Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Bridal showers are definitely a fun part of my transition into my soon to be mother-in-law role.

Our hostess had the perfect theme for the shower -- "Udderly in Love"!

 

 

I'm thankful to share in all the " Udderly in Love" memory making!

 

Nutritional Milk Deal

Although I haven't seen the price of milk change  at my local store, I know that there is a huge  variance in the retail price of milk from store to store and from city to city. Milk price is determined by the market forces of supply and demand and right now there is a global demand for milk that is putting pressure on local store prices.  We (dairy farmers) don't have anything to do with milk pricing but we are responsible for producing high-quality milk that offers more nutritional value than any other food America's families can buy.


If you're making hard decisions about the best nutrition for your food dollar, consider milk a nutritional deal because:

• Dairy products are an economical staple with great taste and nutrition.
• Milk offers more nutrients per penny than almost any other beverage option in the supermarket.
• Milk is one of the most nutrient -rich foods on your grocery list.
• At about 25 cents per 8 ounce glass, on a gallon basis, milk is a bargain.
• Milk supplies nine essential nutrients that you and your family need, including calcium,       vitamin D, protein, vitamin A and potassium.

You can find more information about dairy nutrition or how we work to produce high-quality milk at Dairy Makes Sense.

                                                            Milk is a nutritional deal!

Bessie Fact: Dairy foods provide 70 percent of the calcium in the nation's food supply;

milk is the top source of potassium,phosphorus, and vitamin D in the U.S. diet.

No Foolin'--Dairy Makes Sense!

I would know it was a joke if the farmers came into the kitchen and told me they wouldn't be hungry today!  I'm looking forward to trying Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas With Yogurt. It's no joke--Dairy Makes Sense!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas With Yogurt

3 ounces cream cheese
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast
12 ounces chunky salsa
1 cup Mexican-blend cheese,shredded
8 (6 inch) whole wheat tortillas
Yogurt Sauce:
2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Preparation:P
Heat cream cheese in large skillet over medium heat until soft. Stir in chicken and 1/2 cup of the salsa; mix well. Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese; stir until melted.Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place seam side down in 12x8 inch baking dish. Top with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Serve with yogurt sauce.

For the yogurt sauce, combine yogurt, cilantro and cumin. Chill until needed.

 

No foolin'--you can find a variety of delicious recipes at Dairy Makes Sense.

Happy April Fool's Day!

 

 

Dairy Farming Benefits

Although working with family doesn't always create a stress free work environment, I feel really fortunate to work  with my family everyday on the dairy farm. 

It's a rewarding experience and what I consider as one of my dairy farming benefits  to see my sons share in the daily responsibilities of caring for our dairy cows and the land we call home.

 

One of our daily farm chores  done every  morning and afternoon is the calf feeding. Yesterday afternoon  I beat Cody to  the tractor driving job, so he fed the calf on the bottle while

 

 

Casey fed the calves that drink milk from the bucket.

 

 
 

 

 

  This tractor driver, besides being a great calf feeding tractor driver,  provides benefits to the hard working dairy farmer sons  

 

                                       
                                             with labors of love from  dairymom's kitchen!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

     National Ag Day celebrates the fact that American agriculture is doing more and doing it better.

 I love this picture of my mother-in-law, Bonnah Lyn.  It's a reminder to me of how hard she worked, the sacrifices she made for her family and family farm, and how technology has changed the efficiency of food production.
    I'm thankful for  our agricultural heritage and for the third generation farmer she raised just for me!

Dairy Sweet Cake

When trying to decide what kind of cake to bake for my Mother's birthday last week, I found  this recipe tucked in my stack of  recipes that I had pulled from a December 2012 edition of Southern Living. It's a stately three layer cake, perfect for a celebration of any kind and has the perfect dairy ingredients--milk and butter!

Even though we never met Mrs. Billett, we certainly thank her for providing this sweet dairy-filled cake  recipe!


Mrs. Billett's White Cake

1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter,softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
5 egg whites
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (8 inch) round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper, and grease and flour paper.
Stir together milk and vanilla.
Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar beating until light and fluffy. Sift together flour and baking powder; add to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
Beat egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form; gently fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks; discard parchment paper. Cool completely (about 40 minutes).
Spread Vanilla Buttercream Frosting between layers (about 1 cup per layer) and on top and sides of cake.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter,softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (32oz) package powdered sugar
6-7 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer 1 to 2 minutes or until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with 6 Tablespoons milk, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Stir in vanilla. If desired, beat in remaining 1 Tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency.

 

                            You can't go wrong with this cake, especially if it's topped with ice cream
                                                           or served with a glass of milk!

Dairy Spring Break

Triple A Farms, also known as Anglin Dairy, was the first  stop on the spring break tour for University of Arkansas animal science students  in search of  knowledge about different types of dairy production and the day to day activities on a dairy farm.

 

Only one or two of the students had ever been on a dairy farm so I'm pretty sure we provided the start of a unique spring break--much more entertaining than a  sunny, sandy beach!

 

 

The cows were curious about visitors in the feed barn but they kept on eating!

The students saw first hand that dairy farmers care for their cows by providing a nutritious diet.

 

                                                                                   
Although the baby calves are the last stop on the tour, it's always the favorite for any visitors!
These calves are the future of our dairy farm and it's easy to understand that we make it a priority to get them off to a healthy start with individual care and attention.

 

                     A fun dairy spring break tour  always ends with plenty of cheese, milk, ice cream
                                                                                  and
                                               a lot of smiles from both farmers and students!