Puppies and Venison Loin

Blondie had her puppies last Wednesday night!  She did really well too, 2 males and 1 female.  The female is already spoken for with a deposit on her! 

This was Blondie's first litter and she really did do good although she accidentally bit off one of the male puppy's toe when she was biting the sack off.  So I had to make a trip with them to the vet Saturday morning so they could fully amputate the toe since it was hanging by a thread.  The vet said that he had seen that happen before though and it's not a big deal at all.  He snipped it off and the puppy didn't even cry and only bled one little drop.

Ricky surprised me with a new camera for Christmas! He was so excited to give it to me that he had me open in on Sunday and I've been having fun playing with it.

I've been wanting a new camera for a couple years now but it was a total surprise that he got me one.

Sunday night Ricky had decided to make his bacon wrapped venison loin again and invited his parents over to eat with us.  They had fun playing with the kids while he was cooking dinner.

Both laughing!

what crazy kids :P

The master Chef:

Doesn't he look so manly? :)

That's some deliciousness on a plate... I made some potato skins and green peas to go with it and everything was eaten and every plate was licked.

Ricky's parents were extremely impressed with his cooking skills and kept asking him all these questions about how he did it.  They even said that he should open his own restaurant, ha ha!  Seriously though, that venison is awesome.

Joanna giving her best sad, begging face for a candy cane off the tree.  Don't you feel sorry for her?

Silly girl.  I've been feeling kind of overwhelmed with all the things I need to get done before Christmas.  I'm really behind on Christmas shopping this year and wish that it was done already because I still don't feel like going out to get everything.  I had my follow up appointment with my midwives on Tuesday and they said everything looks good and healthy.

If you have venison in your freezer you really need to try this recipe:

Applewood Bacon- Wrapped Venison Loin

With raspberry preserves

Ingredients:
1 venison loin (back strap) all silver skin removed
1 cup whole milk
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
Small handful black peppercorns
1 bunch fresh rosemary, picked off the stem and chopped
8 oz jar raspberry preserves
1 cup water
¼ stick unsalted butter
1 package apple wood-smoked bacon, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1.  Cut venison loin in half and soak overnight in refrigerator with whole milk, garlic cloves, black peppercorns and rosemary.

2.  To prepare the raspberry preserve sauce, combing raspberry preserves and water in a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Swirl in butter. Set aside and keep warm

3.  Drain the milk from the venison, discard all other ingredients, and pat venison dry with paper towels.

4.  Lay out the bacon strips on a cutting board, slightly overlapping each piece (forming 2 large bacon sheets). Place a loin on the bacon and gently roll the whole piece, covering in a sheet of bacon. Repeat process with the other half of the loin.

5.  Season the bacon-wrapped loins with salt and pepper.

6.  Place a large cast-iron skillet, seasoned with vegetable oil, on a stove over medium-high heat. Place loins in the hot skillet, seam side down, sear for 4-5 minutes, until the bacon becomes crispy. Turn over and sear other side for same amount of time. With a pair of tongs, continue to turn venison to sear all sides, so the bacon is crispy on all sides. Cook to medium-rare.

7.  Pull Loins out of skillet and let rest for 2 minutes. Gently slice into medallions and fan across a plate. Drizzle with raspberry sauce