Happy New Year

It has been quite a quite a while since my last post - been busy at work and sick for the past 3 weeks. But I have quite a few images of different meals and items. I won't go into all the recipes but wanted to show you a few of the outcomes..


Peanut Free Streusel Crunch Cake (secret ingredient Sour Cream)

This was done for my family's Christmas celebration - We have a peanut allergy in the house and all the foods (especially deserts) that you don't really know about makes it easier to make from scratch... Just did a google search for Peanut Free desert recipes and WOW there are lots of options.




Crescent roll mini taco bowls before cooking

These next two were necessity is the mother of invention - Football games - and snacks - and the pop tubes of crescent rolls about to expire...  Well we had some taco meat left over and thought, "why not...???"


 








After cooking Great little snack

They puff up pretty well and the dough was sweet and made a nice counter point to the heat of the taco seasoning














Maple syrup/brown sugar Acorn Squash with Mustard sauces Pork tenderloin 

This was a recipe my wife found in one of her magazines (for the pork) and I wanted to try the Acorn Squash   - while it took a little coordination to get it all to come together at one time it really worked well.   The incorporation of apples and apple juice or cider in the sauce ties the flavors together. Pork Tenderloin is so versatile and is like a blank canvas ready to paint with what ever seasoning you like.







Chicken Cactatore -  

This one is one of my favorites - While the McCormick recipe card (that comes along with all the herbs and seasoning you need) recommends cubed Chicken breasts I am partial to thighs - while it adds a little more time to the cooking process - the silky texture of the sauce provided by the breakdown of the collagen was worth the wait....  I highly recommend it.
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Pheasant Pot Pie Before

I saved the best for last - at least from Ike's perspective - We went hunting yesterday and Ike really did well- he was finding birds,  and even retrieved a few to hand for me.  I was very proud of him.  So in honor of his effort I wanted to make a pheasant pot pie.  So I boned the pheasant, checked for shot, cubed the meat and browned in the skillet.  Removed from skillet and then cooked some lardons of bacon to render out the fat so I could sweat out the carrots, celery and onions for about 5 minutes.  I then added a clove of finely chopped garlic and about 12 oz of sliced mushrooms.  I let those go for about another 5 minutes and then added one can of Cream of celery soup.  I added 1/2 can of milk and about 4 oz of Chicken stock.   I then added about 3 small potatoes I had cubed in 1/2 in cubes and parboiled  earlier.  I added a little (about 3 tablespoons) of the potato water to add a little more thickener.  Added about 1/2 cup each frozen peas and corn and tightened up the sauce a little bit and transferred it to two pre greased pie pans (or in my case one pie pan and one 8x8 casserole dish) and sprinkled a little shredded cheese on them.  I made a Bisquick crust - (pretty much right off the box with two little additions - added some poultry seasoning to the  mix and also sprinkled some more cheese on the top...  Baked at 400* for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and delicious... And it was - Perhaps a little more spice could be added but don't want to hide the taste of the pheasant... 

Pheasant Pot Pie  - After - Bisquick crust

Thanks Ikey - You did "Go find that Bird"!!!