I’m almost ready to host the next big snowstorm sleepover.   The freezer is filling up with venison and turkey stock and Christmas cookies.  Add a few loaves of raisin bread and stock up the bar in the man cave and we’re good to go.

John spent all day processing his two Bambis.  After dinner  I joined in the fun of processing the ground meat and  wrapping the little roasts and stew meat.  To protect from freezer burn, we wrapped the roasts and stew cubes in plastic wrap, then a layer of freezer paper, labeled with the cut of meat and the date.  A final protection from a ziplock freezer bag and into the freezer it went.  (John did not put the year on his wrappings.  I wonder if he plans to eat that mystery meat when it is finally discovered behind a mountain of frozen pesto.)

The nice thing about John cutting the meat himself is getting what we really can use packed in  1 lb. amounts that work for us.  We often are given venision steaks, but I prefer roasts and stew meat for making crockpot meals.  And ground venison can be used almost anytime I would use ground beef.

Tonight, while John kept at his butchering, I made spaghetti with meat sauce using fresh ground venison and some of the Dan Wilson spaghetti sauce that Kristin and I made at the end of summer.  The meat from the young doe was so tender and the sauce had a lively kick to it.  Perfect on this cold, blustery night.

                                                                                                                             

So, here’s Kristin (before she knew she was pregnant and having a BOY!) with the secret ingredient in dear ol’ Dan Wilson’s spaghetti sauce.  We made the sauce in August just as school was starting.  I’m not going to post the recipe now because no one has 15 lbs of fresh tomatoes at the moment.   Well, if someone makes a fuss, I will.