Adventures with Venison!

How appropriate that I'm watching the Top Chef finale as I get ready to put together this post.

So, Chris likes to hunt and has gotten a deer 3 of the 4 last hunting seasons.  Needless to say we have a ridiculous amount of venison in the freezer.  In an effort to start clearing freezer space, I embarked on a mission to figure out a way to prepare the venison steaks so they'd not only be edible, but something we could do again.  

We've mastered using ground venison and usually just sub it in for ground beef in things like tacos and sloppy joes....these round steaks, however, were intimidating.

Gross lookin, huh?

So following this recipe, which was incredibly simple, I embarked on my first ever venison steak cooking experiment...and lucky for you, I took lots of pictures along the way!

Clearly my plate, Chris wouldn't touch a salad!

Thumbs up for success!

Basically, it was just a slow braise of the venison in a gravy made from flour and the pan drippings (with a little butter to help it along the way, of course!), onions, and a dash of sour cream at the end.  We served it with some mashed Yukon golds, and overall I'd say it was a hit!  Chris enjoyed it, and I think we'd both agree it was even more satisfying to prepare a meal using meat that he provided vs. paying a ton for something from a meat market.

And I got to wear my super cute apron my mom got me :) 

 

I've got a few more recipes on the radar for the coming week, so be expecting more food posts soon :) 

Happy Wednesday!

Well what do ya know....2 days in a row!


As promised, here's a quick photo tour of the new place.  Please excuse the graininess of the pictures, I was using my cell phone because I have no idea where I put my camera when I unpacked. Oh the joys of moving....

First up is our living room.  The first picture is the China Cabinet we got from our future brother-in-law when he moved into his new home.  I can't wait to fill it up with my nice things :)  Obviously, the living room is a little empty. Eventually we will move Chris' couch and recliner over and get a new entertainment center.  I plan to use the stand the TV is on right now in the kitchen since it matches the cabinets and our dining table. 

I guess that's a good segue into the dining area/kitchen!

Look closely and you'll see my FAVORITE part.  THE DISHWASHER!!!! No more pruney hands and fingers from hand washing everything, hallelujah!

Here's a shot of me in action!  Venison soft tacos, yum!

Next is our guest bedroom.  Please don't judge the tigger sitting on the bed.  There were some things I just couldn't part with.  We're debating how to decorate the walls in here.  The deer heads have to go somewhere and this room may just be the compromise...

Finally, we have the master bedroom with our newly inherited furniture from Mama and Papa Thu.  Again, a little sparse in the decor area, but we're working on it.  I LOVE the closet space.  I was smart and closed the doors on my side because, well, it's kind of overflowing.  It would appear I have a little more downsizing to do.

Please note, the bed is made.  So far, I've made it every morning after getting up, a habit I'm sure my mother would've loved for me to have picked up years ago....

No shots of the bathroom, sorry.  It's kind of plain because I've got a bed and bath themed shower coming up and we're waiting to get accessories for it til after that.

I forgot to mention in my last post that we just celebrated Mardi Gras here in St. Louis.  It was a blast, as usual.  We managed to snag some pretty sweet VIP tickets that got us into an area with catered cajun food and an open bar of beer and hurricanes, no complaints here! 

I know, I know.  We are so cute :)

OMG. I'm the worst blogger in the history of blogging....

So now that Lent is upon us and Chris has ruled that I had to choose to give up one of  my two biggest distractions, Facebook and gossip websites, I'm betting I'll have more free time on my hands to blog. (BTW, I chose to give up gossip websites, it's a bigger vice and lets be real, me give up facebook? Inconceivable!)

So where to begin...I'm trying to think of what's happened in the 3 months since I've posted (again, I'm the worst blogger EVER) 

Chris' sister is engaged.  Woooohooo!  2012 is going to quite the year, as soon as my wedding is under wraps, Jenny's planning will be kicking into high gear.  I'm so excited we get to be newlyweds so close in proximity :)  Plus, her fiance is awesome and he makes her super happy.  I'm getting really lucky in the future in laws department.

Chris came home with me for Christmas and we had a blast.  My mom knit him the most amazing stocking.  I'll dig around for a picture of it to post later.  Seriously, my initial reaction when he opened it was jealousy.  Yep, I'm a gracious host...We did manage to snap a cute picture despite my grinchiness over the stocking.

I know, we're adorable :)

Lets see...I'm trying to catch up chronologically...New Years came and went, and Chris and I both really committed ourselves to eating better and getting into shape.  We've both lost considerable weight and feel better in our own skin.  I'm in a boot camp right now that I absolutely love and we now have access to a workout facility at our new apartment.  We are going to be super svelte for our honeymoon on the beach :)

As of February 1st I have been living in our new apartment.  He's starting to move stuff in and things are really coming together.  I'll snap a few pics this weekend to give you an idea of what it all looks like. 

My new job is great, I'm loving my boss and coworkers and I feel like I'm finally moving in the right direction professionally.  Unfortunately I've been using up a lot of my sick leave here lately because of a random flu bug and a particularly nasty head cold that I'm still battling. 

We're down to 2 months to go! Wahoo!  I can't believe how quickly time is flying by.  Coming up for March,  I have a bridal shower, Chris' bachelor party is happening in Cincy, and I'm making a trip to see one of my BFFs get matched to a hospital for her residency.  It will be April before we know it!  AHHHHH!