Venisonburger Soup

Oh, baby, it's cold outside. And the snow is falling sideways, going with the flow as the ferocious wind blows today. You know it is bad out there when the Mackinac Bridge is closed.

We are covered in snow up here in the backwoods and it's too bone chilling to go out and enjoy it.

There is a Florida trip in our future plans but all of my summer clothes are packed in totes which are upstairs in the unattached cold garage. Brrrr...don't know when I'll start packing. This cold spell looks like a long one. There is a fire in the wood burner out there in that garage of ours, but I'll have to stoke it up some before I venture out in my heavy jacket, furry yooper hat, warm gloves, while wearing my Muck boots because they come up to my knees. 

Looking forward to a week of sunny and (hopefully) 75...Sing it with me if you are a Country Music fan!

Somewhere, somewhere, Sunny and 7555555...

by Joe Nichols

Steve and I are under the weather a bit. Steve more than me. Just head/sinus colds with the cough. He is sleeping in a bunk by the wood stove, the dogs on a blanket right next to him on the floor. I can't tell you for sure which one of those dozers is snoring.

So when there's nothing else to do -- make soup! And maybe I'll perk up our spirits a bit by sharing with you pictures that remind me of summer. If yer so inclined to try this recipe, it is available to print at the bottom of this post. Here goes...

Last week we were in the Soo and I stocked up on fresh produce. I knew what I wanted to do with them purdy peppers - put them in a soup of some sort. Well, with all the venison in the freezer, the meat was a no-brainer. I took out a package of ground venison and instantly thought of a juicy hamburger, topped with all the fixins'. But I was cold, and I wanted to make something that would take the chill out of me. So I began making a soup while thinking about what I would put on my burger were I to have one. (But I didn't. I made soup instead. Are you still with me?)

Now, normally I wouldn't put peppers on a burger. But they were such purdy peppers. Onion. Yes, definitely an onion would be on my burger.

And bacon.

I love bacon burgers.

Add ground venison and garlic (because I love garlic, too).

At this point things don't look all that yummy.

Remember the purdy peppers?

I chopped them up...

...and tossed them in.

I added 3 cups of beef broth, a bunch of spices, a few sliced jalapenos out of the jar, as well as a large tablespoon of the jalapeno juice in the jar, and I let it simmer awhile. Now for the kicker...I love tomatoes on my hamburger, don't you? And I had all these cherry tomatoes I picked up at Gordon Foods Service last week. I love to munch on them as a snack, but they just looked like they needed to be in my soup. So this is what I did...

I popped one in my mouth, then I washed and dried the rest.

I drizzled extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) over the tomatoes and tossed them up. (Don't you love the EVOO decanter? My mom gave me that for Christmas. Thanks mom!) This picture is freaky blurry but it hides the clutter that has nothing to do with tomatoes or EVOO. Remember, I live in a teeny, tiny, minute, small, itty- bitty, pocket-sized, modest, meager, humble ...oh, where was I? Back to turmatoes...

I placed them in a single layer on a roasting pan lined with foil which I had sprayed with cooking spray. After that they went into a preheated 425 degree oven for an hour, turning them at 30 minutes.

They came out so yummy. Roasting them gives them a sweeter, summery taste.

Once the soup had simmered 20 minutes or until the peppers were tender, but not mushy, I added the roasted tomatoes.

Add shredded cheese (cheeseburger!) and enjoy! And yes, it takes the chill out! And what I found nice is without beans or pasta (I love both), the result is a low carb yummy winter soup that reminded me of summer, only if I didn't look out the window, and see the cold, and all the snow out there, and the big snow plow that just turned around in our driveway, and the cold. But if you don't care about carbs, get yourself a big hunk of your favorite bread to dip into this soup (the bun, perfect ending).  

Do you want to give it a try? Here is the link to the Printable Recipe.

Delishness from the back country woods!!