Slow Cooked Venison in Garlic Chili Sauce with Creamy Sauteed Broccoli

When Alex and I went to upstate New York, his uncle gave us some different cuts and venison and walleye (fish) to take home. Today I decided to cook the loin (I think it was sirloin). Venison is gamey tasting and very, very lean. Even when it was raw, I found no fat in it whatsoever. Keeping it moist while cooking is important, so I decided to slow cook it in a strong sauce to cover the gamey flavor. I found this recipe and tried it out. Very yummy and low carb! I also added a few things.

Slow Cooked Venison in Garlic Chili Sauce

2 lb. venison roast/loin (you can do this with a lean cut of beef too)
1 c. low sugar ketchup
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. soy sauce (I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
1/2 c. chili garlic sauce (I used Wegmans' Tom Tom sauce)
2/3 c. water or beef broth
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 tsp. minced garlic (I used the jarred garlic)

Option 1:
Saute 1 diced onion and strips of red bell pepper in 2 tbsp. of butter and add to slow cooker.

Option 2:
Add 2 tsp. onion powder and some strips/diced red bell pepper to slow cooker.

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together (except roast) in the slow cooker. Choose option 1 or option 2 (you can leave out the red bell pepper all together if you want). You can either chop your roast into 1-2 inch chunks and cook that way (it's faster), or you can leave it whole. I cut it into chunks to increase the surface area and decrease the cooking time. I put mine in at 12:45 and it was done at 3:30... I set the slow cooker to 8 hours... so maybe try 10 and expect it to be done in 4 hours haha. If you leave it whole, set to 6 hours or so and it will probably be done in 5-6 hours. Don't overcook it. Check on it once and hour or so. Also feel free to add some fresh herbs to your cooker.

Everyone liked it, and my mom said the strong marinade really masked a lot of the gamey taste, and I agree. I could have taken mine off the heat a little earlier, it was definitely well-done.

Creamy Sauteed Broccoli

I wanted a veggie to go with my roast, and I spotted my Alouette in the fridge (original garlic and herb). It turned out delicious. You can't go wrong with creamy, cheesy broccoli really. It's quite impossible. :)

2 crowns of broccoli, chopped into large florets
1/2 c. Alouette original garlic and herb spreadable cheese
1 tbsp. butter

Melt butter in pan, saute broccoli until slightly soft, add cheese and mix until the broccoli is coated. Serve immediately.

I'll definitely be making the broccoli recipe again; maybe I'll try different flavors of Alouette.