RECIPE: Spicy Venison Chili

As harvest season begins to draw to a close the days grow shorter and cooler, bringing in both deer hunting season and tailgating season. Here's a great way to utilize those home canned tomatoes and harvested meat and please guests at the same time. This chili can be made ahead in large batches and frozen.

Chili has been frozen and thawed after 6 months. 

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs. Ground Venison

1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped

3 Cloves Garlic, minced**

2 Cans Chili Beans

2 Cans Chili Beans in Spicy Sauce*

2 Qt. Home Canned Tomatoes with Juice, diced

1 6 oz. Can Tomato Paste

3 Stalks Celery, chopped

2 Green Peppers, seeded and diced

1/2 Bottle of Beer (We use Miller Genuine Draft)

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp. Tabasco Sauce**

4 tsp. Beef Bouillon Granules

1/4 c. Chili Powder

1 Tbsp. Cayenne**

1 Tbsp. Cumin

1 Tbsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

* Use plain chili beans for mild chili

**Adjust amounts by half for mild chili

+You may substitute venison for any ground meat- beef, turkey, chicken etc.

PREPARATION:

In a large pot, brown venison together with onion and garlic. Drain any excess grease. Add all other ingredients to the pot, mix well and cover. Simmer chili for about 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. May be served topped with shredded cheese, if desired. 

To freeze, simply fill freezer safe containers with cooled chili, leaving about 1/2" head space. Stores well for about 6 months.

RECIPE: Bean N' Cheese Enchiladas

Mexican cuisine is one of our favorites! Here's a quick and simple enchilada recipe I've developed over the years. You can certainly add or reduce spices to suit your own tastes.

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING:

1 can Refried Beans
1 c. Shredded Cheese (Mexican or Mild Cheddar)
Mild Peppers- dash of jar liquid
1 tsp. Onion, minced
1 Tbsp. Frank's Red Hot
1/2 tsp. Cumin

Mild Peppers- 3 Tbsp. Pepper Rings
4 Burrito-sized Flour Tortilla Shells
1 c. Shredded Cheese
10 Minute Enchilada Sauce *See Below*
Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine filling ingredients thoroughly. Take tortillas and divide the filling equally among them, placing filling in the center of each. Roll up each shell and place them side by side in a 9x11 baking dish. Pour Enchilada Sauce evenly over enchiladas, sprinkle remaining cup of cheese over sauce, and top with mild pepper rings. Bake on 400 for appx. 20 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted. Serve with sour cream. Serves 4.

Can be served topped with lettuce, green onion, and tomato if desired. Spanish rice makes a nice complementary side dish.

*Mild peppers can be substituted with Jalapenos, Red Hot can be substituted with Tabasco, and/or add a tsp. of Cayenne for additional heat!

***ENCHILADA SAUCE RECIPE: 
Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce on AllRecipes.com

RECIPE: Dad's Dilly Beans

A favorite among Carrie's family,  these zesty beans make a delicious addition to a late summer's relish tray.

Dilly Beans- Made with Contender Bush and Yellow Wax.

INGREDIENTS:

Appx. 1/2 Bushel Stringless Beans (Contender Bush or Yellow Wax work nicely)

5 Cups Water

5 Cups White Vinegar

1/2 Cup Pickling Salt

12 Cloves Garlic, Whole

6 Heads Fresh Dill OR 6 tsp. Dill Weed

6 Cayenne Peppers, Whole OR 6 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

3 tsp. Black Peppercorn

Prepare 6 sterile quart canning jars with rings and fresh lids. (Can be easily done in dishwasher). Into each jar place 2 cloves garlic, 1 head fresh dill, 1 cayenne pepper and 1/2 tsp. black peppercorn. Pack each jar to capacity with beans (it is easier if you use large mouth jars and lay the jars on their side as you pack them!). 

Begin heating water to appx 140 degrees in a hot bath canner. Water should be deep enough to cover jars by 1" (appx. 1/2 full if using a 23 quart pressure canner).

In a non-reactive pan, combine water, vinegar and salt. Bring brine to a boil. Pour boiling brine into each jar, leaving a 1/4" head space. Wipe jar rim and place fresh lid on jar. Screw on rings to touch (not too tightly!). Lower jars into hot canner using canning tongs (available anywhere canning goods are sold). Be sure jars are covered by about 1" of water. If not, add more water to canner and re-heat to boiling.

Place lid on canner  and heat to full rolling boil (see directions for your individual canner before placing the lid. Some will call for removing various parts from the lid for use as a hot bath canner). Once it begins to boil fully, set a timer for 10 minutes. Continue boiling vigorously. After 10 minutes, lift the lid carefully away from you (to avoid steam burns), and let the jars sit for appx. 5 minutes. Use canning tongs to remove jars from hot canner and place on a towel where they won't be disturbed for roughly 24 hours. You should hear "pinging" noises occasionally as the cooling jars seal.

Store at least 2 weeks before serving, preferably a month. Makes appx. 6 quarts.

UPDATE: The Three Sisters

As I previously mentioned on our Facebook page,  this is our first year growing corn. We opted for the traditional Native American "Three Sisters" method. For a more detailed description and history, click here to visit Wikipedia.

For our "experiment", we planted:

*Peaches and Cream Hybrid Bi-Color Sweet Corn

* Self-Saved Greasy Pole Beans

*American Seed Dark Green Zucchini

We planted the corn in groups of 4 seeds in each mound roughly 18" apart in late May.Within about a week, little grass-like stalks popped up after a good, soaking rain. I wish I could find the original packaging for the brand-name, every last kernel we planted germinated! (We purchased the seed at Rural King.) 

After our corn stalks were about 5-6" tall, we then planted 3 beans and 3 zucchini around each group of 4 stalks, about 6" from the stalks in a circular pattern. (Although the traditional method calls for Yellow Crookneck Squash specifically, we opted for Zucchini, since we prefer it.). And then, we waited... Then waited some more...

Two weeks had went by when we finally got a few days of steady rain and seedlings began to appear. We've had a fairly dry, cool summer thus far, so I figured that was part of the delay. But in the end, our self-saved beans, who have never given me a problem in the past, germinated at a less than 85% rate. Granted, we used some leftover 2012 stock, but it shouldn't have been an issue.

I made a very big mistake with the Dollar Tree American Seed packets. A less than 50% germination rate occurred for the zucchini. Of an entire packet of White Lisbon Bunching Onions I planted in my herb garden, not a single seed germinated! I wouldn't recommend them and won't purchase them again. I figured I'd give them a whirl. While you really can't beat $.25 per packet, you really do get what you pay for...

Anyhow, as you can see by the photo, the drier than usual conditions haven't been helpful. We don't have an irrigation system, nor a hose that can reach from the house to the garden, so it's been hoofing gallon jugs full of water from the end of the hose to the garden. Interestingly enough, however, the neighbor's field corn seems relatively unaffected and I really haven't seen their sprinklers operating at all.

Since we don't use any chemical pesticides, there have been a few insects (probably grasshoppers) feasting on the bean leaves a little here and there, but nothing of major concern. Since our garden was previously a horse pasture just 2 summers ago, we're still fighting a war against weeds. But, all in all, the plants that did germinate, while perhaps a bit stunted, are growing along steadily.

So far, other than the poor germination, we're pleased and plan to employ this method again next year, assuming the harvest will be average or better for the number of plants we do have. I'll keep everyone posted!

P.S. Be sure to keep your goat away from the corn, they find it delicious!