Freedom

 

Senator John McCain was the guest speaker at the Bentonville Veteran's Day celebration. Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel for the men and women,past and present, who have served to make sure that we can enjoy freedom  that is too often taken for granted.

 

 

 

And ye shall know the truth,

and the truth shall make you free.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Live as free men,

but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;

live as servants of God.

                                                              John 8:32,36; 1 Peter 2:16

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe Keepsakes

This weekend I'm going to ease into preparing for the holiday schedule by baking one of my favorite pumpkin recipes to take to our annual Thanksgiving dinner at church. If you love anything pumpkin, you'll enjoy Pumpkin Pie Squares!

 Each time I bake  this recipe I am reminded of the sweet co-worker that shared it with me more than twenty years ago. It's a great reminder of how I have been  blessed by so many special friends and family members. Good recipes that are enjoyed by friends and family  are keepsakes that  just keep on giving through the years. Holidays are the perfect time to share a little love from the kitchen!  You can find other nutritious and delicious recipes for your holidays at Dairy Makes Sense.

Pumpkin Pie Squares with Cinnamon Sugar Yogurt Topping

Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter,melted
2 tablespoons low-fat milk
Cooking spray

Filling:
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
3/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans,chopped

Topping
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl,mix together graham cracker crumbs,oats,brown sugar,butter and 2 tablespoons milk; press into a thin layer in a 9x13 inch pan greased with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes. While the crust is baking, in another bowl,beat together pumpkin and  other ingredients except for pecans. Pour over crust and bake for 40 minutes or until set. Sprinkle pecans over pumpkin filling and bake another 10-15 minutes or until center is set. Cool slightly in pan.

Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Mix in yogurt. Top each square with one tablespoon of yogurt topping.

 

Share a little love from your kitchen this weekend!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                                                                                
    Even though we desperately need rain and  would welcome  it,  I'm thankful for the   beautiful fall days  that are allowing us to harvest hay and  plant fall crops of wheat and rye that  will be used to  feed our dairy cows.

                                                                  

Dairymom Molded by Buttery Traditions

November is a time of transition on the dairy farm as we finish harvesting our fall crops,plant wheat and rye crops for spring forage and prepare for the winter months on the farm. It also marks the twenty-eighth year of my life on the farm which has been molded by the blessings of farm family traditions. I have transitioned from a city girl that learned the hard way that dairy farmers don't eat margarine to dairymom that uses only sweet creamy butter!

Even though it's recommended to keep butter refrigerated, the butter dish stays on our table all the time to assure the dairy farmer has easy access and spread ability for every slice of bread, homemade roll  or hot biscuit consumed. That happens to be one of the dairymom traditions that I've grown to love because the presence of the butter dish always on the table  was my sweet mother-in-law's tradition and reminds me every day  how blessed I am to live and work on our family dairy farm.

Butter is a staple at our house year round and holiday baking and cooking just don't happen without it! In fact, I'm  stocking up this week in preparation for the holidays  and thinking about baking this family favorite--Crusty Cream Cheese Pound Cake. It goes great with ice cream or fruit salad or both!

Crusty Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 cup butter,softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
1  8 ounce package cream cheese,softened
3 cups sifted flour
6 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and shortening; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of electric mixer.
Add cream cheese,beating well until light and fluffy. Alternately add flour and eggs, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into greased and floured 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until pick comes out clan. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.

                                                                    

God Bless America

                                                                  
        Last night at 5:30p.m.  when I went to attend a committee meeting at the Benton County administration building, people were lined up outside in front of the building and across the parking lot  waiting to cast their vote. Even though the election officials have been talking about the large number of people that will be voting in this general election, seeing the number of people waiting to vote reminded me of how fortunate we are to live in such a great country. Even with our problems, America is Blessed!

                                                          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!

Cows and Clocks

Thank goodness we don't have to explain Daylight Savings time to the cows ! As long as we keep to the consistent routine of making sure our dairy cows are fed and milked twice each day of the year--they're happy!





Our cows are milked every day at 7:30 in the morning and 7:30 each night. While most farmers may start and finish at earlier hours, we have found that this schedule works best for us in getting the daily chores done on our farm. Our commitment to providing high-quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows by providing consistent and regular milking schedule that allows time for the cows to eat a nutritious diet and rest between each milking time.

 

Through the years, we've found it more challenging to make sure that the humans on the farm get to work at the right time and understand which direction to move the clock for Daylight Savings time than to get the cows to the barn!

 

I'm glad we don't have to explain to the cows: "Spring forward and Fall Back"!

National Sandwich Day

The 18th century  Earl of Sandwich would probably be shocked to see the variety of creative and nutritious sandwiches enjoyed today!  Sandwiches on the dairy farm are usually meals of convenience when schedules are too busy to linger at the dinner table or dairymom's favorite  excuse--" just no time to cook."  One thing for sure, no sandwich is served without cheese of some kind.

Celebrating National Sandwich Day calls for a little more stylish sandwich so I'm planning to give Sirloin Pita  Salad Sandwich a try!   You can find other delicious and nutritious recipes at Dairy Makes Sense.

Sirloin Pita Salad Sandwich

For the dressing:
2 (8 oz.) containers of fat-free plain yogurt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon minced chive
1 teaspoon dried oregano

For the sandwich:
1/2 pound sirloin or rib-eye steak,trimmed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 (4-inch) whole wheat pita bread rounds,cut in half moons
2 1/2 cups mixed salad greens (such as arugula,radicchio,and baby spinach leaves)
2/3 cup crumbled Blue cheese
1/2 small red onion,sliced and separated into rings
8 cherry tomatoes,halved

Preparation:
Spoon yogurt  into medium bowl and stir in garlic,parsley,chive and oregano until well blended.Set aside.
Rub both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Heat medium, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook steak about 6 minutes on each side (for medium) or until desired. Allow steak to rest 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices.
Warm pita halves in toaster. Into each pita half, spoon 1/4 of the yogurt dressing,mixed salad greens,Blue cheese,onion,steak and tomato. Spoon additional yogurt dressing over top.
Serves: 4

Happy National Sandwich Day!!