Those of you who come from a background similar to mine know that it's deer season. And it's this time of year that you switch from the usual ground beef, pot roasts and steaks to ground deer burger, venison, and deer roast. Deer can be a bit tricky to cook since it tastes a little more game-y than regular beef. Easily fixed as long as you know what to do with it. It's not like burger you can just throw on a grill or a steak you broil. It needs to be seasoned and/or mixed with other meats because it is very lean. So I made my first crock pot of deer chili and here's the recipe I used.
1 lb of ground deer
1 packet chili mix
3 tbsp of chili powder
2 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 can of black beans
1 small white onion
1 tbsp of garlic
1 tbsp of fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp os sea salt
and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
Now, I love my crock pot and I am a firm believer in not having to cook anything before it goes into said crockpot. So I actually started the chili last night. Let it cook on low until this afternoon and it switched to warm(it has a timer). Served tonight and the husband loved it, as did I.
Random thoughts,
My extension got kicked back because it was the wrong format. NBD. It got redone at drill weekend and has been resubmitted. Apparently they're not worried that I'm less than 60 days from my ETS(the day I get out). *insert nervous laugh*
We played volleyball tonight. It was MUCH more fun this week. "All-Star" seems to have quit, as we guessed, along with our "captain" who broke her wrist. We got 3 new girls all of which are super nice, know pretty much what they're doing and our communication vastly improved. I look forward to the rest of the season now.
I think I've convinced IG to turn our hallway closet into a pantry. My friend Em's pantry looks about the size of our closet so I want to mimic hers. That's what I'm asking for for Christmas! :)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Today is bittersweet
Today is Veteran's Day. Today is a day that we remember those who have served, past and present and thank them for that sacrifices.
This day always puts me in awkward situations. I often get text messages, facebook messages or people who thank me on the street. While I appreciate being thanked, I never really quite know what to say. I love what I do and have since day 1. My deployment sucked, hello it's a desert! But I feel weird saying "you're welcome" because I feel that I was just doing my job. More noble/courageous/brave/whatever than most jobs? Maybe. But to me, my passion and desire to serve is still my job.
I do what I do because I love it so thank you to all of you who thank the veterans in your life and the ones you see on the street.
And to those who don't support the war, protest the troops, think we're fighting in vain,(especially the Westboro Baptist Church) I hope you enjoy your freedom of speech. America is the land of the free because of the brave.
This day always puts me in awkward situations. I often get text messages, facebook messages or people who thank me on the street. While I appreciate being thanked, I never really quite know what to say. I love what I do and have since day 1. My deployment sucked, hello it's a desert! But I feel weird saying "you're welcome" because I feel that I was just doing my job. More noble/courageous/brave/whatever than most jobs? Maybe. But to me, my passion and desire to serve is still my job.
I do what I do because I love it so thank you to all of you who thank the veterans in your life and the ones you see on the street.
And to those who don't support the war, protest the troops, think we're fighting in vain,(especially the Westboro Baptist Church) I hope you enjoy your freedom of speech. America is the land of the free because of the brave.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Bear with me
As I change some things around. I'm still new to this blogging thing.
How do you like it so far?
How do you like it so far?
Christmas came early
IG had been wanting an Ipad forever. I have been browsing the Apple store for a few months debating back and forth on whether or not to get him one. Then I found a refurbished one, for about 47% cheaper than a brand new one. Sold!
Well, FedEx tried to deliver it yesterday and guess who got home and got the door tag before me? Yep. So he begged and pleaded and whined and I gave in and let him open it(after we went to pick it up.) Needless to say he was happy as a kid on Christmas. So happy, in fact, that he stayed up until 3 am playing on the darn thing. I gave up waiting for him at around 11 pm. So now, he's lying next to me sleeping, at not even 9 pm, to catch up on what he lost last night. Silly boys and their toys.
What's on your Christmas list?
*sidenote*
Happy 235th birthday to the United States Marine Corps. I hope my brothers and sisters in arms have a blast(safely) at their birthday balls.
Well, FedEx tried to deliver it yesterday and guess who got home and got the door tag before me? Yep. So he begged and pleaded and whined and I gave in and let him open it(after we went to pick it up.) Needless to say he was happy as a kid on Christmas. So happy, in fact, that he stayed up until 3 am playing on the darn thing. I gave up waiting for him at around 11 pm. So now, he's lying next to me sleeping, at not even 9 pm, to catch up on what he lost last night. Silly boys and their toys.
What's on your Christmas list?
*sidenote*
Happy 235th birthday to the United States Marine Corps. I hope my brothers and sisters in arms have a blast(safely) at their birthday balls.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Why is it
than when someone else is a huge grump ass, you become one too?
A couple weeks ago we signed up for a volleyball league sponsored by our gym. Good way to meet people, it's a sport we like, so on. Tonight was our first game. There's 7 of us, 1 awesome chick who's in it to have fun, 1 super tall Polish guy who's pretty good, 1 Hispanic chick who has never played before, 1 chick who has but didn't know she was our captain and may have broken her wrist first game, me and IG and the all star.
Now, I've played team sports. I used to play mostly softball and I've piddled around in the volleyball world but this guy reminded me why team sports aren't my favorite thing. All star thinks he is high and mighty, as we all get in a circle to warm up, he stand off to the side not speaking to anyone. Then once the game starts, he's a show off. He's all over the court, not subbing out like he's supposed to. Every time he walked over to stand next to me he got a complete side eye from me. Now I'm no means an amazing player but I know the basics and can hold my own, so him being all up in my AO(area of operations) just irritated the life out of me. IG noticed it and thinks all star will quit because he thinks we're beneath him. I hope he's right, otherwise, we may duke it out.
On another note, I'm taking a break from working out. I think I may have pinched a nerve in my back and I have my POWER test next weekend. So I'm going to rest up. The next few weeks are going to be busy; drill, I have a couple classes for my job, IG is in training for some new computer system. So, yeah...I'll be around. :)
A couple weeks ago we signed up for a volleyball league sponsored by our gym. Good way to meet people, it's a sport we like, so on. Tonight was our first game. There's 7 of us, 1 awesome chick who's in it to have fun, 1 super tall Polish guy who's pretty good, 1 Hispanic chick who has never played before, 1 chick who has but didn't know she was our captain and may have broken her wrist first game, me and IG and the all star.
Now, I've played team sports. I used to play mostly softball and I've piddled around in the volleyball world but this guy reminded me why team sports aren't my favorite thing. All star thinks he is high and mighty, as we all get in a circle to warm up, he stand off to the side not speaking to anyone. Then once the game starts, he's a show off. He's all over the court, not subbing out like he's supposed to. Every time he walked over to stand next to me he got a complete side eye from me. Now I'm no means an amazing player but I know the basics and can hold my own, so him being all up in my AO(area of operations) just irritated the life out of me. IG noticed it and thinks all star will quit because he thinks we're beneath him. I hope he's right, otherwise, we may duke it out.
On another note, I'm taking a break from working out. I think I may have pinched a nerve in my back and I have my POWER test next weekend. So I'm going to rest up. The next few weeks are going to be busy; drill, I have a couple classes for my job, IG is in training for some new computer system. So, yeah...I'll be around. :)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Umm....I'm running a half marathon
13.1 miles. Holy cow right? I registered for the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon on August 21, 2011. Plenty of time.....right? I'm already looking for a couple 5 and 10K races to run to prepare myself. I'm pretty excited.
Why this race? I picked the Rock 'n' Roll half because it benefits the American Cancer Society. My grandda has kidney cancer, a dear friend's father has colon cancer, another friend lost her mother to breast cancer....my point? I wanted to benefit ALL types of cancer research. Don't get me wrong, Susan G. Komen does great things for breast cancer but I couldn't pick just one to dedicate to. So why not all of them? If you are interested in donating to my cause, you can find my page here. My goal is to raise $1,000 between now and August. Every penny helps!
So I'm having to shuffle around my workout schedule again. Nothing huge but I tried a pilates class for the first time last week and LOVED it. So instead of running MWF and lifting TTHS, I'm flip flopping. I'm going to start sort of incorporating Hal Higdon's half marathon training.
Monday - swim/bike/easy run and NROLFW
Tues - Distance run
Wed - Pilates and swim/bike/easy run
Thurs - Distance run or intervals
Fri - swim/bike/easy run and NROLFW
Sat - distance run
Saturday, November 6, 2010
This is going to be long
HI! I'm alive! I'm so not good at this blogging thing. So, let's catch up shall we?
Work is amazing. I LOVE, absolutely LOVE my job. I mainly do case work for SLANT(state-line anti narcotics team) but also help them with busts. When we do a bust I help them go through all the evidence, look for any ties to other cases/suspects we have and so on. Analyst work. The more I see what they do and the more I work with these guys, the MORE I want to be a cop. I'm trying but with one department laying off 21-35 cops next month and the state not looking to hire until next year, it's kinda tough. So I'm working on improving my scores for testing and being as prepared as I can be. I'm also abusing this job and taking all the training, classes, experience they'll give me. I take my POWER(Police Officer Wellness Evaluation Report) next month which is 1.5 mi run(easy peasy) 1 bench press, 31 sit ups and a sit 'n' reach. Once I finish that I will test with a PD in December and hopefully again in Jan. Someday....
Today I ran another 5K. I got a personal record(PR) of 34:47. Which surprised me because it was COLD! I'm talking probably freezing or less, but oh well. I "ran for the athletes" with the Aurora, IL police department. We raised $9,000 for the 2011 IL Special Olympics. The best part was when the last runner crossed the finish, he was a teenage boy with special needs. I had passed him and his mom as she helped him with his inhaler and he gave me a high five. I told him to keep going. 30 minutes or so later, he came around the bend for the last 1/4 of a mile, the police department and fire department ran around and formed a group around him and he started running, they encouraged him the whole way. Every person who was there crowded the finish line; clapping, cheering, whistling and he sprinted. He crossed the finish and threw his hands up in the air in victory. It was amazing. And some race photos.
Lastly, my spaghetti recipe by request. We like spicy but I wanted to make sure it tasted "italian" so here's the list of what I used.
Jar of generic meat sauce
1 lb of ground beef(browned)
1 bag of pepperonis(chopped)
Now, spices are approximate, I recommend using them to taste.
1 Tbsp basil
1 tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp Chili powder
1/2 Tbsp sea salt
1 Tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 white onion(minced)
1/4 C of low fat cream cheese to make it creamy(Thanks Maria for the tip!)
I browned the ground beef then threw everything in the crockpot, put it on low for 4 hours then warm until dinner. It was amazing and it got the husbands seal of approval(which is huge b/c he has no taste buds/sense of smell).
Now I'm off to nap then out with friends later. Have a great weekend!
Work is amazing. I LOVE, absolutely LOVE my job. I mainly do case work for SLANT(state-line anti narcotics team) but also help them with busts. When we do a bust I help them go through all the evidence, look for any ties to other cases/suspects we have and so on. Analyst work. The more I see what they do and the more I work with these guys, the MORE I want to be a cop. I'm trying but with one department laying off 21-35 cops next month and the state not looking to hire until next year, it's kinda tough. So I'm working on improving my scores for testing and being as prepared as I can be. I'm also abusing this job and taking all the training, classes, experience they'll give me. I take my POWER(Police Officer Wellness Evaluation Report) next month which is 1.5 mi run(easy peasy) 1 bench press, 31 sit ups and a sit 'n' reach. Once I finish that I will test with a PD in December and hopefully again in Jan. Someday....
Today I ran another 5K. I got a personal record(PR) of 34:47. Which surprised me because it was COLD! I'm talking probably freezing or less, but oh well. I "ran for the athletes" with the Aurora, IL police department. We raised $9,000 for the 2011 IL Special Olympics. The best part was when the last runner crossed the finish, he was a teenage boy with special needs. I had passed him and his mom as she helped him with his inhaler and he gave me a high five. I told him to keep going. 30 minutes or so later, he came around the bend for the last 1/4 of a mile, the police department and fire department ran around and formed a group around him and he started running, they encouraged him the whole way. Every person who was there crowded the finish line; clapping, cheering, whistling and he sprinted. He crossed the finish and threw his hands up in the air in victory. It was amazing. And some race photos.
Lastly, my spaghetti recipe by request. We like spicy but I wanted to make sure it tasted "italian" so here's the list of what I used.
Jar of generic meat sauce
1 lb of ground beef(browned)
1 bag of pepperonis(chopped)
Now, spices are approximate, I recommend using them to taste.
1 Tbsp basil
1 tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp Chili powder
1/2 Tbsp sea salt
1 Tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 white onion(minced)
1/4 C of low fat cream cheese to make it creamy(Thanks Maria for the tip!)
I browned the ground beef then threw everything in the crockpot, put it on low for 4 hours then warm until dinner. It was amazing and it got the husbands seal of approval(which is huge b/c he has no taste buds/sense of smell).
Now I'm off to nap then out with friends later. Have a great weekend!
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