Dairymom's Meltdown Recipe

Late Saturday evening, I had a meltdown when I found the deep freeze had decided to have its own meltdown. Fortunately, we didn't lose very much food and did have another freezer to transfer food into. 

Part of my meltdown remedy was spent  in the kitchen this afternoon  cooking an assortment of meat that had thawed but was still safe to cook.    Since it's going to be a busy week, I decided to try a  ground beef recipe   that could be prepared ahead  and frozen.

Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole

Ingredients:
Non-stick cooking spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup whole-wheat elbow macaroni (or penne or rotini pasta)
1 medium tomato,chopped
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt,optional
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown and onion is soft; drain. Cook macaroni according to package directions;drain. Spoon macaroni into prepared pan. Spread beef mixture and chopped tomato over macaroni. Pour tomato sauce over beef. Sprinkle with seasoned salt,pepper and shredded cheese. Cover loosley with foil and bake for 35 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges of casserole are bubbling.

               You can find a variety of nutritious recipes at http://www.dairymakessense.com or http://www.midwestdairy.com

                                            
                           Hope you have a dairy good week!

Drought Coping Skills

Just hearing thunder, seeing a flash of lightning and then watching the rain fall was a great stress reliever. Although any rain is a welcome site and considered a blessing, dealing with the stress and damage of this drought on our crops and pastures will continue for the rest of this year as we adapt and make necessary changes for our farm's survivability. Undetected stress can create a drought in personal well being and I will confess, I have felt pretty discouraged and distressed in this dry,hot spell.

During stressful times when it feels like we might be "going crazy", it's important to recognize these common signs of distress as normal responses to unusual situations:

• irritability and anger
• feelings of anxiety and worry
• headaches or gastrointestinal complaints
• increasing risk-taking behavior
• changes in eating and sleep habits
• increased alcohol or drug use
• forgetfulness
• fatigue
• sense of helplessness
• lack of concentration
• avoidance or denial
• sadness

For mental and physical health, it's important to recognize stress and take steps to cope with the challenge we face by focusing on our own strengths and our community of support. According to information from the University of Missouri Cooperative Extension  and Missouri Department of Health, we can take these steps to help ourselves and our families by:

• Acknowledging feelings and talking them out.
• Paying attention to health, nutritious diet and adequate sleep is important.
• Nurturing personal relationships should be a priority.

As my family and I worked together this week to help our neighbors who are also struggling , it was definitely a stress relief for personal drought!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

We monitor our pregnant cows closely during the birth of a calf to ensure the health of both animals.  I'm thankful for  the fact that this mama delivered her calf with no problems during this week's triple digit temperatures. 

Dairy Farmers Committed to Community

Our neighbor's corn didn't check the calendar for the July 4th holiday schedule so Ryan and the boys spent most of the day chopping the corn and hauling it to our neighbor's farm. It's definitely not a good corn crop but any crop is better than none when you are experiencing a season of drought.

It was a typical hot,dusty July 4th!

 The drought we're experiencing in Northwest Arkansas makes harvesting any crop crucial and it's definitely the time for farmers to work together  to harvest available feed for our animals.

 Working with our neighbor to provide feed for his cattle is a great example of how our contributions to the local economy are measured not only in dollars and cents, but also in the well-being of the community where we live and work. 

My Country,'Tis of Thee

I've been humming or singing My Country 'Tis of Thee since we sang it in church last  Sunday.   Written in 1831 by Samuel F. Smith, My Country 'Tis of Thee, was unofficially used as our national anthem before the Star Spangled Banner became the offical national anthem. As we celebrate the birth of our nation, it seems fitting to reflect on the words of this precious hymn and give thanks for the men and women that have served our country both past and present to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy today.


My Country, 'Tis of Thee

My country, 'tis of thee,                       
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride.
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring.

My native country,thee,
Land of the noble,free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees.
Sweet freedom's song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our fathers' God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King!

                                        God Bless America!

Dairy Farmers Challenge Drought

Life,no matter where you live or what you do, has its challenges. For Northwest Arkansas dairy farmers,drought is our current challenge. With lack of the normal amount of spring rains and the late spring and early summer heat wave with no rain, our crops that we rely on to feed our cows through the year are extremely stressed. Although irrigating crops is not a common practice in our area, it can be done if you have the equipment and access to enough water. For the last two days, Ryan and our nearest dairy farmer neighbor,Don, have been working to set up the irrigation equipment to water a field of Sudan grass that will become feed for Don's dairy cows.

Getting the equipment set up is a hot,sweaty job in 100 degree weather. Irrigation pipe was hauled by trailer and connected from the lagoon water source to the field. Since the equipment had not been used in several years, it has taken time and effort to basically blow the cobwebs out of the pump system. Late this afternoon as we watched the water pump into the irrigation pipe, we were feeling a great sense of accomplishment when all of a sudden, a clamp broke, the hose blew off and provided a bath for Don and alot of laughter for all of us!  It was the perfect time to end the day's work!

Tomorrow the plan is to add more gaskets and clamps and get the water pumping on the field without any extra baths for the farmer. Drought can challenge our crops and the financial sustainability of our farms but it will never beat the friendship of farmers or the spirit of farmers who love their animals, care for the land and will do everything in their power to save the family farm.

Dairy Diversion for Hot Weather

As a diversion from the hot weather and stressful weather conditions that we are experiencing on the dairy farm, I'm thinking about next week's holiday celebration that we will enjoy as a family. Even though fireworks won't be part of our July 4th celebration due to the drought, we will be making our traditional freezer of ice cream to go with our hamburgers and hotdogs! If I can find some ripe peaches, I'm going to try this recipe I found in my Jim Graham's Farm Family Cookbook for City Folks which is a collection of recipes from a lot of good cooks in North Carolina.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

1 quart milk
1 10-ounce package of marshmallows
2 cups sugar
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups Half & Half dairy creamer
3 cups mashed fresh peaches

Combine milk and marshmallows in Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until marshmallows melt; remove from heat. Add sugar and remaining ingredients; mix well. chill. Pour mixture into freezer container of gallon hand-turned or electric ice cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Pack freezer with additional ice and salt, and let stand for 1 to 2 hours to ripen before serving.

                     Hope you have a safe, dairy good July 4th!