Maple-vinegar Marinated Frenched Venison Racks

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Venison is one of those common, yet rare meats to find. Deer are plentiful throughout the northeastern woodlands and has been an important food since pre-colonial times. But somewhere during the history of America, it became a less common meat and though deer still roam in large numbers, it is hard to find venison in the grocery store or on dinner menus.

Most of my experience with venison has been with the wild kind that has been hunted and meant to feed a family for months. There’s only so much venison jerky you can stomach in the winter months before you need to call it quits. But recently, venison has been making a resurgence in fine dining. I’ve had venison sausage, venison ragu, and most recently venison heart tartare.

That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to receive some grass-fed, free range New Zealand venison from Marx Foods. Venison, like other meats, has unique flavors depending on its habitat and diet. I was excited to compare North American venison to New Zealand venison, especially since it wasn’t “wild” and wouldn’t have the traditional gamey-ness.

Though I created a few meals out of the venison I received, the recipe I am featuring today is from Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian Cooking. Since I made this the week of Thanksgiving, I thought it seemed appropriate to reach for a very traditional Native American recipe that was simple and focused on the flavor and quality of the meat itself.

The flavors were kept simple out of respect for the venison and served with a warm roasted sunchoke salad tossed with spinach, quinoa, and a ginger vinaigrette. The meat itself was firm yet easy to chew. Pieces that were more rare tasted grassy with a strong iron after taste while pieces that were more cooked had the texture of pork and a more neutral flavor.

About  the  Venison

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Silver Fern Farms Venison is grass fed and pasture raised in New Zealand’s open fields and rolling green hills.

Farmed venison comes from deer born and raised on lush, green New Zealand pastures and has a fresh, consistent, delicate flavor, whereas game venison comes from hunting wild animals, which provides an inconsistent eating experience and a tough, “gamey” flavor. The animal’s natural leanness means it’s a lighter, healthier red meat option. It has more protein than any other red meat and is rich in iron and full of B vitamins.

Product provided for review.  All notes & opinions are my own.

Thank you Marx Foods for the opportunity to taste this unique venison.

Two-Pea Chicken Salad #MadeWithChobani

Two Pea Pesto Chicken Salad, Made with Chobani

It’s no secret that I am a fan of greek yogurt. I like the slight tang that it offers and the thicker consistency. Even my cat, Leopold enjoys it!

When I received a lovely package from Chobani as part of their #MadeWithChobani campaign, we were so excited!

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We’ve already set to work putting the greek yogurt to use in many ways.

Replacing  Sour  Cream  or  Mayonnaise

Using Greek Yogurt is a great way to make a dish healthier while still keeping the tang of sour cream or mayonnaise. Some ways that I’ve used greek yogurt to replace those ingredients are:

Adding  Creaminess  to  Sauces  and  Soups

Sometimes you need just a little more creaminess in a dish but you don’t want the added fat. I often add some Greek yogurt to my dishes to help emulsify sauces or thicken broths. Recently I boiled some pasta, added some Indian Vindaloo sauce, mixed it with Chobani Greek Yogurt and Voila!.

In  Desserts

Yogurts are a good dairy-alternative in baked goods as well, especially breads and muffins.

As  the  Star

And of course, who couldn’t love an amazing yogurt dip to cool a hot dish or a frozen yogurt?

Other  uses  for  Greek  Yogurt

Check out Chobani’s recipe section for more inspiring recipes using greek yogurt!

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Product provided for review.  All notes & opinions are my own.

White Bean Chicken Chili

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This chili is one of my favorite uses for rotisserie chicken whenever the local store is having a sale on it.Even though it has a lot of ingredients, it comes together very quickly once you have everything measured out.

It’s warm, spicy, and incredibly healthy. It tastes even better the next day after all of the spices have soaked into to the beans and chicken, intensifying. You could halve this recipe to yield a smaller amount, but this can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container. I like to top mine with some cheese, chia seeds, or non-fat yogurt as well as the cilantro, but you can dress it up with anything!

Banana Pudding

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Banana pudding holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first things I made with my husband when we were dating. It’s incredibly easy to make and there is almost no way to make it not taste delicious.

That’s why when I was assigned Wendy from “A Day in the Life on the Farm” for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, my decision was easy. Wendy and her husband Frank are retired police officers that escaped the city and live on a 12-acre farm. She made this pudding for brunch after Christmas which reminded me that it’s a great crowd pleaser. It fit the bill perfectly for my brother-in-law’s girlfriend that was visiting from out of town for a dinner party at our place.

It’s impossible not to like banana pudding! It’s absolutely delicious. To elevate it a little bit more I drizzled some salted caramel sauce on top. I served these in highball glasses as dessert. I can also attest to the fact that they are good in the morning because I ate all the leftovers for breakfast the next day — Wendy was smart serving this at brunch!

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Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

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For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I had the honor of being paired up with the owner, Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes.  Sadly, it won’t be a surprise that I had her blog since she sends out the assignments, but hopefully I can surprise her with what recipe I chose from her massive list.

I combed through her recipe index, pausing on Almost White Castle BurgersFauxtisserie ChickenDulce de leche Cheesecake Bars. My husband helped me decide on Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs since we had been craving some ribs and he’s always a sucker for barbecue sauce.

We recently purchased a slow cooker, so have been looking for new ways to use it. Unfortunately, we have the smallest Crock-Pot in existence so we have to be careful when reading recipes. We made ⅓ of the recipe and it fit perfectly into a 3 quart pot. It was hard to find only 2 pounds of ribs but our local grocery store luckily had smaller portions pre-packaged.

These ribs turned out finger-licking-good (literally). The meat fell right off the bone and the charred bits from the broiler were my favorite part. Served with chips or smashed potatoes, I was transported to a outdoor summer picnic (while still sitting in my air-conditioned dining room.

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