This time of year we have a freezer full of deer meat, so deer steaks are on the menu almost weekly. Fried deer steaks are wonderful, but messy to cook and not very healthy. Grilled deer steaks are amazing, but not when you have to grill them in below-freezing weather outside. In comes the good old crock pot to save the day…

I’ve had this same crock pot for almost twenty years! It’s got some scratches and burnt-on food on the outside, and it’s not very fancy, but it has never let me down. My family has enjoyed countless meals from this miracle of a machine, including this deer steak recipe.

The deer steaks cook all day in the crock pot, but there’s a small amount of preparation first – if you were to just throw the meat in there with some water and seasonings, you would basically just be boiling the meat, and that doesn’t sound very appetizing. I like to brown my steaks a little bit in a skillet first, giving them some color and locking in their flavor.

Start by tossing your steaks around in a bowl with whatever seasoning you want – I used Tony’s seasoning, garlic salt, and Worcestershire sauce – along with a couple spoonfuls of flour.

The little bit of flour will give the meat some texture when browning it, but not a thick breading like when frying it.

In a skillet barely coated with oil, brown the seasoned steaks in batches just enough to give them some color, about a minute on each side. You don’t want to cook them all the way, just sear the outsides. They will finish cooking in the crock pot.

Add each batch to your crock pot until you’ve browned them all, saving the leftover pan drippings to make your gravy.

In the same skillet, add a spoonful of flour and whisk into the leftover oil. Once the flour is completely combined, slowly whisk in hot water (I used about 3 cups) to start the gravy. Be sure the water is hot – cold water will not whisk in as easily and your gravy will be lumpy. (You can also use chicken or beef stock to give it more flavor, but I didn’t have any on hand.)

Now for the secret ingredient – onion soup mix!

Whisk in a packet of this and your plain old gravy will instantly turn a beautiful brown color and make your kitchen smell amazing! Now pour your gravy over the deer steaks and let the crock pot work its magic!

I cooked mine on low for about 8 hours, and the house smelled amazing all day.

I served mine over rice this time, but you can also serve them over mashed potatoes, cheese grits, white beans, or anything else you can think of.

They are so tender from cooking all day, so flavorful from the onion soup mix, and have a beautiful color from browning them first.

Thanks y’all!

– Nikki

 

This pasta uses ground sausage and LOTS of cheese, perfect for cold winter nights! (Or if you live in Louisiana, warm and muggy winter nights!) The kids loved it as well, and didn’t even notice that it had vegetables in it because of all the cheese! There is no baking involved – everything goes in one big skillet – so it is super easy to make.

Here’s what you’ll need…

• 1 lb ground sausage (I used deer sausage)
• 1 box pasta (I used penne, but any kind will work)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• salt and pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes
• parsley
• cream cheese (1/2 block, or 4 oz)
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• shredded parmesan cheese

Start by boiling your pasta, then drain it and set aside. While the pasta is boiling, start browning the ground sausage in a large skillet. (You want to use the biggest skillet you have, because everything will end up in there, including the cooked pasta.)

Once the sausage is cooked through, move it to one side of the pan and add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the other side. If your sausage did not make enough grease to cook vegetables in, you may have to add a little butter or oil for them. (I used deer sausage, which is very lean, so I had very little grease from it. I used about 1 tbs olive oil for my vegetables.) Season vegetables with salt and pepper while they cook.

Once the vegetables are tender, add the jar of marinara sauce and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, and stir everything together until it is well combined. Next melt in the cream cheese – this will turn the sauce from a red color to a dark pink color, and will make it thick and creamy. Once the cream cheese is completely blended in, add in the cooked pasta and toss it all together so that all pasta is completely coated with sauce.

Cover entire top of pasta with mozzarella cheese (I used a small bag of pre-shredded) and a handful of parmesan cheese, then turn heat off. Put a lid on the skillet for about 5-10 minutes, and the heat will melt the cheese on top.

Once the cheese is melted, sprinkle a little parsley on top to make it pretty, and that’s it! The sauce is thick, so between that and the melted cheese, it tastes like something that has been baking for a while. No one has to know you only used one pan!

The vegetables disappear under all the cheese, so the kids aren’t questioning what all is in there before they take a bite. And since everything goes in one big skillet, there are less dishes to wash. I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine did!

Thanks y’all!

– Nikki