Kick Off Fall With All-Star Breakfast

Last month at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference,  I received a gift box filled with a variety of rice products from  Riceland Foods. All that rice in my pantry has given me the perfect reason to enjoy and celebrate  National Rice Month and the fact that Arkansas is the number one producer of rice in the United States!

 You can find a wealth of information about rice production, how to use the different rice varieties and a great collection of rice recipes at Riceland.com.  

One of our favorite ways to eat rice is with milk and sugar either for breakfast or as a sweet treat.  Milk and rice make a great nutrition team. All-Star Breakfast Rice  is perfect for fall's  kick-off during National Rice Month!


All-Star Breakfast Rice

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 cup cooked rice
Fresh blueberries,raspberries or strawberries*

*Or use sliced peaches or bananas if desired

Directions:

Combine rice,milk,brown sugar and cinnamon in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes. Spoon into serving bowl; let cool 3 minutes. Top with fresh fruit.

Serves: 1

                                    Thank-you  Arkansas Rice Farmers!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Hot Springs was the meeting place last weekend for the fifth 

Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference. 

As a blogging member, I've attended four conferences and made sure to

 attend the food blogging option called Foodie Friday. 

As part of this year's Foodie Friday, women in agriculture provided 

information about our involvement in food production in Arkansas.

I'm thankful for any opportunity to share information about agriculture, 

to see the passion and dedication of other women in agriculture like Lori and Donette, 

to enjoy the products produced in Arkansas

 generously give to us at the conference, 

and

to be inspired by the group known as 

Arkansas Women Bloggers.

Funnel Fun

                                                  Have you been to a Feed the Funnel Party?

 If not, you really need to put this on the top of your bucket list, especially if you want to make a difference in the fight against hunger. The Pack Shack of Northwest Arkansas provided the opportunity to feed the funnel and pack meals during the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference this past weekend.

After removing loose jewelry, washing our hands and donning hairnets and gloves, we were assigned to stations on an assembly line to measure,funnel and seal a  bag of  ingredients.  Bags of  Cheesy Rice and Vegetable Soup were carefully boxed for distribution  to our hungry Arkansas neighbors in  Hot Springs and Siloam Springs. With a lot of loud music, unbelievable dance moves from several of our rock star women and organized  assembly  labor,  we packed 10,300 meals in just a little over an hour.

Unfortunately, hunger affects all people  and all ages in the United States. Food insecurity  is defined by the United State Department of Agriculture as the measure of lack of success, at times, to have enough food for an active,healthy life for all household members or the uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate food. Sadly, food insecurity exists in every county in the United States. 

 Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap 2015 Study states:

•  49 million Americans are food insecure
• 1 in six Americans are hungry
• 1 in 5 children are hungry

Arkansas has more than 200,000 children that are considered food insecure. That is reason enough to have Fun at the Funnel!

I challenge you during the month of September--Hunger Action Month--to Feed the Funnel or participate in other activities  in your community to fight against hunger.

Arkansas Grown

Arkansas Grown is a  branding label developed by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to assist Arkansas farmers in promoting  products grown in our state. When I found this Arkansas Grown  bumper sticker tucked in my Foodie Friday swag bag at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Conference, I couldn't help but think about our dairy farm and the high quality milk produced every day for Arkansas consumers.

       A big thank-you to Arkansas Grown for sponsoring the Foodie Friday portion of the conference,
       for helping Arkansas farmers promote our products and for providing me with this fun bumper sticker!

                                                           

                      Our Holstein dairy calves are Arkansas Grown  on our third generation dairy  farm!

The milk that our Arkansas Grown cows produce is processed at the local Hiland plant for Arkansas consumers,

                                                                   and if that's not enough,

I'm an Arkansas Grown (born,raised and educated in Arkansas)  farmer

 living down on the Arkansas dairy farm!

Black Friday Turkey and Cheese Special

There's nothing wrong with a delicious turkey sandwich made from our Thanksgiving leftovers , but I know from past experience that my family will desire other options very soon!  Fortunately, I found  Turkey Tetrazzini with Cheddar and Parmesan on the Dairy Makes Sense website and it's the perfect option for the leftover turkey  and  my  Black Friday plans.



Turkey Tetrazzini with Cheddar and Parmesan

Ingredients:
Non-stick cooking spray
1 package (12 ounces) whole wheat penne pasta
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups low-fat milk
1 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine (or additional chicken broth)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups sliced white button muschrooms
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups diced cooked turkey breast (works well with leftover turkey or chicken)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a shallow two to three-quart baking dish with cooking spray; set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in flour. Stirring constantly, cook about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, chicken broth,wine and pepper; bring mixture to a boil. Stir in mushrooms,reduce heat and cook about 10 minutes,stirring frequently, or until mixture thickens and mushrooms are softened.

Stir Parmesan cheese,pasta,turkey and peas into milk mixture; spoon into prepared baking dish. Top with Cheddar cheese and cover loosely with foil. Bake about 45 minutes or until bubbling at edges and heated through.

Spotted Cow's got its own Black Friday Special,too!

 

Click here and submit your email address to Country Outfitter for a chance to win a $150 gift certificate to go shopping on them!

Leave a comment here on the blog letting me know you submitted your email to Country Outfitter.

                                          A random winner will be selected on November 28th.

Boots and Blogs

In just a week, I'm going to step out of my dairy  farm comfort zone and head to Mountain View, Arkansas to "meet-up" with women bloggers from across the state to fulfill the mission statement of Arkansas Women Bloggers to 'Gather,Grow,and Connect.'

Blogging is all about connecting and sharing with others what we love and feel passionate about. While I'm hoping to improve how I share my passion about life on the farm with writing tips and techniques, I can't wait to connect with other women that have been sharing their creativity and passion so well on a variety of blog subjects!

Although I will be stepping out of my dairy farm comfort zone, I will be stepping into a pair of beautiful boots--compliments of Country Outfitter,one of the fun and generous conference sponsors (http://countryoutfitter.com/?utm_campaign=Sponsorship_Post_AWBU_2012_07_24_).    How  did they know I have a passion for boots!  With so many boots to choose from, it was not an easy decision.
Here's the pair I selected:

What I really love is that not only do I get a pair of boots for attending the conference, Country Outfitter is donating a pair for me to give away on my blog after the conference!! Don't worry,  I'll be sure and get the giveaway instructions so that one of ya'll can be the proud owner of a new pair of boots,too!

If you're curious about other fantastic sponsors of this event and  what happens at a "meet-up" of bloggers, you can check the conference agenda at http://arkansaswomenbloggers.com.