Shepherd's Pie Soup

 Ingredients

• 2 lbs potatoes, chopped (peeling not necessary if you don't care about the skin)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1 lb. Ground Beef, 85% lean (I used venison)
• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 Tablespoons salted butter
• ¼ cup flour 

• 4 cups Chicken broth (I used 4 cups water, 6 bullion cubes)

• 2 cups half & half

• 3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
(season at your own risk, you know the rules)
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage

• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

• 1 bag mixed frozen vegetables

• Salt/Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Boil & Mash Potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut them into thirds. Add to a stock pot and cover the potatoes with 1 inch of water. Add the salt and boil gently for 10-15 minutes or until very fork tender. Drain, then gently mash with 1 Tablespoon of butter and sour cream. Set aside.
2. Cook the Beef: Cook and crumble the ground beef over medium-high heat until cooked through. Drain grease. Remove the ground beef from the pot and set aside.
3. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat in stock pot. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
4. Whisk in flour, use a silicone spatula to stir as the flour cooks for 1 full minute to remove the raw flour taste.
5. Add the chicken broth slowly, stirring continuously. 
6. Add the Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, mustard powder, and sage. Slowly add the half and half. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
7. Stir in the potatoes until well-combined into the broth. If necessary, use an immersion blender to blend until creamy. 
8. Add the ground beef and frozen vegetables and allow them to heat through, about 5 minutes.
9. Remove from heat. Gradually sprinkle with shredded cheese and stir until combined. Make sure the base of the soup isn’t too hot or the cheese won’t melt creamy and smooth. The soup will continue to thicken as it sits.
10. Taste, season with salt/pepper if desired and serve!

---

Original recipe found on The Cozy Cook. Posted by Emilee.

Venison Stroganoff

 Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 1 1/2 pounds venison backstrap (or any cut of venison/steak), in one piece

• 2 large shallots, minced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 pound sliced button mushrooms

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1/4 cup Madeira wine or sherry

• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

• Dill pollen to garnish (optional)

• Heavy cream, optional (to loosen sauce)

Directions:

1. Salt the venison well and let it sit on the cutting board for 20 minutes. Get 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan good and hot over medium-high heat. Pat the venison dry and sear all sides well in the butter. Cook it until it's rare to medium-rare. If you don't know how to determine this, use the finger test for doneness. When the meat is ready. move it to a cutting board and let it rest.
2. Add the mushrooms to the pan and turn the heat to high. Soon they will give up their water, and when they do, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When most of the water has boiled away, add the rest of the butter to the pan along with the shallots and saute everything for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic, toss and cook over high heat for another 3 minutes or so. Sprinkle some salt over everything.
3. Add the Madeira/sherry and toss to combine. Let this boil down furiously. While it is doing so, grate some nutmeg over the mixture. When the Madeira/sherry is mostly gone, turn the heat down to low. Slice the venison thinly and return it and any juices that have collected on the cutting board to the pan. Stir to combine and add most of the chopped fresh dill.
4. Stir in the sour cream and turn off the heat. Stir to combine and let it heat through from the heat in the pan. Do not let this boil, or even simmer, or Very Bad Things will happen. Think nasty curdled crap. 

Serving suggestions: over egg noodles or, as I would personally suggest, homemade spaetzle. 

Posted by Emilee