Baked rabbit, potatoes and bacon casserole

4 lb. Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into wedges

2 lb. rabbit strips

Sea Salt, to taste

Ground Black Pepper, to taste

1/3 C. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Dried Thyme

1 T dried Rosemary

6 bacon strips, browned and set aside

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Season rabbit with salt and pepper, then arrange atop potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with dried thyme and rosemary. Crumble the bacon over the top of the dish. Cover bake for 45 minutes, or until rabbit is cooked through and potatoes are tender.  Remove lid and brown for 15 minutes.

Groundhog Day

The groundhog family - Mama in background, with Eenie, Meenie, and Moe. This is one of those circle of life sort of stories. The reason Chuck and I live in the country is because of groundhogs. Before we were married, he and son Steve used to go out to Mr Greathouse's farm to hunt groundhogs. They are the bane of farmers, digging holes in crop fields and eating copious amounts of soy bean plants, or in pastures where cattle step in them and break legs, or lambs fall into and are trapped. So Mr Greathouse was delighted to have to dedicated sharpshooters to keep the population under control.
Due to hunting at Greathouse's, we knew the area and eventually found a small, very rundown farm we could afford, moving out of inner city Columbus after we were married.
So we bought the 44A farm, and then the sheep came along and went crazy. Eventually we bought 164A so we had room for all the sheep. Now we've retired to the 22A we purchased last fall. And instead of shooting groundhogs, I find Chuck watching them from the windows, or sneaking out on the front porch with a cup of coffee to wait for the babies to come out into the lawn to graze.

One Pot Stuffed Peppers

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground lamb
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
3 bell peppers, seeded and diced large
2 cloves garlic, minced
14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes, with juices
14.5 oz can chicken or beef broth
8 oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp beef or chicken bouillon
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
1 cup white long grain rice, uncooked
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
 
Place a large skillet with a tight fitting lid over medium-high heat then add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add ground lamb and cook 5–7 minutes, breaking into small pieces as it browns.
Add onions, bell peppers and garlic in with lamb; stir to combine. Cook until the peppers have started to soften and the onions are translucent.
Stir in diced tomatoes with juice, broth, tomato sauce, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning.
Bring to a boil then stir in uncooked rice. Return to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until rice is tender.
Remove skillet from heat, stir lightly to fluff up the rice, sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and replace the lid. Allow the casserole to rest, covered, for about 10 minutes before serving.

Somerhill Aliqquippa

Gardening

I've been enjoying discovering all the flowers in our beds around the new house.
Its been years since I did any real gardening - since we moved from Columbus,
where we had a large rose garden.
This is Spiderwort, which I had heard of but never seen before.  We have LOADS
of lilies just coming into bloom right now.
I'm becoming Cantwell Creek Garden Center's best customer.  

Mmmmm - strawberries from our little patch

FOR SALE: GrChampion Dolly Rock Wichita SOLD

Wichita is a 1.5 year old registered Satin Angora doe  She recently weaned a litter of 8.
Gorgeous, dense wool with excellent length and texture.  $125.  She was 1st CSD
last spring at the specialty during the National Angora show.
A friend has a similar buck for sale, also a grand champion, who would make
a wonderful mate to her.  What a way to start your show herd!

Sweet & Spicy Lime Rabbit

1# rabbit strips
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
1 lime
Your favorite rice, prepared according to directions

Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with foil  and lay your rabbit strips out flat. Mix together the cayenne powder, garlic powder, dried parsley and brown sugar in a bowl, then sprinkle seasoning on top of the meat. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes, remove, flip and dredge the other side in the seasoning. Return back to the oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until rabbit is cooked through.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then squeeze on the juice from a lime and serve over rice. Enjoy!

Beer Lamb Nachos

2 lbs. lamb roast - boneless leg or shoulder roll
2 cups brown ale
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup yellow mustard
¼ cup molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
½ garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 oz. tortilla chips
2 lbs. cheese
¾ cup corn
¾ cup black beans
¼ cup jalapenos
¼ cup sliced red onions
¼ cup sweet BBQ sauce
½ cup sour cream
1 avocado, diced
cilantro
lime

To make lamb: Place pork but in the bottom of slow cooker. In a large bowl combine and mix remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over roast. Set slow cooker to low for 8 hours.  Shred meat with fork.

To assemble nachos: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly cover baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place half of the chips, shredded lamb, corn, black beans, jalapenos and onions and cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients for one more layer. Bake until cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes.

 Serve with sour cream, avocado, cilantro and lime.