Can You Say Venison Tenderloin??

Whitetail deer season is all this week in Wisconsin.
My son Tyler bagged an 8 pointer on our hunting land.
Tyler is a high school biology teacher -- generally clean shaven :-)
(My husband took the picture -- I thought "he done good")

.....jean

Wild Rice Meat Pie

     A couple years back my daughter and I went to a "green" fair at The Menominee College in Keshena, WI about 9 miles north of us.  It is on the Menominee Indian Reservation.  For a nominal fee, lunch was served.  "Meat Pie" and "Corn Soup" was served up and cooked from scratch by some fantastic Native American cooks!!

    We were raving about one of the meat pies that was extra special, and didn't that cook sit down with us and tell us just how she made it!  At home, "from my head", I tried to duplicate it.  A few practices later it has become one of my husbands favorite meals. (Although we don't have it often :-)

Making The Wild Rice

4 cups of water

2 cups of wild rice

1/4 tsp. salt

Put it all in a 4 qt. pot.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for 50 minutes.

Make sure it is a pot with a tight fitting lid, not one with "steam vents".

After you know it's simmering, absolutely no peeking!

This makes enough for two "pies".  I put 1/2 in the freezer till I make another.

Making The Pie Crust (2 crusts)


Mix together 2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup of lard, & 1/2 tsp. salt
with the pastry blender until "pea size".















Add 1 beaten egg, and 3 TBL. cold water.
Mix just until it all holds together.  Use a smidge more water if you need to. 
Divide into 2 balls (shown is 1 crust)



















Roll out the bottom crust.
Don't even worry about making it "perfect" size.
Put it into a 9 x 11 pan.
(Grandson Logan was supervising)

 






















Making The Meat Filling.


Brown 1 lb. of hamburger or venison.



















When hamburger is browned, add 3 cups of water with 
 2 heaping TBL. corn starch mixed in till smooth.
Add 2 heaping spoonfuls of "Better Than Beef" flavoring.
("Better Than Beef" is in the bouillon section of the store.  It's a paste in a jar.)
Add the rice. (1/2 of the recipe)
Now let it all simmer until a gravy is made. (It doesn't take too long.)
Pour it all over the bottom crust.



Add the top crust and prick.
Again, the president isn't coming to supper.
Don't stress over making it pretty.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until crust is brown.




Wild Rice Meat Pie --- Yum!
  Caution!! Wild Rice has lots of fiber!
You're going to want to eat more than maybe you should :-)

 

How's Your Vitamin D Level?

     I just got back the results of my vitamin D test.  Right in the middle of normal.  Sounds good right?  Well, it didn't happen over night.  Two years ago when I was tested it was almost non-existent.  If you live in a northern latitude and are not taking vitamin D, I guarantee you, yours is low too.  Today I take 5000 I.U.'s of vitamin D every day.
     Over these last 2 years while getting my level back up, I've been trying to learn how they kept their vitamin D levels up back before the days of a capsule.  Well, for one thing, they ate liver.  I know, you all just curled your nose.  But, the fact is, liver is one of your best sources of vitamin D.  I save all the organic chicken livers from when I butcher my chickens, and am determined to find a recipe for liver pate that everyone will eat. (I'm still working on it).  When Rick bags his deer in the fall, I am all over him to bring me back the liver rather than leave it out there for the coyotes.  If we can't bring ourselves to eat it, at least we can cut it up into dog treat size, freeze them individually on a cookie sheet, put them in a freezer bag to store in the freezer for a month (to kill any worm larvae), and then feed them as the healthiest dog treats ever!  My dogs love frozen liver treats.
     Another good source of vitamin D that I read up on, is drying shiitake mushrooms gill side up in the sun.  I can't remember the exact amount of vitamin D they absorbed, but I remember being so impressed with the number that I was going to start doing it. (It was a lot)  I still haven't built something to dry things in the sun and keep the flies off at the same time, so it hasn't happened yet --- maybe this summer.  Then you would throw some mushrooms in your chicken soup every time you made it. 
     Vitamin D is so important for making hormones and keeping our immune system up that if you have never had yours checked, well, you should :-)