Thursday, October 9, 2008

Goose Stew

Thanks to Mark Ketchum for inspiring me to try this! My only other time I had tried Goose was at the Roger house years ago...when Moose was a puppy. I will never forget him running circles around the living room. She had made us "Elk" stew and I could not get over how good the meat was when she found a pellet in hers. She called Mark who had given the meat to them and he started laughing hysterically! He had marked the meat Elk tenderloin so people would take it. He knew if he marked it Goose it would go to waste. All these years since people had called me crazy because I would tell them that Goose was the best meat I had ever had. Even Mike told me to buy hot dogs for a backup with my stew. He was convinced it would be awful! All these years later I finally got to make it. I was not disappointed! It was fantastic! I hope it does not take another 9 years to make it again.

OK, I am fully aware that most of my friends who read this will not even remotely care to try it, and those who might will not have Goose available! However, my husband was way impressed by this and wanted me to share it with his AC buddies. I figured I would post it kind of like the Pioneer woman does. However, I got busy half way through so I have a whole three pictures! Maybe next time. I will say that it was fantastic though. Mike and I LOVED it. We now have another food issue with Portis. He loved the Goose! He stands and cries now at the fridge thinking I will give him more of it. There will be no meat wasted at our house this season. I might add that Charlie thinks it is awful..funny he was the dog who would eat anything.

Goose Stew:

Start by soaking Goose meat overnight in 1/3 cup salt and 1/4 cup baking soda with enough water to cover. I use a ziplock bag so I can shake it up. In the morning or before starting rinse them off and cube.

Chop up celery and onion and saute in a pan with the butter.
In a bowl mix 1/2 cup or so of flour with salt and pepper or other seasonings if you want. Add the meat and shake. When the meat is covered add to a frying pan and brown. Add the garlic powder to the meat as it cooks, add as much as you are comfortable with.
When the meat is brown add it to the sauteed veggie mix and cook for a few more minutes. Then transfer all of it to a dutch oven, crock pot or any other slow cooker. Add your garlic. I use a press but you can add it how you want. I put mine in a Pampered Chef deep dish cooker that I have a cover for. Add about 2 cups of a good red wine and place in the oven or crock pot at 275-300 degrees for 4-5 hours. The longer it cooks the more tender it is. Add your chopped potatoes, rutabagas and carrots as well as more onion about an hour before. We love rutabagas but they do take longer to cook. I encourage you to try them but chop them up in smaller chunks(be prepared to pound they are tough little things) and put them in with a good hour or more to cook. They are fantastic though! We make a root mash that has them in it with potatoes...to die for! I should put that recipe on here for Thanksgiving.


~ 2 large goose breasts or other parts of the goose, cubed
~ 1/3 cup salt
~1/4 cup baking soda
~ 1 large onion, chopped
~ 1 clove garlic, chopped
~ 4 Tbs butter
~ 3 - 4 large potatoes, cubed..I use the canned potatoes. They are great for stew! and easy
~ 1 bunch carrots, diced
~ 1 bunch celery, chopped, leaves and all
~2-3 cloves garlic or more
~2 cups red wine
~other chopped veggies that you want Carrots, rudabagas, etc
flour
salt and pepper~
garlic powder


On a side note:
Make sure to bring your Goose home dead. Mike brought them home with one standing up in the back of the truck looking at me. It took everything I had not to run with him.



Matthew's teacher's conference

Matthew's teacher was kind enough to sneak us in this morning before Mike left for Antelope Camp. It was really fun to hear about how much he loves school. He is doing really well and she is very impressed by him. He ranks in the top 10(out of 15..just kidding 113) kids in the whole class! But more importantly he is a really kind and good kid! I would rather have him be a good person than a smarty pants. Mike took a picture of this journal entry that he had done. I love that he drew a picture of him and his grandpa riding bikes together. Bob and Cheryl...I could not tell you in a million words how nice it was to have you here with us. Mike and I were both deeply crushed waking up the day you left. Your visit was a HUGE blessing for all of us. I hope you both know how important you are to us. I really do wish that you lived next door so Matt could hang out with you more.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

A day in the city

We took Grandma and Grandpa up to Minneapolis and St. Paul yesterday. We had a great time. First we went to a large sporting goods store called REI. Matthew and I hung out outside and I got to practice with my new camera.
I always joke that Matthew and Charlie Brown have the same profile so I just could not resist getting this shot! Too funny.
We went to this great hole in the wall Mexican place. It was really yummy. The waitress took really good care of Mattie.
Our first time at Como Zoo. It looked great but we got there minutes before they closed so we had to zoom through everything.
Grandpa bought Matt a shark hat.
Mike and I could not get over these Lilly Pads. I walked by them the first time and thought they were fake. They were about 3-4 feet in diamater. Pretty cool.
Aw! A bench full of Willits!
I finally got to go to Izzy's Ice cream. They actually have a wall full of people that have been in there named "Izzy" I guess we should take Izzy up there Shana!
The ride home
Grandpa sleeping for once instead of Grandma.









Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Hiking at Oxbow Park


We went out to Oxbow park yesterday and took a little fall hike. It was really pretty and Matthew loved being with his grandparents. I loved being able to use my new camera. Here are some of the better shots. I had a lot that did not turn out but I am learning more every time.














Friday, September 26, 2008

Those dimples are nothing but trouble...

Here is Matthews 1st grade picture. I wish he would have let me fix his hair better, but it was pouring rain that day. He looks so big! Wow, they were not kidding when they said it all flies by once they start 1st grade.

I finally took the plunge!

After months of looking and comparing and debating, We finally invested in a SLR camera. I LOVE it. Jenny and I were talking this morning about how "things" are not what make you happy. Generally this is my feeling...However, this camera is working for today:-) It is so much fun and I don't even know what I am doing yet. Here are two of my first pictures. The dogs always follow Matt to the fence in the morning when he rides with Hannah. I love this picture. I hope to frame this some day and give it to him. Side note: I can see why my husband wants HD so bad now, you can see every blade of grass in this picture.
This is the second picture that I took with my camera. You can see every freckle when it is on the computer screen. Stay tuned I am sure there is a lot more to come!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Update on Portis...

OK, so right after I published my last blog the phone rang. It was the vet, once again. I think I have talked to them as much as my husband the past week. The pathology report had arrived and they had time to look at it. It was showing that the abnormal cells were reactive and not cancerous. That meant that it was probably Addison's after all. For all of you that have not been involved in our ongoing drama....Addison's is when the adrenal glands do not function. It is very treatable with meds. The first time we were told that it would be around $200.00 a month...YIKES, sorry boy. We love you but... However, after doing a bunch of research and talking to a few people online that have dogs with AD we have found a lot more affordable options. We should be able to treat it for under $25.00 if not less once we get him stabalized. The problem is waiting for the meds to show up now. It will probably save me that much to be able to get him back on regular dog food. He is so picky right now and yet he has to eat or he gets sicker. His body knows that he can not have to much extra or he feels worse. He really is a pain in the tail!

A little time to catch my breath

Living la vita loco! The past few weeks have been nothing short of a big blur for us. Matt started school, Mike's parents were here for a visit. I have a million orders. And on top of that Portis has been sick again. The vet has run some tests and we are waiting to see if it is Leukemia:-( He will only eat a few things...dog food of any kind not being one of them. He gets a lot sicker if I do not feed him every few hours because of the Predisone he is on. It has been exhausting. Thank God it is our dog and not our child. Mike's parents left this morning for Chicago. Bob is in a kayak race on lake Michigan on Saturday. Then they will come back through and stay a few more days. I am so glad because Matt was devastated this morning when he woke up and they were gone. It really made me stop and think about how nice it would be to live closer to them. They are so important to Matt. He will not leave Bob's side when he is here. It makes me think about Mike and how his grandpa was his hero too. He loves his grandma too, but there is something to be said about his relationship with grandpa Bob. Back to work....




Monday, September 15, 2008

Not a skill from us!

Matthew had his first pre-test today for spelling. He aced it. If they get all the pre-test words correct then they get harder challenge words for the Friday test. Those words are quite a bit harder. One is actually responsible, quite a jump from at and can! Mike and I are both horrible spellers that usually change words to ones we can spell so hopefully our two negatives will make a positive for Matthew's sake.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Even Monopoly has evolved....

We had a family game night over the weekend and Mike wanted to play Monopoly. I thought it would be to much for Matthew until we discovered the new "modern" Monopoly. Every player has a debit card starting out with...$15 million dollars on it. It makes the game so much quicker and a lot easier to set up and put away. It also has helped Matthew see how cards actually work....you mean the money is not "just there"?????? It was really fun and I am glad we made the investment. They also have it for the game of "Life" and the careers are Rock stars and Football stars! It just makes me laugh because I remember thinking "I wish this was real money" playing Monopoly. Matthew was thinking "I wish this was a real debit card"

Mike as always has to be the banker. He was really impressed by the new system. He thought this was the coolest invention ever.
Portis and Charlie had to be right by us. They slept on the floor at our feet while we played. I just wanted to show that it really was a true "family night"
Just in case you are wondering.... I was the winner! We ended with me having 36 million. Mike always beats me at Scrabble so at least I can say I am a better real estate broker.

Inside Matthew's Class

Mike and I had a parent meeting in Matthew's class tonight. We could not be happier with his school or teacher. She reminds me of both Mike's mom and his grandma. Here is some of his art work that she has up. I love this little cut out that he made of himself. Could his smile be any bigger???
Mike and I asked him why he wanted to draw his Beta fish and not Charlie in this picture and he answered because I wanted to use all the colors.
This was his drawing he had on his locker.
Here is a quick picture of his class. He sits in the back middle, right next to Hannah.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Selah's wall

I wanted to share this will all of my friends that check out our blog. I had this idea and Missy helped me run with it by being my guinea pig. I bought shadow boxes that hold 5 by 7 pictures and painted them. Then I put a letter on each one to spell out Selah's name. We added the vinyl vine in the background to tie them together. It is so much better in person. The letters are purple and the wall is a light lavender. The vine is chocolate brown. It is so unique. I want do add one in Matthew's room with boy colors and tiny footballs inside the boxes. I wanted to show all of you. Sorry, to my inlaws who are checking in for Matthew stuff!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

More pictures from after school

The weather had changed during the day and it was actually getting quite cold as I took these pictures. Imagine that, school starts and winter moves in, must be Minnesota! They wanted nothing more than to get in the car. I am glad I snapped these shots though because I think it would be really cute to get do this every year and see how they grow.
Matthew said his favorite thing about his first day was finding out that his Spanish teacher taught a class in "Chicago" Go Cubs Go!
After the near death cold experience of pictures I treated them to ice cream. 1st day of school treat. I loved hearing about the day they had.


1st day of school



This is the new bench Mike built for me. I wanted a place for the kids to wait as we gathered backpacks, put on shoes as well as coats and things later. I think it turned out really nice. It also holds all the shoes and things too!

Matthew and Hannah bright eyed and ready for the first day of school. They are even sitting right next to each other in class. How cute are they!

We are here!
There is no turning back now. They are both officially 1st graders.

Today was the first day of school for Matthew and Hannah. They were both very excited. It is hard to even imagine that summer is over and school is here. Hannah's grandpa put in a new gate sot that mornings go a little smoother for our car pool. Here is to another year! It seems so much more serious this year. The teachers calendar even has test days listed on it. Stay tuned, there will be more pictures after school.




















Thursday, August 7, 2008

Matthew and Mike shooting at each other

Today is Mike's last day of vacation. It has been a really good week for all of us. We took a quick trip to the Dells and had a great time. The first water slide we took Matthew on was called the Hurricane(do you remember that one Shana?..You thought you were going to die). It was quite scary and he did alright on it. He had to be 48" tall to ride it and he was just at the line. His face was enough to make his mom feel horrified. However, that was not the worst part of his trip. After mini golfing we noticed this roller coaster and the sign said that it was for 48" tall riders and above. Mike and I thought it looked like a small wooden roller coaster and decided to "treat" Matthew to it. It was the worst coaster I have ever been on! Mike had Matthew in the front coaster of all places. When they crested the hill Mike thought....Maybe, we should pull the break and think about this. The coaster was so fast and turned so hard that I have bruises from being thrown around!!! Mike cradled Matthew the whole ride and I was sitting behind waiting to grab him if he were to slip(The seat belt that goes under the real lap belt would not go tight enough, but the guy assured us that it was not important anyway). When the coaster stopped Matthew was silent. Very rare for him! He looked at the guy running the ride and said "Please no more" Then when we got out I snapped this first shot of him and he said "I was to scarred to cry" Mike and I have dubbed it the Roller Coaster of Doom and we are sure he will need therapy some day over it. However, he said he is glad he went on it because he can say that he did.


This water slide was a racing one that the three of us did. Matthew thought it was the best thing ever. He and Mike closed down the slide the first day they had so much fun on it.


This picture is for grandma. Matthew thought she would like to see a moose on top of a car.
Hi again grandma! Your two favorite boys with a moose.

The mini golf place we went to had a great view. One of our favorite things to do as a family is mini golf.
The resort that our passes were good for had a dry play area that rocks. Mike and Matthew played in it for a long time. This is a racing slide inside the structure. Mike took me out in the next second after the picture.
More golfing pictures.
Matthew on the race slide


This is my favorite picture of the week. We had so much fun and laughed so much and this picture makes me feel it again.


More golfing! It is easier to take a picture at a mini golfing place than a water park!
This is the non-Coaster of doom! It was at a great pizza place we ate at. All Mike and I could think of is how much our little neighbor boy Luke would love it because it looks like Thomas. Matthew found a free token on the floor and he dropped it in the bottom of his coaster and he spent the whole ride trying to pick it up....boys!
We had a great week. We played a lot of games and told lots of memories. It was a great. I will have to post some of the videos