Wild Turkey, 5 Ways

Last week Reggie caught his first wild turkey. He has hunted many animals in the past from grouse, to deer, and even black bear. Somehow he has never really been into turkey hunting; I suppose because it is in the spring, when fishing season begins. Last Friday he caught his first turkey. It weighed 16lbs feathers, guts and all. When he got it cleaned, however, it was still a good size! We managed to get 5 different meals out of it, check it out:

Clockwise from top-left: Turkey Dinner, Turkey Pot Pie, Tom (Male Turkey), 

Turkey Dinner, Hen (Female Turkey), Open Faced Turkey Sandwiches

First: turkey dinner, complete with stuffing, potatoes, veggies and even bacon (to help keep the turkey moist)
Second: Turkey Pot Pie (for a recipe please see here, and sub turkey for chicken)
Third: Open Face Turkey Sandwiches (recipe below)
Fourth: Turkey and Stuffing Salad Wraps
Fifth: Turkey Soup (recipe below)

And this list doesn't even include the turkey sandwiches and snacks we ate, and 12 cups of turkey broth we have stored in the freezer!

Recipes
Open Face Turkey Sandwiches
2-6 slices of bread
mayonaise
turkey
mild salsa
sun-dried tomatoes
baby spinach
grated old cheddar cheese

Layer the above ingredients in the order listed. Broil in an over (or a toaster oven) for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and bread is crispy.

Turkey Soup
1.5 lbs cooked turkey, sliced
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stocks, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 rutabaga, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 cups turkey stock (chicken is also allowed, and please use more if needed)
salt and pepper to taste

Put the stock in a large pot, with the potatoes and turkey, over medium heat.

Heat one tbsp of oil in a large pan, add the rutabaga, grate one of the cloves of garlic over the rutabaga and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until the colour on the edges begins to change (about 5-6mins). Add to the stock.

Heat the second tbsp to the large pan, add the carrots, celery, and onions. Grate the remaining two cloves of garlic over the vegetables and stir. Cook until onions begin to turn clear, and carrots are slightly tender (about 4-5mins). Add to the stock.

Cook the soup, over medium heat, until vegetables are tender (about 30 minutes), and broth is tasty:) Add salt and pepper to taste.

So Delicious! Are there any hunters in your family? I have to say, the wild is good eating. Oh, and just for clarification, you can only hunt the males. So the big guy in the middle is what Reggie caught:) Look at me, so proud!

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Spring Cleaning: Freezer (Part II)

As a continuation to last Sunday's post about cleaning out the freezer I have a few more recipes this week. You will see I have lots of goodies in my freezer/fridge that need attention. And especially since things are starting to come in already! Thanks Reggie! I hope you enjoy these tasty meals:

20 Minute Spicy Leftover Soup

2-3        hot Italian sausages

4 tsp     chicken stock powder

3 cups   water

1 cup    pumpkin purée

1           onion, chopped

1 tsp     minced garlic

2           celery stocks, chopped

3           medium carrots, peeled and chopped

¼ cup   red lentils

1½ cup cooked rice

1 tbsp   chopped fresh cilantro

Pan cook the sausages, remove from heat, slice thinly and set aside. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add chicken stock powder and pumpkin purée. Meanwhile, in the pan used for the sausages cook the onion until they are soft and becoming clear, add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the carrots and celery and cook until they begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the sausages, veggies and lentils to the stock, and reduce heat to medium. When lentils are almost cooked (about 6 minutes) add the rice. Allow soup to simmer for 5-10 minutes (depending on how much time you have), and finally add the cilantro and simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and serve immediately with bread and cheese (it helps reduce the heat from the sausages). Store leftovers in the fridge for up to one week.

When opening a can of something, like tomatoes or tomato paste I always put any extra in the freezer, and this recipe is a great way to use up these little bits of things.

 

Enchiladas

6          tortillas

1-2 cup cooked rice

500g    ground bear (feel free to use beef or anything else)

½ tsp   minced garlic

½         onion, diced

1 cup   diced tomatoes

½ cup  tomato paste

¼ tsp   chipotle chilli powder

1 can    mixed beans

¾ cup  frozen corn, thawed

½ cup  grated Monterey Jack cheese

½ cup  grated old cheddar cheese

2 tbsp  chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the ground meat (in my case I used bear, because we have lots) with the garlic and onions. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chipotle chilli powder. Reduce for about 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and lay out tortilla shells. In each tortilla spoon equal amounts rice, meat mixture, beans and corn. Sprinkle cheese (reserving ¼ cup) and cilantro (reserving about 1 tsp), over the open tortillas. Close each tortilla with a toothpick, sprinkle remaining cheese and cilantro over all six tortillas and bake for 20-25 minutes, until tortilla edges are brown and cheese is melted. Store leftovers in an airtight containers in the fridge for up to three days.

And finally, my favourite, dessert:

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

1¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup  unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp    baking powder

¾ tsp   baking soda

½ tsp   salt

½ tsp   cinnamon

¼ tsp   ground cloves

⅓ cup  butter, margarine

1 cup   granulated sugar

1          large egg

¼ cup  milk

1½ cup pumpkin purée

½ cup  chopped pecans/walnuts/chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Sift all dry ingredients together in a small bowl, set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar; add egg, beat well. Stir in milk pumpkin* and nuts (or chocolate chips). Finally, add dry ingredients and blend well, do not over mix. Pour batter into a greased bundt** pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before turning out of pan. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream! Store leftovers (if there are any) in an airtight container for up to five days.

* You can use any veggie you have stored away in your freezer, grated zucchini, squash purée, sweet potato purée, etc.

** If you do not have a bundt pan use a loaf pan, and cook for 60mins, or until toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs

 I hope your weekend is going well. I'm about to head outside, and get some sun! Write you soon!

Game in the Freezer!

I refer to my close Newfoundland friends as family. The way they took me in to their homes, and shared stories, experiences and life lessons was so special I couldn’t think of them any other way. 

On September 12^th, 2009 we woke up at 4:15am, packed the truck and piled in. I was going on my first hunting adventure! We were going to get a moose. I was so excited I’d never been hunting before, let alone moose hunting (and only ever shot a gun a few times, once during target practice for this event). I was amazed that I was wide awake at such a dark and early time of day. But I was excited to see what the day would include. I’m not going to do into too much detail, take a look at the collage below. We were successful! We got a fine young Bull Moose, and he was good eating (as my Newfoundland family would say).

After I returned from Newfoundland that year I was lucky to meet the man of my dreams. Many people thought that I would meet a Newfoundland boy, move there and never return to my Ontario friends and family. However, I met my future husband in Ontario! And even though he thinks I am a little obsessed with Newfoundland, I think he is also a Newfoundlander at heart. He lives to hunt and fish, which follows the traditional hunter/gatherer self-sufficient way of life! I am afraid I don’t have a moose recipe for you, but I do have a scrumptious plate that my love made for me recently. Roast venison, with asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. Delicious!

I will give you the ingredients for the roast, but I don’t know the exact recipe as I have only ever had it cooked for me.

Maple Roast Venison

1          roast

1 lb      maple smoked bacon

3          onions, cut into large pieces

1 pkg   onion dip mix

1 bottle beer

As far as I know, you layer the bacon and onions on top of the roast, put the onion mix on the very top and add the beer. Put in the oven (with a meat thermometer) at 350˚F, and cook until thermometer reads med-rare (as beef).

Happy hunting! See you soon!