I don't know about you, but come January I can get pretty tired of hearty winter soups and roasts. Sometimes you want something a little lighter. This savory pasta salad has a wonderful bite to it but still tastes fresh and light. It is also a healthy dish to help you stick with your new years resolutions. 

Beautiful, colorful, and healthy.

2 cups elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons finely diced purple onion

3 celery ribs, leaves included, chopped

3/4 cups peas 

1 cup diced ham 

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons cream cheese

1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

First step is to finely dice your purple onion and soak it in cold water. This will help to mellow out the raw onion flavor. 

Cook your macaroni in heavily salted water, for about 8 minutes, until al dente. Remove and drain your macaroni from the pot and place in fridge to cool. Mix your mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper together. Then slowly add your olive oil with a whisk. Once combined add sour cream, cream cheese, and milk and whisk together. Then add the fresh dill. 

Combine your ham, peas, celery, and macaroni and combine. As you can see it makes a beautifully colorful pasta salad, and comes together in about 20 minutes. Its a super simple dish.  

This will serve 6-8 people. Bon appetite! 

My lovely friend just completed his first deer hunt. His beautiful wife had no idea what to do with all of that venison, so they gifted a bunch of it to us. While deer and elk love to frequent the lavender apple farm, they don't frequent the kitchen. 

When I looked online for a good venison recipe, all I could find was hunting websites. And no offense to all of my hunter friends, but most of the recipes I found just had you brown the meat with a jar of marinara sauce and call it good. We wanted to try something a little bit gourmet. We also thought simmering the meat for 30 minutes removed the gamey-ness of the meat. By the time we were done you could not have guess this was not a beef sauce! 

1 lb venison
1/2 onion
1/2 bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp Tyme
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp parsley
Salt pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1 stalk celery
3/4 box spaghetti noodles 

Brown your venison in a large saucepan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Salt and Pepper lightly.  
Once thoroughly browned, remove it from the pan and set aside. Using the left over grease in the pan, cook your onions, celery, and bell pepper until softened. Salt and pepper lightly. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. And 1/2 a cup of white wine and simmer for a few minutes. Add your diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, marinara sauce, oregano, tyme, parsley, and salt and pepper lightly. Simmer for 30 minutes. When you sauce has about 10 minutes left, boil your pasta in salted water. Combine pasta and sauce, top with fresh parmesan. 

This may not be the fancy Parisian dishes you are used to seeing from Peggy, but its the perfect down home farm meal for anyone looking for a great way to utilize your deer meat! 

Enjoy!