Second Season Tomorrow!

Wish me luck! Second season starts tomorrow.
We plan on doing some spot lighting tonight then heading out around 6:00 tomorrow morning.


P.S. I'm bringing my orange head band for you Erica!

ELK Taco Soup

Today we had a Soup Swap at work and thus I was challenged with makeing my first ever batch of Elk Taco Soup on Sunday afternoon.
It was so easy and so tasty, I know this is going to become a quick staple every year. Give it a whirl (feel free to sub beef, turkey, venison or buffalo).

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground elk
• 1/2 of an onion
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 (15 ounce) can mild chili beans (or a can of Kidney beans)
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes 
• 1 (4 ounce) can Ortega fire roasted chopped green chilies
• 1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven or large kettle, cook onions and then beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain fat. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
2. Top with sour cream, cheddar cheese and sliced avocado
3. Serve with homemade white corn bread

For the past month I've been dabbling around with pear jam recipes and this is the best one I've found by far. Thought I'd share it with those adventurous enough to give it a try.  However, being the impatient person that I am, I did make one change to it... I used pectin. :) Good Luck!

CHUNKY VANILLA PEAR JAM
Adapted from “Perfect Preserves” by Nora Carey (Stewart Tabori and Chang, 1990)
Posted in the NY TIMES

5 pounds pears, preferably Bartlett
Grated zest of a lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
16 ounces frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups water

• To sterilize your jars and lids, fill a very large pot half full with boiling water. Add the empty jars and lids and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Keep the jars in the hot water.

• Peel, quarter and core the pears. Chop them in small cubes and toss them in a bowl with the lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside.

• In a large heavy saucepan combine the apple juice concentrate with the vanilla bean and the water. Boil it over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and add the pears and their liquid.

• Bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat and cook, stirring frequently, about 45 minutes, or until the mixture thickens enough to hold its shape on a spoon and has reached nearly 220 degrees on a candy thermometer.

• Using tongs, carefully remove the jars and lids from the hot water and drain them. Fill the jars with the hot jam, leaving 1/4 inch headspace at the top of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jar clean with a dampened cloth and fit the lids on the tops of the jars. Screw on the bands very firmly. Lower the jars into the water and add more hot water so that the water is one to two inches above the jars. Bring to a boil. Cover and boil gently for 10 minutes. Remove the jars to a rack and cool completely. Do not invert.

This recipe contains no added sugar or pectin, something you’ll find in traditional jam recipes. It uses the natural fruit sugars to give a more natural sweetness. The end result is not as gelled or sweet as regular jam, but this leaves you with something that resembles a thick pear sauce. You won’t believe how flavourful this recipe is, especially with the vanilla bean. I had some of the jam over french toast the other day and it was incredible!