Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Playing Christmas music while 4-H members make ornaments  for residents at a local assisted living facility has become one of my favorite traditions of the holiday season.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to share the joy of music and community service with 4-H members and to hear their sweet voices singing Jingle Bells!

Mud Puddle Blessings

Before this year's drought, I don't think I really gave a lot of thought to mud puddles except when trying to keep my two little boys from jumping in the middle of them. Living through a drought, no doubt, brings a new perspective--mud puddles are now on my list of blessings! It was a welcome sight this morning to see mud puddles from the inch of rain that fell during the night.

Even though we have had a little rain since the beginning of fall, we are still fourteen inches below normal and will be dealing with the effects of drought through the winter as we strive to feed our cattle a nutritious diet of hay and grain. With a shortage of hay and the high cost of grain created by the drought, it is necessary to remove cows from the dairy herd that are not being productive. Today we sent eight of our milking cows to the local cattle sale. Although this is a common practice that allows a dairy farm to bring new, more productive cows into the herd, it has been difficult but necessary for us to use stricter criteria to cull our dairy cows during this drought.

Although the effects of this drought will be a challenge for our family farm for a very long time, I'm thankful for each day and every mud puddle!

Winners Drink Milk

Let's raise a glass of chocolate milk and send a toast to --Phillip Ward-- winner  of the Spotted Cow's Country Outfitter  $150 giveaway!!

I appreciate the generosity of Country Outfitter for giving me a beautiful pair of Ariat boots to review and wear  and for providing the giveaway  opportunity for readers of Spotted Cow.

Thanks to all my blog reading friends and supporters for taking the time to enter the giveaway!
Even though you didn't win the giveaway, you can still  shop at  Country Outfitter for that special person on your Christmas list!

Winners Drink Milk!!

December's Gift for the Dairy Farm

I can't think of a better way to start December than finding a newborn calf on the dairy farm! It's December's gift to our  dairy farm along with extremely warm,mild weather.
Just as soon as we finished feeding our other calves this morning, we brought this new calf to the calf raising area and placed him in his own private calf hutch and fed him  a bottle of colostrum. He's had a great birthday so far!

 Even though we will have many celebrations  through  the month of December, why not celebrate today with a birthday cake? When I came across this Birthday Pound Cake recipe in one of my many cookbooks, I just had to give it a try!

I've already got a couple of pound cake recipes in my collection, but I'm adding this one, too! I loved the lemony smell while it was baking and the lightness of the pound cake (It's amazing that a pound cake can be light!).   Topped with a couple of dips of vanilla  ice cream drizzled with  strawberries, this cake  would be a perfect choice for any celebration!


Birthday Pound Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco shortening
1 1/2 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix shortening,butter,sugar. Add eggs,one at a time. Add vanilla and lemon flavorings. Add small amounts of flour, then small amounts of milk until all is used. Spray tube pan with cooking spray, and pour batter into pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Cool for 10 minutes and turn cake out on a plate.

                                                                     Happy December!!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Even though we still desperately need rain, we have had beautiful fall weather that has allowed us to plant fields of wheat and other types of spring forage that will be enjoyed by our dairy cows when harvested in the spring. I'm thankful for the green fields that growing and the limited amount of rainfall that we have received.

Santa's Cookie List

When flipping through my recipe file with thoughts of baking cookies for the holiday, I found a
recipe that my nursing school roommate gave me years ago. Just looking at the recipe card brought a flood of memories of special occasions and fun events that we enjoyed together while in school.  You can never have too many cookie recipes and this is a perfect one for Christmas,Valentine Day,showers or just because! I wonder if this cookie could be on Santa's list?

Raspberry Hearts 

1 pound butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
6 cups flour
Raspberry or strawberry jam


Beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Add flour to sugar and butter mixture. (dough is dry)
Roll out thin (1/2 inch). Cut out with small  heart shaped cookie cutter. Spatula onto an ungreased pan.
Bake at 400 degrees only 5-7 minutes. Cool.
Spread raspberry or strawberry jam on top of cookie and place second cookie on top.

Optional: Glaze cookies before baking with 2 egg yolks and 2  tablespoons water.

 

I'm thinking Santa would probably enjoy these with a glass of milk!

 

 

Healthy Holiday Breakfast

It's not every one that can get excited about Homemade Low-Fat Granola! Last week while grocery shopping, I gave up on finding a plain granola that I could put with my low-fat vanilla yogurt. Lo and behold, this recipe is on the Dairy Makes Sense website.  What's even better, why not make this  for a    special person on your Christmas list that enjoys a low-fat nutritious and tasty breakfast! 

Homemade Low-Fat Granola

Ingredients for the granola:
4 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal,uncooked
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup raisins

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together oatmeal,almonds,cinnamon,and salt,if desired, in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl,whisk maple syrup,apple juice and vegetable oil; pour over oatmeal mixture and stir to coat thoroughly. Spread mixture in an even layer onto a 15x12-inch baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes,stirring twice during baking time.

Cool mixture in the pan before adding raisins. Store granola in an airtight container. To serve: Pour 1 cup milk over a heaping 1/2 cup of granola. Top with fresh berries, if desired.

Substitution Idea: Instead of milk,top one cup of fat-free yogurt with the granola.

Can't you just see this granola recipe in a cute little mason jar decorated with a holiday ribbon?