorrow, more to come I'm knee deep in dinner.

Chum is just not up to it any more. She has several fatty tumors. Getting in and out of the truck is a mighty task. She goes sometimes if it's just Ronnie and it's going to be a short easy hunt. But even those easy hunts take her days to recover from. She's snoring on the couch as we speak.

Happy Friday! Not much happening on the hunting front, but hopefully that is changing as we speak. They decided to duck hunt this morning--or maybe goose or both. Hopefully some kind of bird for dinner tonight. Scout got to go so she's over the moon. Cold front comes in tonight and that's a good thing. I'm really glad they haven't gotten a deer in this heat. It would have been a pain and involved a gigantic cooler and lots of ice. Here is one of the many ponds that they hunt on-- this is the one that I showed pictures of a couple years ago that is by the windmill that we fill ourselves. They came home around two yesterday afternoon and got out the leftover guacamole, salsa and cheese dip. After they grazed there was still some left and our friend suggested breakfast burritos to use it up. Good thinking! Ham, eggs, salsa that I drained, guacamole and cheese. I made four so there are two left for tomorrow morning. I needed to replenish the bread so since the mixer was going to get dirty from that, I decided pizza night was the way to go. I made the pizza dough first and then the bread. The guys went to a spot that is close to home, and they ate before the went out for the evening, but I figured they would still eat some light nibbles. Everyone really liked the truffle cheese from Imperfect Foods. Sometimes I don't care for truffle in certain things but this was really good. Big salad and sausage\pepperoni\mushroom pizza I'm waiting to hear if we have ducks and or geese for tonight.....I need to start thinking of a back up meal in case there are none....but I hope there are. I already told the kittens they were getting a treat later.

100% correct. It was awful. I still have bottles downstairs in case of a renewing of Prohibition, but even then, I'm not sure I could choke it down.

SAME. I started early yesterday and made the salsa first--otherwise, when I'm feeling pressured it's like I just throw halves of everything in and you need like a 20 lb. chip to eat it off of. I do it all by hand...I like it chunky and I always over process it in the Cuisinart. It's easy peasy. Peeled, chopped tomatoes Peeled, chopped onion Chopped jalapeno Chopped cilantro Lawry's Salt Granulated garlic Lots of cumin Squeezes of fresh lime juice

Yes, all fresh. No cooking. I should experiment with that, though. I have salsa left and it changes flavors after being in the fridge overnight...cooking it would help with that. But, I do love fresh salsa.

They work really well. I highly recommend.

I can't believe it either. The green ones that I had mostly picked just to make fried green tomatoes ripened a lot better than I thought they would. Down-side: no fried green tomatoes. Here is the sad lot that's left: All green was jalapeños. It was spicy. I press the tortillas into these things and bake in the CSO at 350 for ten minutes.

Hello! No hunting pictures were taken yesterday--nothing to be seen. It's just too hot and the deer are feeding overnight. They are at it again today--another hot day--it's 71 degrees here at 1:00 pm. As the evening wore on, I got worse and worse about taking pictures lol. I sent a text about 3:30 yesterday giving them one more chance to change their minds about Mexican--they still wanted it. Taco salads it is, then. Still have garden tomatoes! This will be the last salsa......'maters are dwindling fast. Rotel cheese dip--made from homemade rotel that I canned over the summer Ugly picture, but good salad I also did some stuffed poblanos which were camera shy. I've been really lazy this morning. Need to get off my butt and bake some bread and maybe make some pizza dough.....or maybe hang out with the barn kittens for a while....

🤣Our friend said the exact same thing! They took the lid off and smelled--apparently it smells awful.

And so it begins...... Guys just loaded up and are off to the shooting house--much to Chum and Scout's dismay, they were not invited. It seems like venison chili is my go-to on the first day. I made a huge pot full and I'm going to shove it back in the garage fridge for later lunches--or spaghetti red for dinner. Our hunter friend has been watching some kind of You Tube show called The Heatonist. I guess the hosts interview different people and while they talk they work their way up the Scoville scale eating wings and hot sauce. I don't know what came first, the show or the hot sauces. He sent us a gift pack and they decided that chili would be the perfect time to start sampling. I sat back and watched lol. There are two more that are most mild ones somewhere in the garage and I can't find them, but above is in order from least hot to hot. They got up to the Chile Lengua De Fuego--that did them in. Eyes started running and sweat started pouring lol. I can't imagine what the last three will be like! So, I'm cleaning up after lunch and snacking on some venison jerky that he brought. Dr. Lecter decided to get up at 5 this morning and then he decided not to leave me alone until I did too, so I'm off to sneak a nap. Mexican food is on the agenda for tonight, but I told them to text if in a couple of hours Mexican doesn't sound so good 🤣.

Wow! OH Canada, you never fail to impress me!

I don't know what size--there were about 10-12 oysters in each. They were not tiny, but not the big slimy ones either. They were good. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a soup\stew with them unless our friend hates oysters which I'm pretty sure he doesn't. I don't even know what I'm making for dinner tomorrow lol--talk about flying by the seat of your pants. The house looks ok--lots of decor and twinkle lights. My cleaning angel told me that I inspired her to decorate so that must mean it looks decent. More tomorrow--the hunt begins...........

What does that mean-- you make it or...... Don't tell Ronnie about this if it's cheaper..he'll be up there tonight.

Ooooooh these look delicious. I see the sauce ingredients...could you also share the chicken ball recipe

LOL I get ridiculed every time I mention it--I'm a cheap date. Franzia Chillable Red --we buy by the case so that we get a discount. If I can't find it the next choice is Peter Vella Delicious Red. If I can't find that, either, I go to a white zinfandel.

Good morning everyone! Thanks so much for the kind words and encouragement. My cleaning angel is coming in a bit so I'm up pre-cleaning (yes, I'm psychotic). Yes, there will be another stop at a liquor store tomorrow on the way home from the airport to stock me up further with wine--side note: it's hard to find my delicious boxed wine due to packaging shortages apparently, so, we stock up when we can. The deer are running around here like crazy--we need signs like that on the dirt roads lol. I saw several had been hit on the highway near my house . I think what I call oyster stew is more like a soup lol......I'm sure it's not authentic at all and if I make it, mine will contain some crappie or bass too. But I will detail it all I adore my Vacmaster. I realize now that I wish I had gotten one years before. It is SO useful for us I really feel like I couldn't live without it. Vac packing liquids helps save a lot of space in our freezers....broth is able to lay flat instead of in containers etc. VM is a part of the family lol.

WOW! Rifle or bow...I'm guessing rifle. I really didn't know that hunting in Nevada was a thing.

Deer season opens Wednesday--and duck, goose, pheasant, quail etc. is going on. I usually put a little Christmas tree in there with lights. My extension cords got up and walked away so I had to buy some today--I'll get to that tomorrow. ....maybe lol.

It's already almost Dec. 1st 😳. Our friend gets here Wednesday about mid-morning. As usual, I'm soooooooo behind. I do have Christmas decor up--except for his bedroom which I will do tomorrow afternoon. Not that he probably cares lol. The cats seem particularly interested in the Christmas tree this year. I put it in a different spot and they won't stay out of it. It is a flocked tree and they come out covered and they are tracking it everywhere. So, I'm blaming them for me being not on track 😁. Went to the grocery store and liquor store this morning. I forgot a few things. I don't know if I will get back out or just be fine with what I have. The pandemic has really ramped up my OCD about needing to have more than one of everything around here. I ordered a big amount from Misfits and Imperfect foods that got here Saturday so I'm set for fresh veggies until next Saturday. I also got some shrimp and some cheeses. Stuff I bought today: These oysters were all 1.99. Super cheap for around here so I bought them all out. The weather is going to be ridiculously hot Wed, Thurs and Fri but then Saturday it's a high in the 50's so maybe oyster stew or a seafood stew for that night. The sell by date is tomorrow so I decided it would be smart to go ahead and freeze them. Experience has taught me that you can't freeze these pop-top container--the oyster juice expands and you have a big mess--so vac pac to the rescue. I was surprised to see tomatillos so I got some to make maybe a pork chili verde....those bread bowls I thought would be cute to put his favorite onion dip in. Port wine cheese ball 'cause I like those. These got in the cart. They aren't bad, but they aren't super great either. I detect NO gingerbread taste in the Kit Kats--more like butterscotch. And regular peanut butter cups are much better. I'll put them in a bowl to look festive at least. More stuff Couldn't remember how much dressing mix I had--meant to order from the spice place but I forgot--thus the bottled dressing. Enchilada sauce in case I am out of strength to make my own. It's pretty good if you doctor it up a bit. Croutons were a dollar a bag. Bargain! Puff pastry for a green bean tart. Pickles for roast beef\pickle roll ups. Yeah, my vow to get new appetizer ideas has not come to fruition. And this especially for @Smithy if the stores have had this before, I never noticed it. I'm off to switch laundry and clean out the fridge and some cabinets so stuff doesn't fall out when you open the door. Sigh. lol.