Chocolate covered pretzels

Sure you can buy chocolate covered pretzels, but why do that when it's so much fun to make them?

We walked in the store and what's right in front of us? Candy Melts. So my brilliant husband goes hey why don't we make chocolate covered pretzels? Um hello more importantly why didn't I think of that? 

It's great family fun all the boys took a turn making some! You must watch but the kids or the pretzels won't end up on the wax paper, you will wonder what took so long to make 5 pretzels, and the kids will be on a sugar high for hours.

It is so easy! Melt the chocolate, dunk the pretzels, shake off the excess and let cool. 

Ta-da perfection!

Snow

We got our first snow of the year over the weekend, and it was the chickens first snow ever. 

It was funny to watch them take their first steps in the cold stuff. Some of them flew from spot to spot avoiding walking in it. I had fun watching the silly babes. They did eventually get used to it.

Our first chicken tracks, they are all over the yard.

Jerky & Sausage

One of the first things that Patrick ever made me out of venison was Jerky, it's one of my favourites and my friends love it too. I am always getting requests during deer season. It's like people can just sense it.

Anyway I have inherited the job of making it, since I am the one in the house that likes it the most. This year I had a helper, Gabe is getting more and more excited about helping me in the kitchen. 

We added the Cure and Seasoning and let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours.

Then we loaded up the Jerky Cannon and filled up the Dehydrator trays.

About 6 Hours later it was done! Yay, snack time.

Sausage.

We have only attempted sausage one other time and it didn't turn out like it should have. We made it in the oven that time, so this time we made it in the smoker, decided that a different approach was the way to go.

We smoked it for

Then put it in the oven for 1 hour at 300 degrees F.

The goal was a internal temperature of 165.

All done.

Well it could have turned out better, it was dry, but the flavor was ok. Patrick said he thinks it needs more fat and I'm guessing there was too much air in the casing.

It's eatable but we still haven't perfected anything. Gabe liked it, so it's a small victory. At least it's not going to waste.