Doe, a deer, a female deer

I remember finding out that Josh was a hunter. I made him watch Bambi and had an hour long conversation about why I felt it was wrong. He ended up "winning" the conversation, and I decided to go with him one year to see what it was about. Needless to say, my mind was forever changed and hunting is now something I look forward to doing every year.

I would say 95% of the meat we eat is venison. It definitely took me a couple of years to get used to. It doesn't come as nicely packaged as chicken breasts or nice bacon wrapped filets. Aside from that, the smell and taste is very different than what I grew up eating. I had no idea how to cook it, and it's very hard to find recipes that my whole family will eat. Most venison recipes are a lot of the same, and I prefer a lot of different meals. So, I use venison in a lot of recipes that call for beef, I just season the meat first. No one knows it's not beef until I tell them. So, I figured that since I found it hard to find a good variety of recipes, I would post recipes that our family loves. And trust me, I cook for some of the pickiest eaters around. Tonight I made a new one and even my daughter ate all of it.

Pan Sausage with Bowtie Pasta in Vodka Sauce

ingredients:

1 lb. venison pan sausage (2 lbs. work too if that's how you process it)
Worcestershire Sauce
Garlic salt
Italian Blend seasoning
1 pkg. Bowtie pasta
1 jar Vodka Sauce (I used Emeril's)
1 diced tomato

1. Brown sausage in Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Drain.
2. Add Vodka sauce and diced tomato to sausage.
3. Cook pasta following directions on package. Add to sauce and stir until blended.

You could also add shrimp, onions, etc. Venison pan sausage tastes similar to Italian Sausage in this dish...so yummy! I always use Worcestershire Sauce on venison, it gives it more flavor and keeps it from drying out.