A 2 for 1 kind of day

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  I know it is only the day after Christmas and still the holiday season, but I really wanted to get this post out there.  I have been so busy the last few weeks that I haven't been able to post anything. Well, today I have a homemade recipe of my own and a wonderful recipe to share that I just found today from a personal website.  Hope you enjoy!!!
If you know me, then you know I love to make stuff homemade as much as possible.  My first recipe I'm going to share was found out of laziness and necessity.  It was the day after Christmas (today), and I was still coming down from all the excitement from yesterday, and my husband informs me "Honey, we have no creamer" as I was going to get a cup of coffee.  I said "WHAT!!!".  So, needless to say, I didn't get my cup of coffee until about noon :(

I was in my jammies and cleaning left and right, all the while trying to figure out what to do with my coffee dilemma. I decided that I wanted some pumpkin spice creamer but didn't want to go get any; besides I have like 20 cups of pumpkin puree in my freezer!!

So I  searched and searched and guess what?? I found my new favorite website: Alaska from Scratch!!! I must have spent at least 45 minutes looking at this ladies website and I was in pure heaven:)  I found her recipe for homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer and wanted to share it with you.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

Ingredients

• 1c prepared Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup, chilled (click on link to get recipe for syrup)
• 2c half-and-half cream
• 1/2t vanilla

Instructions

1. Stir the ingredients together until well combined. Use as you would regular coffee creamer. Store in a jar or sealed container in the refrigerator. Shake before each use (as the pumpkin will settle to the bottom).

Notes

You can adjust this entirely to suit your preference. Like your coffee more sweet, but less creamy? Add more syrup and less cream. Or vice-versa. Tweak it until you find your ideal combination. 

**For the syrup, I used my homemade pumpkin puree which is a little thinner than canned**

**Hubby reports that he used the same amount as store bought creamer but it doesn't turn his coffee as light in color as the store bought**

We made ours with 2 cups of whole milk because, as I said, I did not want to go to the store.  It still turned out good but will probably be thicker with half and half.  Hubby LOVES it!! Yay, will have to try other recipes after this.  Our new cheaper creamers!! 

Now for my second recipe: Venison stew.  I love eating with venison in the fall/winter.  Usually we have eaten it all up by the spring.  I know not everyone likes it, so you can substitute the venison for beef.  I use either one.

I love this recipe for many reasons.  It is delicious and stirs up wonderful memories.  I am thankful for my in-laws that have taught me how to cook with it, especially my mother-in-law.  I have friends that come from hunting families that have always been there for me: Stephanie and Christine.  And it also gives me a chuckle when cutting up the meat thinking of my friend Amanda who didn't want to hear about when my hubby went hunting with his dad.  She likes her meat, just not to listen about the process:) Like I said, not everyone eats Deer.  I also have the wonderful memory of debating in middle school with my friend Elaina against another team as to the sustainability of hunting.  To us, it is free fresh meat.  Our children love it, and eat it more willingly than beef.  To them, it is normal.  So on with the recipe.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do at our house!!

Venison Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 can Tomato Soup (SOUP not sauce)
• 1 14 oz can Beef Broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 can Fire Roasted w/Garlic Diced Tomatoes
• 2-3 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1.5-2 lbs venison, cut into 1 inch pieces ( I used venison steaks) (you can also use beef)
• 2-3 potatoes, cubed (optional, I didn't use them in this batch)

1. If using venison, make sure it is all thawed out. Like I mentioned, I used steaks because we didn't have a roast to cut up.

Steaks just out of wrapping.

2. Unlike beef, you need to trim the strapping off the steaks.  Not everyone does this, but we do because it makes the venison taste less gamey. You want to trim off just the right amount but not too much.  Venison is a lean meat to begin with and trimming off too much will make it too dry.

The picture above shows what I trimmed and what I left.  The blue arrows show the darker and thicker fat that we cut off.  I use a really sharp knife and cut just the fat with little or not meat taken off.  The yellow arrow shows wonderful marbling that I leave.  That is just the right amount and doesn't harm the flavor.  The green arrow is slivers of fat that run through the meat that you can't always cut away.  If it is thick, I cut along the line when cutting it into pieces and cut the fat off.  If it is just thin marbling, I leave it for flavor.

3. Stir the soup, broth, water, seasonings, tomatoes, carrots (& potatoes), and venison in a slow cooker. (smells wonderful before it even starts cooking)

4. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.  Make sure veggies are fork tender.

Enjoy!!

mmm...Stew!!

I served with crescent rolls.  I usually do my homemade biscuits but just didn't have time tonight.  I hope you find this yummy.  It is hard to find really good venison recipes out there.  It was so good that my husband and I had seconds and he asked when we were having it again for dinner!!

Happy cooking!!

Amanda