Out of all of our venison meat, Mark enjoys making beef jerky the most.  And who doesn’t love beef jerky.  Even those that don’t enjoy venison, enjoy these tasty beef jerky snacks. 

He was up at 4:30 a.m. this morning making up a couple of batches.   

Here is what you need: 

4 lbs venison meat

1 Package of seasoning for jerky.  We used what is pictured below.

Dehydrating tray.

Jerky gun.

In a large bowl, mix venison meat and seasoning according to package directions.  Mash together.  Take a handful of meat and roll up to fit in tube of jerky gun.  Put in jerky gun and shoot out onto dehydrating tray as shown below.  Dry at your dehydrators setting for meats, which is probably about 150 degrees and cook for approximately 5-6 hours. 

The holiday season is underway.  Is your landowner on your list?

This time of year it is always nice to show your appreciation to those whose property you hunt on.  So I thought I would share some great ideas.

• Share your venison meat.  Whether it be beef jerky, sausage, steaks, etc.
• Their favorite drink.  Wine, whiskey, beer, moonshine.  (Ok not the moonshine but I just had to say it.) 
• Cash is always nice.
• Gift certificate.  For a restaurant, local grocery store, or retail store.
• Offer to give them a helping hand.  Maybe they have a project in the works.
• A basket full of their favorite items.  Anything from cookies, snacks, fruits, books, maybe even a couple of gas cards.
• Pie.  Everyone loves a homemade pie.  My brother John makes a great homemade apple pie.  Yummy!

Use your imagination and don’t forget the thank you card. 

This past week was a busy week for a lot of hunters.  In reading other’s blogs, I have seen a lot of nice deer taken.  It was no different around our household.  Mark and his brothers have been hunting on and off since the season opened.  Mark’s brothers have all gotten their bucks and a few doe.  Here is a picture of Mark and his brother Joe with their does they got this past week.  One of the doe’s in the picture is Mark’s brother Kennys but he was the one taking the picture.

Mark & Joe

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my blogger friends.  Hope you and your family and friends have a wonderful day. 

Mark and I are cooking for about 20 people.  We are cooking a 25 lb turkey in the oven and Mark will be frying a 12 lb turkey outside.   We are suppose to get 2″-4″ of snow today.  Hopefully the weather will hold off until later this afternoon.  

Hope you all enjoy your day and hunters be safe! 

If I was a better Hunter’s Wife I would:

• Make all his meals and freeze them for his 2 week hunting trip.   (I did go with him to get his groceries.)
• Get the flannel sheets he asked for.  (I can’t bring myself to purchase something that will not only make him sweat all night but shock the heck out of his a$$ from the static.)
• Rake the leaves in the yard while he is gone.  (First of all I am not allowed to cut grass.  He is “The Grumby Neighbor Guy” who’s grass the neighbor kids have to tell their friends “Oh my god, you better get off his grass!”  So to clean up leaves you call his friend who owns a landscaping business.)
• Find interest in his hunting stories.  (Ok, I am really working on that one seeing I blog about it. )
• Ask hunting questions.  (I will have to readup on that one.)
• Show enormous concern when he missed the biggest buck of his life. (This actually happened recently with his bow.  I will never hear the end of that one.)
• And last, when driving in the car with him, help him scan open land for deer.  (I actually secretly do this even when I am alone.) 

Today is opening shotgun season in Indiana and other states.  Good Luck Hunter’s and be SAFE.  For us wives, go get a massage, manicure, pedicure or call a friend for lunch.

Everyone has their favorite recipes for Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.  I am going to post a quick and easy recipe for the Hunter to throw in the crock pot while out hunting.

1 Cooked Rotissere Chicken - Most grocery stores have them.  Cut off bone in bit size pieces.

2 Lg cans of Chicken Broth.  I like to use the box kind or chicken stock.

3 Stalks celery diced

1 Onion diced

1/2 bag baby carrots sliced

1 Bag of extra wide egg noodles

In a crock pot, mix chicken broth, chicken, celery, onion, carrots.  Turn on low.  GO HUNT!

After you’ve gotten that BIG BUCK, cook egg noodles in a separate pot as instructed on back of package.  Drain and add to crock pot.  Add salt and pepper to taste and you have yourself a big pot of warm Chicken Noodle Soup.

For a snack, slice deer sausage and put on a cracker with mozzarella cheese.

Thanks to everyone who left their comments on what to do for the common cold.  I haven’t had a cold in a couple of years until this year.  One of the keys is to keep your immune system strong by eating healthy fruits, vegetables and venison. 

Here are some favorite remedies:

• Homemade chicken soup.  This is actually my favorite.  Not the stuff in the can that taste like metal. 
• Warm fluids; Hot cinnamon tea, hot spiced cider, a glass of red wine and one of Mark’s favorite’s Presidente Brandy. 
• Vitamin C, Goldenseal and Zinc lozenges.  You can find these in any store.  I prefer the brands from the health food store. 
• WASH your hands, WASH your kid’s hands, WASH your spouse’s hands.  I carry around sanitary wipes in my purse and wash down the grocery cart, the escalator rails at the mall or airport.  Anything you touch in public.  Door knobs are full of germs. 
• A hot steaming shower or bath.
• And last but not least, REST.  Get lots of rest.  Tell everyone to go away for the day or lock yourself in your room and watch some of your favorite movies. 

I am not a doctor, these are just some favorite remedies.  If you are pregnant, have heart problems and the like, check with your doctor before taking any supplements or drinking a shot of alcohol.

I wanted to post a video tribute to honor our Veterans on this day.  I searched hours to find the perfect video.  The one I chose is about 8 minutes long but I thought the music and pictures just touched my soul. 

At the end of the video it shows Amazing Grace by Patsy Cline.  It is actually Leann Rimes and I don’t think anyone can sing it like she does. 

Not only is Mark my Hunter but he is also my Marine.

Today’s recipe is quick and easy.  We all love that kind of cooking, especially the hunter who is out hunting while his meal is in the crock pot cooking.

• 4 lbs venison roast
• 1 can of your favorite beer (Yum!)
• 1 bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce   

Place venison in crock pot.  Pour can of beer and barbeque sauce over venison.  Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours.  Then turn on low for 6 hours.  Roast should be nice and tender.  Remove venison from crock pot and set aside.  Pour excess broth from crock pot into a separate bowl.  Put venison back in crock pot and shred.  Spoon in desired about of broth with the venison and mix well.  Let cook long enough to warm of the juices you added.

Put on vienna buns or rolls of your choice.

I use vienna buns and lay on a cookie sheet, spread a little butter on each side and cook in oven for about 5 minutes.  Just long enough to toast and melt the butter. 

Place your barbeque inside buns and ENJOY! 

All of you hunters have gotten your wish.  The cold weather has kicked in and with that comes the flu season.  I told all of you I was going to be punished.  Well it happened this past Friday.  Mark was off to hunt for the weekend and at about 11:00 a.m. the sneezing started and the sweating.  I could NOT get sick.  I had a list a mile long of things I wanted to get done.

I was sick in bed from Friday night until Sunday.   I did nothing all weekend but sleep, eat soup, drink tea and sleep.  I am the biggest baby when it comes to being sick.  I like to be spoiled and for Mark to make sure I am covered up, make my tea, bring me soup, get me a kleenex, turn on a good movie.  All the things a 5 year old needs.   

While I lay there in my pitty party, Mark was enjoying himself hunting.   You think he would’ve ask if I wanted him to come home.  Yes, I actually just said that.  I was having a “I don’t know what I want moment”.  I don’t have them very often but when I do, I am just a …….  )(@#*$)*@#$.

Today is Wednesday and I am still fighting this darn cold.  I use to go to the doctor for everything and over the past 2 years I swore I would never go to one again.  I turned from using antibiotics on a regularly basis to natural remedies. 

So I would like to ask all of you the following:

What is your best remedy for the common cold? 

With this cold weather, we want to keep all of our hunter’s healthly.