Category: Cooking

My friend, Barbi gave me a great gift recently.  Her husband had been hunting and gotten a wonderful Deer. She brought me up some fabulous Venison Steaks. Hmmmm!

I was browsing through recipes last night and I found one for Venison Stew. It looked so good, so flavorful that I decided to give it a try.

This morning I woke and after breakfast I cut up the deer meat, and all the vegetables and started the stew in my crock-pot. As the morning went on, it smelled more and more wonderful.

I couldn’t control myself and around noon I tasted the gravy! Oh My Goodness! We are talking, ‘Nectar of the Gods’!

I’ve been smelling it all day and my appetite is high! But here is the best news! I ran the recipe through a points counter and it only has 5 points per serving!

Here is a picture of my delicious Bambi Stew!

For those of you who enjoy a good deer stew I am including the recipe here, below this post. It’s a keeper for sure!

Oh and just so you know, I’m just teasing calling it Bambi Stew. It’s Venison Stew, but I am also thinking you could make it with beef!

Venison Stew

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½-2 pounds venison stew meat
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 cups low-salt beef broth (or chicken broth)
1/2 cup Burgundy Wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 stalks celery chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
3 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tsp. marjoram leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 cups sliced mushrooms
4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
3/4 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold water

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add venison and cook until all sides are nicely browned.
2. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onions are softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. transfer to Crock-pot. Stir in broth, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, bay leaf, oregano,paprika, marjoram, and thyme, salt and pepper. Dice carrots, celery and potatoes and add. Set at low heat, covered, and cook for 8-12 hours or until meat is tender.
3. In a small bowl or cup, combine flour and water until smooth; stir into stew. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
4. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

I decided today to make something special for dinner. Hubby loves to eat, and he loves foods that are more typically found in Diners. I asked him if he might be interested in my making stuffed green peppers for dinner and his smile told me all I needed to know.

I had found a recipe a while back for a Weight Watchers version of Stuffed Peppers, and I played with the recipe and today made up a batch. Aside from using ground turkey instead of ground beef, this is pretty much the same recipe I have been making for many years.

While the peppers cooked in the oven, I peeled some Yukon Gold potatoes to mash. It all came together and at six I set Hubby’s meal before him. The sounds of his delight made me happily realize that my choice for tonight’s meal was a good one. It was delicious and I also enjoyed it.

Who says that dieting can’t be fun?

(The recipe is in the extended entry.)

Continue reading “Stuffed Peppers and Mashed Potatoes…Does It Get Any Better?”

This is the perfect recipe to warm you on a cold winter day! It is easy, nourishing and delicious!

4 cups peeled and cubed Butternut Squash
2 cups fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Onion, chopped
1/2-1 tsp Sweet Curry Powder
14-1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp salt or salt substitute
1/2-1 tsp crushed Thyme

Fat Free sour cream

In a large sauce pot combine all ingredients except the sour cream, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Ladle small amounts into blender and puree.

Serve with a tsp of fat free sour cream swirled in the middle of the bowl.

For WW meal plan, I figure only about 1 point per cup of soup.

This recipe fits all the criteria for our new way of eating. Best of all, it tastes great! A perfect recipe for an Autumn day!

Apple Pie ( Splenda )

1 double crust pie crust
7 cups baking apples, thin-sliced, cored, peeled
1/2 cup Splenda granular (artificial sweetener)
1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar blend (artificial sweetener)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon butter cut into small chunks.

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Place one crust into a 9-inch pie pan.
3. Place sliced apples into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
4. Combine Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg & ground cloves in a small bowl.
5. Sprinkle mixture over apples and toss.
6. Spoon apple mixture into piecrust. Dot the top with the chunks of butter.
7. Place the second crust over the filling. Seal edges, trim and flute. Make small openings in the top crust.
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top crust is golden. Serve warm or chilled.

I made this recipe this morning and Hubby and I really enjoyed it with our lunch.

Yummy Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange peel
1/8 tsp ground cloves
3 very ripe large bananas
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Cream the butter with a mixer until it is smooth. Beat in the sugar until well blended then add the eggs. Mix for a minute or two. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the nuts) and beat until smooth. Add the nuts and stir those in. Place in a greased loaf pan.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan and then place on a wire rack and finish cooling.

Since I have a wonderful Plum tree that supplied us with an abundance of plums, I was given a delightful recipe for Plum Kuchen. Serve it with ice cream or whipped cream, which ever you prefer, but try it. You will love it!

Plum Kuchen

Pastry:

1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp sugar
5 tbs butter
½ cup sour cream
extra flour for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease an 11-12 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and continue cutting into the mixture. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook. Either turn out on board and kneed by hand or allow your mixer to do it for you, until the dough takes shape.
Dust the dough lightly with flour and form into a flat round cake. Press the dough into the tart pan, pressing the dough up to the top of the fluted rim.

Filling:

1 pound of plums
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tbs butter
2 tbs sugar

Cut the plums into flower shapes as follows: Beginning at the stem end, make a lengthwise slice ¾ of the way down each side of the pit. Cut the “back” seam so the plum halves remain connected on the bottom. Slit the top of each half so that the plum forms a flower shape, making four pettles connected at the round bottom.
Arrange the plums on the pastry, skin side down, forming concentric rows.

Combine the brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter, and sprinkle that over fruit.

Bake tart for 25 minutes or until the pastry is set and the fruit is tender. Cool, remove from tart pan and slide onto platter. Cut into wedges and serve with softly whipped cream.

Here is a great way to use up all that zucchini that is overflowing in your garden.

Preheat oven to 350

You will need:

o 3 Large eggs
o 2 cups sugar (1 brown, 1 white)
o 2 cups grated zucchini
o 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
o 1 cup vegetable oil
o 3 cups flour
o 1 teaspoon salt
o 1 teaspoon baking soda
o 1 teaspoon baking powder
o 3 teaspoon cinnamon
o 1 teaspoon allspice
o 1 teaspoon orange peel

Beat eggs until foamy. Add sugars, oil, zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice and add to egg mixture. Stir well and add orange peel. Spray 2 – 9X5 Inch loaf pans with non-stick spray. Split evenly between pans, bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Maribeth’s Meatloaf

1. 1 large onion, finely chopped
2. 1 celery rib, chopped
3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
4. 1 tablespoon olive oil
5. 2 eggs, lightly beaten
6. 1/4 cup ketchup
7. 1 pounds ground beef
8. 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
9. 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
10. 1/2 teaspoon salt
11. 1/4 teaspoon pepper
12. 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
13. 2 slices of bacon

Combine all ingredients and place in loaf pan and bake in a 350° oven with the bacon slices on top for about an hour. Let set for a few minutes before slicing.