"Holy Crap I'm out of Grocery Money, but have a lot of stuff in my freezer and fridge, crock pot stew"

Yesterday we picked up our Bountiful basket after taking about three weeks off. I heard there was a flat of strawberries, eight 1 pound containers for $11. I could not pass up this opportunity. I had grown disheartened with my baskets as of late with less bountiful fruits and vegetables that were good, but not great. Bountiful Baskets still carries a heck of a deal on bread and bulk fruits, however, and this week I had to invest. We ordered our organic basket for $26.50, a sack of organic nine grain bread (5 loaves for $12) and my flat of berries. 

Unfortunately, after a busy week and a pricey basket, this meant I had both forgotten to grocery shop and run out of money to do so. Today, I ran to the store with my kiddos, ran in and ran out. We picked up 12 items, and along with my freezer stock and basket of produce, that will make up our week of meals. 

Grocery shopping actually happened in the afternoon, however. This morning my coffee tasted too good to rush and the baby was too tired not to have a long morning nap. This meant I needed to construct a meal out of what we had on hand, which was a lot after I considered what I have "forgotten" to shop for on my normal Friday afternoon trip. I considered my options and fell back to my dependable crock pot, wedding present from 8 years ago and dependable still. 

I surmised that tonight would be a crock pot stew so I didn't need to babysit it, and the meat I have was venison, so venison stew it was. After making, serving and freezing half of it for another day, it occurred to me that a small amount of base ingredients turned into a massive amount of end product. It was amazing how much so little made! Also, if you dislike the chewy texture that comes along with eat game, crock pot cooking it makes it melt in your mouth tender. My only regret was not having homemade stock on hand, but in a pinch, I love using Better than Bullion to make broth.

When I say I try to have a personal relationship with my meat, I mean it.  Here are two of my brothers, pulled tonight's dinner out of a ravine in Eastern Montana. I may not have pulled the trigger, but I did get to see it hang in the garage.

Venison Crock Pot Stew

1/2 pound venison, cut into one inch cubes

3 carrots, chopped into large chunks

1 yellow crook neck squash, halved and chopped

1 leek, thinly chopped

1/4 yellow onion, diced

1 cup wild rice

4-5 cups water

3 tablespoons Better than Bullion Beef 

1 teaspoon black pepper

4-5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

It sounds so simple. In the order listed, put ingredients into your crock pot. Turn it on low. Let it sit 6-8 hours. Start occasionally stirring it after 4 hours. I do once an hour until its time to serve. If it seems too thick and is sticking to the sides of your crock pot too much, add more water and adjust the beefy flavor by adding more Worcestershire or more Better than Bullion in small amounts. This whole shebang cost me about $8. It will provide 10 adult sized servings. After dinner, we froze a large container of it for another day and put two leftover containers together for carrying our lunches to work. What is 10 divided by 8? Sounds like less than a dollar a serving. Yum.