NATIONAL HAMBURGER DAY!

Hello all!!  Hope everyone is enjoying the warm summer weather and has had a chance to get out in the sun!  Today is national hamburger day and with Memorial Day weekend celebrations its a great opportunity to fire up the grill!!

Here is a recipe that you might give a whirl, I thought it sounded delicious! I know my family will be having hamburgers tonight and steak this weekend. Have a fun and safe weekend!

Total recipe time: 30 minutes Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1. 1 pound ground round
2. 1/4 cup prepared thick-and-chunky salsa
3. 4 frozen cream cheese or Cheddar cheese-stuffed jalapeno peppers
4. 1/4 cup prepared salsa con queso
5. 1/4 cup chopped fresh plum tomato
6. 2 tablespoons sliced pitted ripe olives
7. Prepared thick-and-chunky salsa

Instructions

1. Combine ground beef and 1/4 cup salsa in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Lightly shape into four thin patties. Place one stuffed pepper in center of each patty; wrap beef around pepper to enclose, sealing seams and forming ball. Flatten balls into patties about 4 to 5 inches across and 1 inch thick.
2. Place patties on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 15 to 16 minutes, until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 160°F, turning occasionally.
3. Spread 1 tablespoon salsa con queso evenly over top of each burger. Sprinkle evenly with tomato and olives. Serve with salsa, as desired.

There’s no place like home…

I never thought I would miss the flat, treeless, dirt roads of SW Kansas…but the last two days I have had the pleasure of taking walks and realized that I had.  There are no cars, people or houses…just the wide open skies, an empty road, and cattle grazing the green grass nearby.  This leaves you to walk, sing along with your ipod, or I guess you could even dance in the middle of the road and no one would ever know.  Oh the benefits of a country lifestyle…  As much fun as school is, I will be so glad when I can finally leave the city and find my own quiet haven tucked back in the middle of no where some day!  And of course, there will be cows…

University of Missouri Collegiate CattleWomen

I came across this article on Facebook and wanted to share it with everyone! It is neat to see what women are doing across the US to spread the word about beef! I would encourage all of you to watch the YouTube video at the bottom of my blog!

http://www.agweb.com/BeefToday/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?PID=0761f2e8-88c1-4dcd-8825-9843d060e20a

Meet Your Meat on Campus

4/30/2010

By Sara Brown

The vast majority of our consumers do not understand where their meat, milk or eggs come from. You can sit there at the computer and type in a number of search keywords, and find a wealth of opinions about the beef industry, farming and agriculture. Some will be accurate, but most won’t. Now, you can sit there and complain about it, or you can do something about it.

These girls from the University of Missouri (MU) Collegiate Cattlewomen decided to do something about it. Their “Meet Your Meat” campaign brought a show heifer to the middle of Lowry Mall on the MU campus, while the local Boone County Cattlemen’s served hamburgers and ribeye steaks to passersby.

As crowds of students, walked by, here’s what I heard:

“What does she eat? She’s huge!”

“Want to try a sample? Ribeye steak is one of the 29 lean cuts of beef.”

“Come pet the cow! It’s two months pregnant!”

“I love beef. It tastes so good!” (Really it was more like “luuuuuuuuvvvv”, but I think you get it.)

“Isn’t kinda mean to have the smell of meat going right into the cow’s face?”

I have to give these girls an amazing amount of credit. They handled the comments and questions like a pro! With attention getter “Cupcake” an Angus heifer from member Morgan Kueckelhan, there were many students stopping to take pictures and learn about the animal. Erin Mohler, PR committee chair for CCW and a student from La Plata, Mo., says there were a lot of production question from students, as well as if they had a response to the movie, Food, Inc.

“We try to tell people that, we are here to tell our story, so if you don’t mind, let me tell you about myself and what we do on my farm back home,” Mohler says. “It’s very important that the young growing community understand the importance of [knowing] where their food comes from.”

The Boone County Cattlemen and CCW members cooked about 500 burgers and ribeyes for the event, while the CCW members sold “I ♥ Beef” t-shirts.

And the answer to the fifth question above? “The only smells cows are concerned about are hay, grass and corn. They don’t even know what a hamburger is.” 

Meet Your Meat YouTube Video

Sharing the story of BEEF

Yesterday afternoon four KSU Collegiate CattleWomen girls and myself went to a Spring Fair in Clay Center, KS to promote beef! The building was full of different types of booths, everything from cabinetry to cakes, but you could smell the delicious smell of steak cooking from the front doors!

On the menu was thinly sliced top round steak marinaded in Daddy Hinkle’s instant marinade, all of which was purchased from our local Ray’s Apple Market.  It was wonderful and so easy to prepare!

(Pictured below is KSU freshman Lauren Geiger who is majoring in Pre-Veterinary Medicine.  Lauren is from NW Missouri where her family raises purebred Angus cattle.)

 

Directions:

1. Place thinly sliced steak in electric skillet on 200-250 degrees.

2. Lightly sprinkle some of Daddy Hinkle’s instant wet marinade onto the meat, followed by D.H. dry marinade.

3. Cook for 2-4 minutes until meat is cooked all the way though and is at 160 degrees.

4. Serve over rice, as fajitas, or even on top of a salad!

Here are some beef facts that we shared with the people who visited our booth:

• Beef is a nutritionally dense product that is full of nutrients including zinc, iron, protein and B-vitamins.
• ZINC is a nutrient that you probably don’t think about very much, but your body needs it for things like growth and development, maintenance of your immune system, wound healing and appetite control.
  • A 3oz. serving of beef contains as much zinc as            11 2/3 (3 oz.) servings of tuna meat!
• IRON helps in carrying oxygen to body cells and tissues, making new red blood cells, aids in brain development and supports the immune system- all to keep you healthy.
  • A 3oz. serving of beef contains as much iron as 3 cups of raw spinach!
• PROTEIN helps keep you energized and is important in supporting many of your body functions.  Protein is a part of all your body’s tissues, even muscles, bones and organs. Proteins can also serve as an energy source and work with the immune system to protect you from disease.
  • One 3oz. serving of beef provides 50% of the protein recommended daily.
• B-VITAMINS help you to unleash energy in the food that you consume. Calorie for calorie beef is one of the best sources of many essential B-vitamins.
  • A 3oz. serving of beef contains as much B12 as 7 (3oz.) skinless chicken breasts!

When part of a balanced and healthy diet, beef can help to maintain a healthy weight, build muscle and fuel energy for physical activity.

(Pictured above is Lauren Geiger and Karl Dawn Hobbs visiting with a consumer. Karl Dawn is a junior at KSU majoring in Ag. Education. She is from Beloit, KS where her and her Dad raise Shorthorn cattle.)