Garden Saute

This past summer my garden determined what I cooked. I'd go pick what was ready and brain storm as I did it. Thats how this recipe was born. Its ridiculously easy and you could throw anything in it. Its delicious, too! This recipe has it all. Clean eating and loving every bite of it! You have got to try this!

Now being October and my garden season coming to a close I'll miss my shoot from the hip meals from my garden. But you can always get this produce at your local grocery store so this dish can go year round!

Wanna fork?

Garden Saute

1 Pound ground burger meat (Elk, beef, whatever you have!)
1 Yellow onion, chopped
1 Zuchinni, chopped
1 Yellow squash, chopped
1 Pound green beans
4 Green onions, chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped chives
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Teaspoon montreal steak seasoning (Add more as desired.)

Cook your burger meat in steak seasoning. Once cooked set aside and saute your garlic in butter until fragrant. Add veggies and saute until cooked. Once cooked add burger to veggies and stir together allowing to saute for about five minutes or so.

Serve with warm Dinner Bread and enjoy!


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Elk Tenderloin With Whiskey Cream Sauce

 When I fill my tag on a beautiful elk one of the first thoughts that crosses my mind amongst many others is, "I CANT WAIT TO COOK THE TENDERLOIN!" Such a delicious piece of meat and a perfect way to celebrate a successful hunt and getting meat in the freezer to feed your family. 

I hunt for lots of reasons. Tradition, passion, perseverance, feeding my adventurous side. Its my happy place to be in the woods and the memories made out there during hunting season are irreplaceable. Even during non hunting seasons. Above all though I hunt to feed my family. Its an empowering feeling to know you have put meat in the freezer to prepare for your loved ones for the coming year. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into it as well. Rather than grabbing something wrapped in plastic out of a grocery store, I go out in whatever weather conditions that are handed to me and ethically hunt an animal to harvest. The hunt of the animal can lead you into some far places and the attempts and fails just fuel your fire to wake up the next morning and try again but once you have succeeded its is glorious. Approaching the animal you harvested with much anticipation and excitement. Once eyes are laid upon your trophy the celebrating and hugging with high fives and hollering begins. Sometimes tears of happiness. Your hunt has been a true success and your hard work has paid off. Doesn't mean your hard work is over though, after some pictures to keep for treasuring the memories made it becomes all about the meat.  Although the hunt may have been targeting what the animal has on its head to measure its trophy quality when you have succeeded and harvested the animal the meat is top priority. Horns last forever, wild game meat requires lots of care. It truly becomes a labor of love. You sometimes work long into the night packing out your trophy and its meat on your back to get it home. Even once you've pushed your muscles to the limits packing out a heavy load numerous of times on your back the work isn't over. Once home you break the meat down and process the meat into steaks, roasts etc. Then wrap it all up in little packages and put in the freezer. The whole process is hard work but it leaves you empowered. Conserving the wildlife for the benefit of the land and providing to my family after conquering yet another hunt. Specially after a hard hunt, it is emotional every time I fill my tag because I feel truly blessed that luck played in my favor so I could provide to my family but when a hunt has been hard and trying with lots of miles hiked the feeling of success is overwhelming. After explaining all of this  I'm sure its obvious how special and important this all is to me. Its not just a hunt, its not just about the horns, its about more than just those examples even though they play a part. Its a well rounded process for me and for reasons like that make me love hunting so much. Its in my blood.

To make a long story short this recipe does this piece of meat pure justice without fussing to much with the meat itself. The whiskey sauce compliments its perfectly as well. This recipe is a keeper and absolutely delicious! Even for non-hunters this recipe follows suit with beef tenderloin and will go great with the sauce as well! I hope you have enjoyed understanding how special meals like this are to my family and all the steps it takes to get to this wonderful meal around the table!

Grab your knife, grab your fork!

Elk Tenderloin With Whiskey Cream Sauce

For the meat

1 Elk tenderloin

Montreal steak seasoning

Garlic salt

Olive oil

For the sauce

1 Onion chopped

8 Tablespoons of butter

1 Cup whiskey

1 Cup beef broth

1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 Teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of salt n pepper

*Thicken with a dash of gravy flour if needed.*

Take your tenderloin and drizzle with a little olive oil. Spice the meat with all the spices to your liking. Doesn't take much just sprinkle to lightly coat the meat. Allow to sit and become close to room temp marinating in extra juices and spices on a dish.

Caramelize your onions in a pan over medium high heat with the butter. Once onions are translucent turn down heat and slowly stir in your whiskey. Allow to simmer until half of mixture evaporates and strong whiskey smell subsides. Once that has happened stir in the beef broth and allow to simmer and thicken. Stir in heavy whipping cream allowing it to continue to bubble. Sprinkle some salt n pepper and let sauce simmer and continue to thicken. If sauce seems to still be a little loose add some gravy flower quickly whisking it in. 

Heat your grill to a a medium heat for grilling meat. Once heated start to grill your meat. Allow 5-8 minutes on each side depending on size. Spoon on extra spices and olive oil from the bottom of the dish during the cooking process for extra flavor. Remember to take your meat off a little early since it will continue to cook as it sits. Let it sit as a whole piece for about 5 minutes before slicing down.

Cut against the grain and serve with whiskey sauce drizzled over the top! Enjoy with a beer or cocktail and some heavenly side dishes!

Bon Appetit and live, laugh, love and HUNT!

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Fresh Salsa & Roasted Corn Guacamole!

Ahhh the week of independence day! Preparations for celebrations! BBQ's, picnics, pool parties or even camping out with family & friends enjoying the outdoors. What do all these celebrations have in common? FOOD! Of course other things such as laugh's memories and so on... but you gotta eat, too! We snack, we eat, we pig out on things we probably shouldn't but hey! Its a holiday! 

Grab a cold one and a handful of corn chips and indulge in these two festive and above all delicious dips!!

Crisp, spicy, and delicious! 

Fresh Salsa

8 Roma Tomatoes

1 Bundle cilantro

2 Jalapeños

1/2 Purple onion

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 Teaspoon cumin

1/2 Teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 Teaspoon chili powder

1/4 Teaspoon sea salt

1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper

The secret to this salsa is my best friend in the kitchen. My Cuisinart food processor . This thing makes salsa a magical experience. Plus its fast! Insta salsa! Who doesn't want that? Okay Mia, get to how we do this already!

Cut you tomatoes into 4 wedges and drop into processor. Rough chop your onion and cilantro and jalapeños since the processor will do the rest to chop it down. Add all your spices and lemon juice. Pulse with processor until it takes on Salsa consistency.

Always, I repeat ALWAYS  test with a chip before calling it done. See if theres any flavors you want more of in there. Once happy with what you got let the dipping begin!!

Click here to print this recipe!

WARNING, Do not grab chip and try to dip it in screen. 

Roasted Corn Guacamole 

6 Ripe Avocados Pitted and scooped out of skin

1 Bundle Cilantro

1/2 Cup finely chopped purple onion

2 Ears corn roasted and cut off cob OR 1 can or whole kernel corn

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 Teaspoon cumin

1/2 Teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 Teaspoon chili powder

1/4 Teaspoon sea salt

1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

If you roasted a couple ears of corn just remove kernels and add to all ingredients. If your using canned corn which is perfectly fine. Its how I do it a lot of the time. Drain and rinse your canned corn and fry in pan with a little butter until it takes on golden brown look. Let cool for a few minutes and add to all your ingredients 

Mash all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until chunky/smooth consistency you desire. Again, ALWAYS chip test before putting away all the spices! We all have different pallets of what we want in out guacamole. I usually kick up the spice every time! Just remember the longer the sit the more flavor comes out.

*Tips* Didn't finish all the guacamole? No problem for storing without worries of finding a brown batch of guacamole the next day! Put leftover Guacamole in container you plan on storing in. With a spoon smooth out the top of it in a flat surface. Pour a couple tablespoons of lemon juice over entire top of guacamole. With saran wrap firmly place against guacamole. Make sure its air tight and pressed up against guacamole with lemon juice and TA DA... green guacamole tomorrow!

Click here to print this recipe!

So kick back with a cold one and enjoy these two yummy recipes perfect for your holiday celebrations!

Family ties and Garlic Fries!

Our blog was recently contacted by a representative from Fanatics , a sport apparel site. Their site is a great one stop shop for all your fan gear for your favorite teams - whether your looking for MLB hats to NFL jerseys, They've got it all! With a wide selection at great prices you can gear yourself up to cheer on your team in style very conveniently. Anyways, they were searching for bloggers to share their experience with sports and how it brought their family together.

Did not take me long to know that I had plenty of stories to share along these lines. I mean c'mon... when you can sit down as a family and ALL cry like babies at the end of the movie Rudy, sports has brought your family together. No ifs, ands or butts! 

My childhood was full of Giants baseball & Niner football! My mom, dad, uncle, Nono & Noni (Grandpa and Grandpa) watched every game; whether it was from the stands or the couch at home. We were proud fans and cheered on our teams through the ups and downs. We had season tickets to 49er's stadium, Candlestick Park, for home games. Although life wouldn't allow us to go to every game since we lived a few hours south of San Francisco, we would still make a point to go to a few and those are times I won't ever forget. Especially times watching games with my Nono as he is now passed on. He loved the 49ers and was a true fan.

Earlier years I can remember tailgating out in the parking lot of Candlestick Park. The crowd you would find yourself surrounded by was thrilling. All the fans getting pumped up for the game and already whoopin' and hollerin'. You can't help but get caught up in it. Then you start to head for the stadium and the anticipation builds... Crowds get louder... you get closer, closer, closer. The smells of garlic fries, beer, hot dogs fills the air... you keep climbing up steps to get into the main stadium. Once you have reached it you feel a breeze coming out of the tunnel. You walk through and your eyes lay upon a pretty awesome sight. Huge green field and red and gold everywhere. You're in NINER NATION and there's no mistaking it. You get goosebumps. Crowds fill in and music starts to play. Players getting loosened up on the field. You know what's coming! Fireworks, cheerleaders, crowds screaming as the 49ers take the field. National anthem plays and jets fly overhead. Oh yes. Major goosebumps! Coin toss, kick off.... the loudest part to a game you would think. Crowd goes CRAZY, screaming and cheering. Think that's loud? Try when your team gets a touchdown! People on their feet jumping up and down and passing high fives all around. Do you know these people? Nope! But when you're in Niner nation you're all family. 

Old photo's from our "Double Hitter Day"

The year of 2002 was an exciting one to say the least. To be exact, October 6th, 2002! Giants were in the playoffs and Niners were starting out their football season strong as ever. I remember talking to my Dad one night and him saying we're gonna go up to San Francisco here in a few days. I just bought division series tickets to watch the Giants play the Braves at Bell Park. My excitement exploded! Then he added, "But first, were gonna go watch the Niners play the St. Louis Rams at Candlestick!" WHAT? Same day? Oh yes! This was happening! Early afternoon football game and head across San Francisco to an evening Giants game!

The day came for the big games! We had a hotel room in downtown and took advantage of the bus service in San Francisco! There was a street where buses were lined up to head to Candlestick; the streets crowded with Niner fans. We got on the bus and people were already chanting, "Go Niners!" and phrases like that. I knew it was gonna be a good day! The game was amazing! Niners blew the Rams away and put them to shame. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing. Being there with my parents made it all the more special! A little excited girl sitting between her parents. I loved the side of my parents I'd see at the games. My mom was crazy even if she was sitting on the couch at home watching, but in the stands her spirit is wild. My dad is the same way. To cheer on the Niners and have them score usually turned into a big family hug! Smiles all around. The game left my ears ringing and my voice cracked and we had not even made it to the Giants game yet! 

The Giants game was ohhh so much more intense! This was the division, people! The big game is in sight! Do or die. We were sitting in the bleachers up against the outer field. Oh yes... hit them home-run balls right to me! No doubt the 49er game was filled with excitement but the crowd at the Giants game was totally different. These people knew the World Series was at stake and were cheering with every bit of themselves! Including us! Voice? Oh yeah.. totally gone! We stress ate our weight in garlic fries at both games. They smell so good! So that makes it okay right? Ha! The haunting smell of garlic fries that you can't say no to. Anyways, the Giants beat the Braves in a sweep! There were a few home-runs and some balls came into the bleachers we were in! It was amazing and a thrilling experience. Hitting both games and our teams winning both. A day to go down in the books for sure! I had a blast with my parents that day. We finished off the night lumbering back to our hotel and ordering room service and watching a funny movie! Sports hangover the next day? Totally!

Sports was always and will always be a part of our family. Sitting down and screaming at the T.V. in excitement to see our teams win. Celebrating with jumping up and down and hugging. Its different when you're in the atmosphere where it all goes down but memories can really be made sitting at home rooting on your favorite teams from the couch! Memories made with my parents and family that I'll never forget. Sports has brought our family closer in so many ways and left me with memories I'll cherish forever! Take your family to a live NFL game or a baseball game! Stock up at Fanatics.com first though!

Below is a recipe of one of our favorite ball park snacks! With a fun twist, this recipe will have your house smelling like the stadium! Watch out! That was a warning! Cook at your own risk! Addiction will occur! 

Lick your screen, You know you wanna! Don't try and take a bite out of it though.. been there tried that. OUCH!

GARLIC FRIES

6-8 medium sized potatoes. I used gold potatoes. 

Oil for frying

3 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3-4 Tablespoons minced garlic

1 Teaspoon parsley

Dash of sea salt

Using a mandolin slicer with julienne attachment slice down your potatoes into fries. Lay them out on a single layer of paper towels and dab over with more paper towels to dry. While drying,  heat oil in deep fryer or pot to 375 degrees. While oil is heating saute garlic with oil in a pan until it becomes fragrant and gold. Add butter to pan and melt in the the garlic mixture. Add half teaspoon to mixture leaving some for to garnish with the salt. Fry your french fries in small batches for about 5-6 minutes or until golden. Let drain and transfer to a deep platter. Repeat frying process until no potatoes are left! 

Once finished frying all your potatoes its time for the magic to happen. Pour your heavenly buttery mixture over the fries and toss around to get them all coated.  

Sprinkle a little parsley and salt to your taste over everything and enjoy! 

My only tip for this recipe is that it goes PERFECTLY with an ice cold BEER! So sit back with one and enjoy!

I hope you have enjoyed this post. I certainly enjoyed letting you in a little of my personal life. Sports has left me with cherished memories and I have thoroughly enjoyed letting you in on some of them!

Click here to print recipe!