Pheasant hunting in Indiana is a sport.  Finding the pheasants is hard, especially when there is a lot of corn left in the fields, that is where they love to hide.  Pheasants are beautiful birds, and their meat is white, comparable to chickens. After their pheasant hunt, we made Crock Pot Pheasant.  This is a simple, two ingredient recipe. 




Last weekend was a little father-daughter time.  Ryan really felt like he missed out, but sometimes the other siblings  have to take their turn.  


Macie had the pheasant draw for the hunt at Knob View Gamebird habitat.  Her dad was excited about the hunt, and also invited a friend to bring a couple of hunting dogs along for the hunt.  Lots of walking is involved, over 60 acres and the dogs help flush the birds out of the tall grass.  



Hunter orange clothing is required for all hunters to wear during  hunts.  Macie spent a day with her dad, enjoyed a decent November Saturday morning, outdoors.  "She thinks we are just hunting"

1. Place breast and thigh meat in the crock pot, season with salt and pepper.
2. Add enough chicken stock to cover all meat.
3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until meat is tender.

Pressure Cooker BBQ Wings are easy to make and kid-approved! They are perfect for a New Year's celebration or game day! 


Kids favorite meal or appetizer is BBQ wings.  Where ever we go, this is what they want to order for their meal. They don't care how messy they get. I am over being embarrassed in pubic while the kids eat wings. I just embrace it, and send them off to wash their face and hands when they are done.

We didn't have big plans on New Year's Eve. The boys went duck hunting, so I knew they would be tired when they got home to plan anything for that evening.  I did have big plans to make lots of food to ring in the new year's, knowing most of the family wouldn't make it to midnight.

The boys came back tired and exhausted from hunting.  The weather was cool that day, and windy. They came back with red-cheeks, and lots of ducks.  Ryan was also excited about shooting his first mallard.  It was a beautiful duck.  Dave said he is proud the way Ryan is learning how to call  the ducks into the blind. Once in awhile his dad will let him shoot his gun. I think this was his 4th duck this season. 


I didn't have the best of luck finding the wings in the store.  I bought the drumettes that always come with the wings when you get an order.  Perfect bite size, and I think there is more meat on drumettes. 


I kept the wings frozen until they were ready to go into the pressure cooker.

Wilbur's Sweet & Spicy Wing-It Marinade and Dipping Sauce can be found in Rensselaer.  If you have ever craved wing night at the Pub, this is the sauce!!



I coated the frozen wings with the sauce. I used about 1.5 cups.



Then I added the wings to the pressure cooker. My Pressure cooker is similar to this http://amzn.to/2j8Hbw9.  I added about a cup of water.  I know first time recipes you get a little nervous! Ok, I get a little nervous, and I can't see the meat cooking, like you can with a crock pot.  Just have a little faith in your pressure cooker.  Busy moms have other things to do than spend a bunch of time in the kitchen! Embrace it! Put the lid on, set it for 15 minutes.  



Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Add more BBQ if you want.  Put under broiler.

1. Coat 2 pounds of frozen wings with Wilbur’s Sweet & Spicy Sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)
2. Place in pressure cooker, add one cup of water.
3. Set pressure cooker for 15 minutes.
4. Remove wings from pressure cooker, and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Add more sauce to the wings. Find a similar pressure cooker here: http://amzn.to/2j8Hbw9
5. Place wings under broiler for 3-4 minutes.  Turn the cookie sheet around under the broiler and broil for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Remove from cookie sheet and serve

This was delicious.  Kids loved them. Ate them so fast!  And they are asking for more.



This recipe is linked to: Watcha Crockin Week #24, Weekend Potluck #256, and Meal Plan Monday #45.

Dave asked me yesterday if I remember Valentine's Day 15 years ago.  

I don't.  

I really don't remember a Valentine's Day before Dave.  I remember Valentine's Day 14 years ago.  There were no surprises that day at work.  It was a Thursday, and we had made plans to have dinner on Friday.  I had to wait until the 15th. 

14 years ago he asked me to marry him at Lake Bloomington.  He took me there after work. I don't remember any snow on the ground but it was a chilly afternoon. Engaged in February and married in December. 

 

Some Valentine's Day we go to dinner, sometimes I get roses.  It is never the same with Dave.











 This year it was Valentine's Day dinner with the whole family. 



 Our family is complete, and now we have our own home. So many projects in store for us this spring/summer.

I have always joked about my husband.  If it walks or flies, he hunts it.  I sometimes label myself "hunter's widow".  Jokingly.  Reallly.

It wasn't long after I met him I was introduced to his hobbies.  For my birthday, three months after we met, he bought me a fishing pole.  It was just what I wanted.

Sometimes I struggled with his hobbies.  I decided I needed one.  It was called shopping and crafting.

Three kids later, I am lucky to shop or even step foot in my craft room at the end of the day.

I haven't actually gone turkey hunting. I have scouted for turkeys, stopped in the middle of the road to look at turkeys, looked at them through binoculars, but getting up really early is not for me.

In Indiana, turkey season opens on April 22nd.  I marked this in my planner. In other words, it means, my husband will be hunting that weekend (if he is not working), and don't make any family plans.  Shopping anyone? Oh, I just opened my planner and Macie's first softball game is Saturday.  We will have to hold off shopping plans!



One thing my husband enjoys is sharing his love of hunting with our kids.  Ryan enjoys getting up early to go hunting with his dad.  Macie would rather stay home.  Ryan has joined his dad for turkey hunting for a few years.  I am not really sure how that all works out, and how long Ryan can actually go without talking. 


I thought I would sit down with Ryan, age 7,  and talk to him about his hunting experiences with his dad:

What is your favorite part about hunting? I like scouting.

What is your favorite animal to hunt? That is hard, because I like duck, deer, turkey and squirrel hunting.

Do you have a hunting story to share? I remember a duck hunt at the Wilough Slough.  We were close to limiting that day at the Lake Seven blind. We hunted six wood ducks, one gadwall, shoveler, and one hen and one drake mallard.

Why does your dad take you hunting?  To show me how to hunt, so I can pass that on to my kids.

What is the hardest hunt, where you need to be the quietest? Deer hunting

Did you ever get to take a friend hunting? I have hunted with Tanner, Kyle and Logan.  Their dads like to hunt with my dad.  It is fun because we hunt from the same blind and watch our dads hunt.

What is something you need to practice to be a better hunter?  I need to work on my shooting skills. I also need to work on calling in ducks.