Now I do enjoy fishing.  I find it fun and relaxing.  Plus, I like the suspenseful feeling of when you have something on your line but you cannot quite make out what it is.  What I do not understand is how the men in my life can love it so much that they spend a fortune on equipment and what not and spend their days trying to hook a big one.  I guess it is like some women are about their clothes and shoes though, and if it makes them happy, then I’m happy.

Some fishing facts are below on the infographic so you can ponder them.

Living out in the country is certainly not for everyone, but it is definitely for us.  I can’t tell you how depressed we would be if we had a neighbor right on top of us.  And our neighbors would probably get just as upset about us shooting guns and having bonfires, so it’s just as well that we are out here anyway.

While I was thinking about all of this, I realized that there are a lot of songs out there about country living.  Now, whether or not these people have actually lived in the country or still do, I don’t know, but I do know that I love these songs.

So go with me down memory lane, won’t you?

 

Tim McGraw’s “Where the Green Grass Grows” makes me even happier that I live where I do.

“Back Where I Come From” by Kenny Chesney is pretty accurate in describing my hometown. I love that.

Montgomery Gentry singing “My Town” is another one of my favorites.

• There is no such thing as having too many casserole dishes. (add some mad dog hot sauce for a twist!)  Trust me.  So if you are stumped about what to get someone on you list, look for bake ware.  Another great idea for those ladies on your list is to find cute casserole carriers that are insulated.  You can even make these to give and people love them!
• For the men on your list you simply cannot go wrong with camouflage hunting clothes, caps, and more.  Camo is like high fashion in our neck of the woods.  Warm socks and hand warmers are great too because those who hunt will likely be out early in the morning when the temperatures are really cool.
• And we cannot forget the fishermen (women) on your list.  Bait and tackle is always a fun gift to get and receive.  I especially like to pick out the sparkly lures.

While the gifts are always great, the real meaning of Christmas and spending time with your loved ones is the most important thing that we country folks like to remember.  There is nothing more important than our family and faith.

Now, here is Paula Deen in a great video clip to get us all in the mood for the holidays!  Paula will be making her delicious Pumpkin Crunch holiday dessert.  While she doesn’t come out and say it’s either for Thanksgiving or Christmas, a pumpkin dessert is generally good for either of those holidays and will be appreciated by country cooking fans everywhere.  Let’s take a look at how easy it can be to make a really special holiday dessert from scratch.

What you’ll need:

1 Double pie crust (homemade is preferred)

6 c. Apples, peeled and sliced

1 tbsp Lemon juice

½ c. Sugar

½ c. Brown sugar

2 tbsp Flour

½ tsp Cinnamon

¼ tsp Nutmeg

2 tbsp Butter

What to do:

Spray your pie pan with non stick cooking spray or brush with butter and place your bottom pie shell in the pieplate; set aside.  Combine the apples and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, mixing thoroughly.  Spoon over the apple mixture and toss gently.  Spoon the mixture evenly into the pie shell and dot with butter.  Cover with the remaining crust and flute edges to seal the crust.  Make sure you cut slits in the top to release steam.  Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35 minutes.

You may see some other apple pie recipes on food networks or Dish Network programming and they may make a delicious pie, but the key is having patience while you bake and taking the extra steps to make your pie the best.  Serve warm with homemade vanilla ice cream and your family will feel like they’re right in the country tasting grandma’s classic dessert.

I have a lot of venison recipes as to keep our freezer from overflowing, but the easiest is also one of my family’s favorite.  It is simple and delicious, and it takes very little time to cook after letting it marinate overnight.  So if you’re ready for some tasty country deer, follow this recipe and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 pound venison roast, cut into 3 inch pieces (about 6)
• 2 – 21/2 heads of garlic, cloves separated and crushed
• 1/2 cup thyme leaves, crushed lightly
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorn
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 1/2 tablespoon for cooking
• salt

Directions:

• In a gallon sized plastic zip bag add the venison and toss it with the garlic, thyme, wine, allspice, peppercorn, and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Marinate it in the refrigerator overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
• An hour before cooking, let the meat come to room temperature.  I typically set it out and forget it for over an hour, but an hour should do the trick.
• With the oven rack in the middle, preheat the oven to 450.
• Pat the meat dry and throw away the marinade.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on all sides of the meat.  In a large skillet heat the remaining olive oil.  Once heated, add in the meat and brown it on all sides for 3-4 minutes.  You’ll probably have to do it in a couple of batches.
• Transfer the browned meat to a shallow baking dish and place on the middle rack of the oven.  For rare, you will cook for about 5-8 minutes.  Before slicing the meat, let it stand for 10 minutes.  And remember to slice against the grain.

This venison goes great with some scalloped potatoes or seasonal veggies.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

• Hunting for turkeys is one of the fastest growing hunting activities in America.  (And to think Ben Franklin wanted our national bird to be a turkey)
• The amount of feathers on a wild turkey is between 5,000 and 6,000.
• In a 2 week period, hens lay about 10-12 eggs.  Typically that’s about one egg a day.
• Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour.  They can fly up to 55 miles per hour.

Find out more about this great tasting bird in the infographic!

Ingredients:

30 – 32 oz. bag of hashbrowns

8 oz sour cream

3 oz cream cheese

1 can of cream of potato soup

2 cups shredded cheese

Some grated parmesan–the amount is really up to your preference, and it’s optional.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°.  In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients thoroughly.  Put the mixed ingredients into a buttered Pyrex.  Don’t worry about evening out the top or flattening it, you want it to be jagged so you can get some crunch on top.  Bake it for an hour at 350°.

I actually ended up leaving mine in the oven for an hour and a half, but the only difference is that the top was even crunchier.  So, if you like the crunch keep it in there a bit longer.  This is one of the easiest recipes to make, and it’s great for when you have company over.  You just throw it in the oven, go outside on the deck to watch the guys grill, and when you’re ready it is.

The cool thing about music is that genres can cross and when it does sometimes something magical can happen to a song.  I have a few examples for you of when country artists take a song from a different genre and make it into something so amazing.  Take a look for yourself.Sugarland takes on the Pearl Jam classic “Better Man” at a live show.  Jennifer Nettles has such power in her voices that this wasn’t really a challenge for her.  I’m not saying this is better than Eddie Vedder on lead, but she comes real close.  I love it.Okay, so this cover by Buddy Brown is more for fun than it is a musical masterpiece.  However, I still like it, and I think I like it better than R. Kelly’s version just because it’s so funny.I may catch a lot of flack for saying this, but Beyonce has got nothing on Reba.  Reba McEntire is a true artist at its best, and she proves it with “If I Were a Boy.”  Beautiful!

This means that for almost 3 months my husband won’t be home when I wake up on Saturday mornings, and when he returns from the stand he will fall asleep on the couch.  He’ll wake up for dinner and then to call his buddies to see how they did at their posts.  Another thing that happens thanks to deer hunting season is that my husband will spontaneously decide to use up all of his PTO that he worked so hard for to skip work and hit the stands.  Oh and the laundry!  Boy the laundry!  All of his layers have to be washed in special detergent so the deer cannot smell him.  Sometimes it is just a little too ridiculous for words, but I love him.

Like I said earlier if any of you is with a country boy, then you are not alone.  I know exactly what you’re dealing with, and I also know that you probably wouldn’t have it any other way. Country boys might take their hunting, fishing, and guns very seriously, but they also take love seriously.  So, being ignored for a few weekends out of the year isn’t the worst thing in the world…I suppose.  Here’s to hoping that he gets him a good one and maybe take a weekend off!