Savory Venison Skillet

Hi all!

Fall is right around the corner (yay or nay?) and that means lots of us will be (hopefully) enjoying venison soon. You might have heard that venison tastes game-y, or that it's tough... well, I had a package of ground venison tonight to use and let me just say, either this venison was not game-y, or this recipe just did a really, really good job of covering up any game-y taste. I think it may have been the later. It was really, really good.

Enter... the Savory Venison Skillet. 

So easy to make... and even though it looks like a hamburger helper dish, I used real cheese (not powder), and the taste is completely different from what it looks like... much less "cheesy" and more savory from the ketchup and Worcestershire. Because this only uses 7 basic ingredients, it's a great "clean out the fridge" meal, using what you most likely already have on hand.

You'll need:
1 pound ground venison

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Condensed Cream of Celery Soup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups frozen hash-brown potatoes
3 slices cheese (The original recipe called for process cheese, I call for sandwich slices of reduced fat 2% milk sharp cheddar. Mmm!)


First, cook the venison in a skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Drain any fat and return it to the pan. I had very little fat... an awesome venison benefit.

Right on top of the meat, add the soup, water, ketchup and Worcestershire in the skillet, mix together and heat to a boil. 

It looks a bit like glop and eggs, but bear with me here.

Stir in the potatoes. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Top with the cheese and serve! I added a hint of salt and pepper on top of mine and it was delicious!

I really am a fan of venison, and there actually are some health benefits - a few to touch on is that wild harvested deer have no added hormones, it's actually lower in fat than even a chicken breast (only 2% of it is fat... hence why not much of it was in my pan after browning!) AND lower in calories - a 4 oz. serving of venison has roughly 95 calories whereas a 4 oz. serving of pork or beef has well over 300 calories per serving. Check out Michigan Venison for more health benefits. I didn't know most of them before I looked them up for this post!

Did you enjoy this recipe? Or do you have any other venison recipes? I have some venison sausage and venison steak in the freezer that I can't wait to try out!

BBQ Bacon Turkey Calzone Recipe

Bacon makes everything better, doesn't it? :)

That's what I thought when I was trying to figure out what the make with a half package of bacon and about 3/4 of a pound of ground turkey a few nights ago. I combined those with some BBQ sauce, some cheese and a pizza crust.... and came up with the "BBQ Bacon Turkey Calzone" - and it was so good Mr. LOC requested it again ASAP! :) This post was my second time making it and I think it was even better than the first!

This makes a great splurge meal! ;) It's got all the makings of a classic comfort food. If you've got a BBQ lover in your life, you've got to try this out.

Ready to make your own? You'll need:
• Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce - we think that this is a big part of why this tastes so good, so I highly recommend grabbing some of this.
• 10-12 oz of ground turkey (about half the amount of turkey in the package above)
• Half of a package of bacon
• About 1/2 - 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• a packet of easy prep pizza crust
• A dash of onion powder
• A dash of garlic powder
• Salt and pepper

You'll also want:
• A cookie sheet
• Some flour
• Some Pam-type spray
• A rolling pin
• Kitchen shears
• Large saucepan
• A cutting board
• A colander

Start by preheating your oven to 450. Follow the directions according to the packet of pizza crust and prepare your pizza crust to the point of letting it rise in the bowl, and let it rise while you work on the next steps of the calzone. You could also use a pre-made dough ball crust too.

Next, start browning your ground turkey in a large saucepan. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and onion powder. Once it's browned, put it in a colander, bowl underneath to catch the grease. Set it aside for now.

In that same saucepan, cook your bacon. Cook it until it's just cooked - you don't want it ultra crispy (which is tough for me, as that's the way I like it...ultra crisp! :).

Move the bacon once cooked to another plate. Using some kitchen shears, cut the bacon into pieces. Set aside.

Add your BBQ sauce to the meat. Add just enough so that it will cover the meat completely once stirred. I probably added about 1/4-1/3 cup of BBQ sauce. Stir so that the meat is coated. I do this right in the colander.

Now, add some flour to the pizza dough (not a lot, just so it's not so sticky) and kneed the dough. Take a rolling pin and roll the dough out to fit your cookie sheet, I usually do this on a separate cutting board. Spray your cookie sheet with Pam spray and move your stretched out crust carefully and quickly to your cookie sheet (having them right next to each other is recommended.)

Now, add your toppings. I add my ground turkey first, bacon, cheese and then a layer of BBQ sauce.

Now, start at the bottom of the pan, closest towards you and begin rolling. You have to be quick and do this pretty carefully, otherwise it will get explode-y or not want to roll correctly. Roll up the pan until the roll is at the top of the pan, then scoot it (carefully so you don't tear it apart!) back to the middle of the pan.

Then, take your garlic powder and dash a little down the calzone on top. This cooks up really nicely and gives it a great flavor.

Your oven should be preheated at this point, so go ahead and put it in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven, your top will get golden brown.

Take it out and let it cool for a second (the sugar in the BBQ really stays hot for a bit! whew!) and then enjoy!

Thank you for following along! I hope you enjoy my BBQ bacon turkey calzone recipe. Let me know how this turned out for you! :)

It's Pinspired Friday! {Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie}

Happy Friday all! It's Pinspired Friday!

Let's talk about healthy dinners today. Dinners are one of those things that can be completely based on mood. You know what is nice sometimes? Getting your cooking out of the way so that tomorrow, you can reheat and still have an awesome meal that doesn't taste reheated. In fact, I completely recommend that you make this one a day before you want to eat it and then don't touch it until tomorrow. It's kind of like a pan of lasgana - better the next day, as it gives all of the flavors time to settle and come together (or so they tell me, I hate lasgana. haha!) But really. Make this one today and eat it tomorrow. When it comes time to figure out what to make tomorrow for dinner... you'll thank me. ;)

It all started when I ran across this recipe from Skinnytaste.com.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/11/sweet-potato-turkey-shepards-pie.html

I was able to modify her original recipe to get rid of all of the dairy, and also to modify it more with what I usually have in the pantry and freezer (I can't say I ever have parsnips!), and it still tastes great!

So let's gather our ingredients. This will make plenty for two people.

• 2 small sweet potatoes/yams
• 3 tablespoons of minced garlic - I use the kind that is in a jar, it saves a bit of time.
• 1 3/4 cup of chicken broth
• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• Onion powder
• 10 oz of mixed vegetables. I use the green bean, corn, carrot, and pea mix from Meijer.
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp rosemary
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Optional: paprika

Preheat your oven to 400.

Get a pot of salted water going until boiling, you'll want enough water to completely cover your sweet potato chunks. Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth to the water and 1 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic. Peel and chop your sweet potatoes, and add the sweet potatoes to the boiling water. Cook until soft, about 20-25 minutes. Drain and mash. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over your sweet potato mash, set aside. I usually mash right in the colander and let it sit in there until it's needed again.

This is the garlic I use!

In the same pan you used for the sweet potatoes, cook your ground turkey until browned, season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, drain and set aside on plate.

In that same pot, add your olive oil and saute the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic with a generous amount of onion powder. Saute for a few minutes, until some garlic pieces brown. Add your flour, salt and pepper (yes, this recipe takes quite a bit of both), remaining 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and rosemary. Mix well. Add your frozen vegetables and cooked turkey, mix. Let simmer for 5-7 minutes.

While the mixture is simmering, spray a 2.5L glass dish with cooking spray or oil of your choice. After the mixture has simmered, add the mixture to the bottom of the dish, and top it with the sweet potatoes.

You can add paprika here if you want, but I leave it out. Bake for 15 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so, then put tinfoil on top of the entire pan and put it in the refrigerator. Enjoy... tomorrow! :) You can eat it the same day, but I prefer the taste the next day.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! :) It's nice to be able to modify something to your tastes and what you have in your pantry, AND have it taste great.

Share it with your friends! Thank you for following along and have a great weekend!

It's Pinspired Friday! {Crockpot/Oven Ranch Chicken Enchiladas}

Happy Friday! I've got something pretty good for you today - crockpot/oven ranch chicken enchiladas. nom.

I was inspired when I saw this pin:

Mom's Crazy Cooking - Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

But when I clicked through, the directions weren't super clear as to how to actually make it. I've done recipes before where you put the tortilla in the crockpot and they didn't turn out so good (incredibly spongey!) so I was a bit wary as it said to "put everything in the crockpot" as the first direction. Luckily I read on and learned that you make the enchiladas in a separate baking dish. (Someone else was as confused as me in the comments apparently, lol)

So honestly, they are not a struggle, and the result is GOOD... the corn tortillas really make it, it tastes very "authentic" mexican food because of them. I'm glad I went and got the corn tortillas instead of my usual flour ones.

I modified the original recipe so that it made plenty for two. You'll need:

• 2-3 chicken breasts - I used two smallish ones and a few tiny pieces that were in the bottom of the frozen bag. You can use frozen or thawed. I used frozen.
• 1/2 packet of dry ranch dressing (1 oz)
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning (1.1 oz)
• 1 cup of chicken broth (I used bouillon to make the broth)
• 1 packet of corn tortillas (I used 6, you'll probably have some left over too.)
• 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
• bottled ranch dressing

You'll also want:
 • A crockpot
 • A glass baking dish
 • Pam spray

Place your frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot. I'm using my smaller crockpot here and it worked great (P.S... everyone should have a small and big crockpot. It will make your life so much easier and the small one is nice to bring to parties.)

Dump your ranch seasoning and taco seasoning over the chicken. Try to get most of it on the chicken, less of it on the pot as it'll just burn to the side of the pot. :(

Dump your chicken broth around the chicken. You don't want to wash away the seasoning you just put on. :) I then set my crockpot to "high" as it was about 3 o clock in the afternoon and I realized I had forgot to start dinner earlier! It actually turned out to be the perfect amount of time though. I cooked it on high for about 2 hours.

When about 2 hours have passed, carefully remove the chicken breasts from the crockpot and place on a plate or cutting board to shred the chicken. Using forks or your preferred shredding method, shred the chicken and place it back in the crockpot for another hour. This way, all of the chicken gets to soak up the yummy broth. You could probably turn it to low for this part, I left it on high.

When three total hours have passed, we can remove the chicken once again and start assembling the enchilada. Preheat your oven to 350. Grab your glass baking dish and give it a light spray of Pam.

Layer two corn tortillas on the bottom, followed by cheese, a little chicken, and a drizzle of ranch dressing. Follow this process until you are out of chicken. I had a bottom, middle, and top for a total of 6 tortillas.

On the top, I put just a little more cheese and more ranch dressing. Your oven should be preheated to 350 now, so place the dish in and let it bake for 20-30 minutes. You don't want the tortillas to get too dried out as they're hard to eat if you let it go much longer than 30 minutes.

And there you have it! Easy, on budget and so good! Thanks for following along and have a good weekend!

Deep Fried Pike

 Over the weekend, Mr. Voyage On and Mr. LOC went ice fishing for pike. They caught 4 big pike and we decided to break in our new deep fryer by frying up some pike for dinner!

So we needed a good fried fish recipe. I like this one because I like beer batter and when you combine the flour with the yeast in the beer, it crisps up really nicely without a ton of effort.

This batter would be great on other types of fish too - my guess is that perch or bluegill would be fantastic with this... then again those are my favorite! ;)

Let's gather our ingredients:
• Pike or other fish - Pike does not give a lot of meat per fish as they have Y shaped bones that get in the way. If I had to guess, we yielded about 2-3 lbs of fish, cut into strips and chunks. We used 6 pike total - 4 from this weekend, 2 from the last, but your yield may vary. Luckily, it doesn't have to be perfect as you're just making a batter for the pike - you can always make more or throw out too much.
• 16 fl oz. of beer. I used one can of Coors Light.
• 2-3 eggs. I used three large eggs.
• Up to 2 cups of flour. I believe mine is all purpose.
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons of salt. I used about a tablespoon or less and it could have used a bit more.
• Dash of oregano

You'll also want:
• Oil for frying. We used vegetable oil.
• A deep fryer, ours is a 12 cup.
• Mixing bowls, plates, a butt-ton of soap to rinse off those fishy hands ;)

 I didn't take a ton of pictures of the process, as there is not much to the process! :)

First step is of course, filet and skin your fish. Or have the mister's do it. ;) Make them into 4"-5" strips, chunks, whatever.

In a mixing bowl, mix the pepper, salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Crack open and mix in your eggs, and beat with a whisk until frothy. As you batter the fish, you'll want to give it a stir every once in a while as the spices will try to settle, and the more air, the loftier your batter is.

On a separate plate, dump about a cup of flour on a plate. This is for the second part of the batter. You may decide you want more flour, depending on how much fish you're making, but for starters, use a cup.

Start heating up your oil in the deep fryer. We turned ours to 350. Take your fish pieces, dunk them in the egg mixture, and then lightly coat them in the flour. One dunk of egg mixture, and one dunk of flour made that lofty batter you see in the top picture!

Put the battered pieces on a plate as you go, and then when your oil is hot, drop them in! We cooked about 10-12 pieces at a time at 350 for 5-7 minutes. When 5-7 minutes is up, dump your basket on a paper-toweled plate and let cool for a minute or two. Times may vary!

Enjoy! :)

It's Pinspired Friday {Southwest Eggroll Turned Burrito}

Good morning all and Happy Friday!

Well, I've got an interesting one for you all today. It's not a Pinterest Fail, because it actually tasted pretty good, but it didn't turn at all into what I thought it was going to. I think I identified the problem though... read on for my "Pinspired" Southwest Eggroll... turned burrito".

It happened when I came across this pin for Southwest Egg-rolls on Pinterest.

From Mrs Happy Homemaker: Southwestern Egg Rolls

I was looking for something yummy but relatively healthy, or something that I could make more healthy, and this fit the bill. Around these parts, I'm going to be featuring more healthy meals! All part of that new years resolution, you know. :)

So anyway, mine turned out slightly differently. Not so much eggroll, but burrito.

Other than mine being completely the wrong size and not crisping up at all, these were actually very yummy and low-cal.

Let's gather our ingredients. I'm including my "altered for low calorie" version, and my differences are in parentheses.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 2 medium/large sized frozen chicken breasts, thawed.
• 1 can of corn. (15.25 size)
• 1 (14.5)oz can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 2.5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 2 jalapenos, seeded & minced (I used slightly less than that as I'm not a big jalapeno fan)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder (The original used actual onions... not a fan)
• 1 cup cheese (the original recommended 2.5 cups of pepper jack, all I had was Monterrey and cheddar, they were good.)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4-6 burrito tortilla shells. I used 100-calorie wheat shells.**
  
  ** This is where I went wrong - the original called for 10 flour taco-sized shells. I think that part of the reason why they didn't crisp up as nicely as the original recipe, is because they were wheat and not flour. So, if you're looking for crispier shells (and more egg roll size) use flour taco sized shells. I was aiming for lower calorie.

You'll also want: A dutch oven, cutting board, a basting brush, an extra bowl, a cookie sheet.

My frozen jalapeno thawing - it's from this past summers' garden. :)

 Preparation is very easy. Preheat your oven to 350. Start boiling some water so you can cook your chicken breast and shred it. Mince your jalapenos as the water boils.

Boil your chicken breast for about 15 minutes. Remove from boiling water (be careful) and shred it on a plate or cutting board. Empty your boiling water and place the pan back on the stove. Add your now-shredded chicken.

Turn down the heat on that burner now to about medium. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the chicken. Add your spices to the chicken and stir. Add your black beans, corn, jalapenos and spinach to the pot. Stir to get some of the spices and oil on the rest of the ingredients. Place lid on pot and let the ingredients cook together. You want the spinach to be wilted completely. Stir often so it doesn't burn.

Once the spinach is wilted, grab your cookie sheet and your tortillas. Using a generous amount of filling, fill the burritos and roll them tightly. Empty a little bit of olive oil into the extra little bowl, and use your basting brush to coat the burritos generously in olive oil.

Fancy, eh?

I do love the 100-calorie tortillas. They are sometimes not nearly as pliable (hence the not-super-tight burrito wrap), but they taste pretty good and have sometimes more than 100-calories less than traditional tortillas, so I'm going to love them. ;)

Stick the pan in the oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes. You may be able to broil the tops of these to get them a little crispier on top. Mine were crispy on bottom but not top.

Either way, they were pretty yummy for being lower-calorie (I promise you won't miss that extra 1 1/2 cups of cheese). It's a great reminder that we should be inspired by Pinterest and follow what sounds good and right to us! Hope you enjoy and thank you Mrs. Happy Homemaker for the original recipe.

Southwest Egg-rolls Turned Burritos

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 2 medium/large sized frozen chicken breasts, thawed.
• 1 can of corn. (15.25 size)
• 1 (14.5)oz can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 2.5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 2 jalapenos, seeded & minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 cup cheese (Monterrey and cheddar were good)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4-6 burrito tortilla shells

 Preheat your oven to 350. Boil enough water in a pot on the stovetop to cover two thawed chicken breasts. Place the chicken breasts in the boiling water and boil chicken until cooked through (about 15 minutes). During this time, chop your jalapenos. Remove chicken, and shred the chicken. Empty water from pot, and place shredded chicken back in pot.

Turn down the heat on that burner now to about medium. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the chicken. Add your spices to the chicken and stir. Add your black beans, corn, jalapenos and spinach to the pot. Stir to get some of the spices and oil on the rest of the ingredients. Place lid on pot and let the ingredients cook together. Cook until spinach is wilted.
Once the spinach is wilted, grab your cookie sheet and your tortillas. Using a generous amount of filling, fill the burritos and roll them tightly. Empty a little bit of olive oil into the extra little bowl, and use your basting brush to coat the burritos generously in olive oil.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!