Beef Ambassador

With Memorial Day, graduations, and Father’s Day all rapidly approaching, grilling season is in full swing!

One of the great features of beef is its versatility.  there are so many different cuts, marinades, rubs, and recipes when it comes to grilling with beef. This summer, try out a new recipe for one of my favorite BEEF meals–kabobs.

Ingredients

1. 1.       1 pound boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick
2. 2.       1 pound all-purpose potatoes
3. 3.       2 medium yellow or zucchini squash

Sauce:

1. 1.       3/4 cup steak sauce
2. 2.       2 large cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

1. 1.       Cut potatoes into 1-1/2-inch pieces. Place in microwave-safe dish; cover with vented plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH 6 to 8 minutes or until just tender, stirring once. Cool slightly.
2. 2.       Combine sauce ingredients in 1-cup glass measure. Microwave on HIGH 1-1/2 minutes, stirring once.
3. 3.       Cut squash lengthwise in half. Cut beef steak and squash into 1-1/4-inch pieces. Combine beef, squash, potatoes and 1/3 cup sauce in large bowl; toss. Alternately thread beef and vegetables onto metal skewers.
4. 4.       Place kabobs on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, 8 to 10 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, 9 to 11 minutes) for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning once and brushing with remaining sauce during last 5 minutes.

To ensure doneness when grilling beef, insert an instant read thermometer horizontally into the side of your burger or steak, burgers should be at least 160°. Steaks should be either 145°F (medium rare) or 160°F (medium).

For even more great grilling recipes, check out http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/recipesearchadvanced.aspx

The advanced recipe search tool allows you to find recipes based off of cooking technique (such as grilling!) or based on other ingredients you want to use.

Happy BEEF grilling!

I am officially all settled in back in Minnesota, and it is wonderful! In the week or so that I have been home I have pretty much adopted my summer routine of feeding cows, washing show heifers and observing the cattle to make sure they are all healthy. My days start early and end late, but I absolutely love every minute of it!

I think the biggest lesson that I have learned since returning home for summer is how to handle the uncontrollable. Luckily, our family wasn’t as severely impacted by the recent droughts across the country as many farmers and ranchers. But, the weather we have experienced this winter and spring has caused quite a few problems (we even had snow in May!) A combination of the winter weather and late spring killed most of the hay ground that farmers rely on to feed their cattle throughout the winter when our pastures are covered in snow. Now farmers are looking for creative options to provide winter forages for our cattle. The late snowfall also delayed the growth of grass in our pastures, causing farmers to keep cattle on hay for an even longer period of time.

All of these weather problems are definitely stressful as we try to find ways to provide feed for our cattle. But, that doesn’t mean the farmers in our area are going to give up and find a new career path. We all just have to adjust our plans a little bit and find other methods for feeding our cattle.

Relying on things that are beyond my control may be the hardest part of farming for me. I LOVE to have control over all aspects of my life, so relying on the weather to cooperate is not an easy task for me. Luckily, I have wonderful mentors to help demonstrate the patience necessary to accept the things we can not change (like the weather) and teach me the wisdom to find creative, successful solutions for the problems that arise from changes in our plans. It is the willingness to think outside of the box that allows farmers and ranchers across the country to continue feeding our world, even when the weather chooses to make things a little more difficult than average.

Until Next Time,
Erin

As I have been trying to find new and creative ideas for blogs, I decided to find a recipe that was unique and fun to make! This past Friday night my brother and I experimented by grilling out burgers using a recipe we found by visiting this link: http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/recipe.aspx?id=2411

Getting ready to put the burgers on the grill!

At first, both my brother and I were a little skeptical about the “Olympian Burger” recipe that we found online. But, after the first bite, they were delicious!!! This particular recipe had an amazing contrasting flavor and the many flavors really combined for a unique eating experience! Yummy!

The ingredients you will need to make this recipe are as following:

1. 1 pound ground beef (95% lean)
2. 1/4 cup low-fat or regular plain Greek-style yogurt
3. 1/2 cup olive tapenade, divided
4. 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
5. 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
6. 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
7. 4 whole-grain hamburger buns, split, toasted
8. Fresh spinach leaves

The 5 simple and easy instructions only took my brother and me less than 20 minutes to get everything prepped for the grill.

1. Combine yogurt and 1/4 cup tapenade in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Combine ground beef and remaining 1/4 cup tapenade in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Lightly shape into four 1/2-inch thick patties.
3. Heat grill pan over medium heat until hot. Place patties in pan; cook 10 to 12 minutes until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 160°F, turning occasionally. Season with pepper, as desired. Remove; keep warm.                         *Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.
4. Add onion and zucchini to grill pan over medium heat; season with salt and pepper, as desired. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp-tender, turning occasionally.
5. Place 1 tablespoon cheese on bottom of each bun; top evenly with spinach leaves, onion, burger and zucchini. Spread 2 tablespoons yogurt mixture on cut side of each bun top. Close sandwiches.
   

   When cooking ground beef, make sure you cook to the proper temperature! Safe and Savory at 160 degrees!

   

   The finished product! Don’t let looks deceive you…this burger is lean, nutritious, and delicious!

If you need a LEAN beef recipe that is quick and easy for you and your family this grilling season, I highly recommend the Olympian Burger recipe or the many other recipes that can be found on www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com!!!

Committed until the end,

Chandler Mulvaney

I am sure that most of you, if you had the chance, were spending time with your mother this past Sunday. My family has always taken the time to recognize the most important woman in our life by showing our appreciation not only on Mother’s Day but throughout the year. I’ll admit, we’re not perfect but we try our best to make each other all happy. This past Sunday my family cooked Top Loin steaks with some veggies to start off our grilling season right! We thoroughly enjoyed those medium-rare steaks and had a great day with our favorite mom! We even went and saw Iron Man 3 later that afternoon! Haha!

My mother and I on Mother’s Day wearing our I heart Beef shirts!

Now that I’ve given some insight on how my family usually celebrates Mother’s Day, I’d like to share some awesome history behind the day that is dedicated to mothers.

England was one of the first countries to set aside a day to recognize mothers. In the eighteenth century when many people worked as household servants for the rich, “Mothering Sunday” was reserved for them to return home to be with their mothers. In the United States, Mother’s Day did not become an official holiday until 1915. Its establishment was due largely to the perseverance and love of one daughter, Anna Jarvis. Anna’s mother had provided strength and support as the family made their home in West Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where her father served as a minister. Anna had grown up helping her mother take care of her garden, mostly filled with white carnations, her mother’s favorite flower. When her mother passed away on May 5^th, 1905, Anna was determined to honor her mother. She asked her minister to give a sermon in her mother’s memory. Later, Anna Jarvis began writing to congressman, asking them to set aside a day to honor mother’s. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day and a year later several other states began to celebrate the day as well.

I know most families bring their mother flowers as tradition, however, why not start a new tradition buy grilling out some delicious and nutritious steaks every Mother’s Day!

One of the delicious Top Loin steaks we grilled out this past Sunday! Yummy!

Committed until the end,

Chandler Mulvaney

I can now add visiting New Orleans, trying pralines and speaking on a panel to my list of accomplishments in life, all thanks to the National Beef Ambassador Program! One of our sponsors, Farm Credit, invited our team to send an individual to speak on a panel at their idea share on how to develop the future generation of “ag-vocates”. I was thrilled to represent our team at the event and to have the opportunity to discuss such an important issue!

After checking into my hotel on Thursday afternoon, two wonderful Louisiana cattlewomen gave me a tour of New Orleans- what a beautiful and lively city! The food was delicious and I loved all of the random musicians showing off their talents in the streets. After a good night sleep, I woke up Friday morning ready to have a great day!

Over the past couple of years I have watched multiple panels but never had the opportunity to speak on one! I was joined by wonderful representatives from Louisiana FFA, American Farm Bureau Federation, Farm Credit Mid-America and America’s Heartland to have a great discussion on ag-vocacy! We were able to discuss the importance of ensuring that consumers have a basic understanding of food production and the growing popularity of using social media as a tool to interact with a large group of people. Overall, the main idea was that ag-vocacy will continue to grow in importance as fewer people play a direct role in producing our nation’s food, but there are many people who possess the passion necessary to help close the gap between those who produce the food and those who eat it! I definitely left this panel feeling very confident in the future of American agriculture!

Until Next Time,
Erin Morrison

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate beef month then to attend a consumer event and promote beef! Our team had a wonderful time at the National Harbor Wine and Food Festival this weekend, even if we were only there for a few days!

We had such a great audience at this festival! The majority of people who came to the event were passionate about food, so we had a wonderful opportunity to show them some great new ways to incorporate beef into their diet. Some of our main attractions were sirloin samples, fabulous recipes, and a fun “pin the cut on the cow” game!

Our group ready to start having conversations with the many consumers who stopped by our booth!

I was really excited about the recipe part of our event! I ABSOLUTELY love to eat beef but I often find myself eating beef the same way over and over again. So, I was very excited about the great new ideas to try out with beef! We had lots of great ideas for grilling, marinades, rubs and the winning recipes from the national cook off! If all of this talk about new beef is making you want to find some delicious new ideas to try for your family, check out:
http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/

Good luck with your summer cooking!

Until Next Time,
Erin Morrison

 

I’m seven months into my year as a National Beef Ambassador, and one thing is clear.  If anyone on the team is going to have a travel mishap, it’s probably me. Two weeks ago, I was on my way to Indiana for an event at Purdue University.  I was so excited about this trip, especially since just days before, I had made the decision to attend Purdue in the fall.  What could be better than a Beef event on my future home campus?

Well, getting to this event was not so easy.  After hours of delays, my flight finally got canceled, and I ended up spending a night in Minnesota, which made me arrive hours late to the event the next day. Despite all of the travel delays and hassles, of all of the Beef Ambassador events we have had so far, I think this one might have been my favorite. I really enjoyed talking to students my own age and finding out what their thoughts on beef were. It was fun to connect with them through a variety of activities, such as scavenger hunts and beef trivia.

Naturally, getting home was also a challenge.  I missed a connecting flight in Seattle and spent another night in an airport, but despite these mishaps, I can’t wait until our next trip!

As I sat down at my computer this morning, coffee in hand, I wondered what I should blog about today. After taking a few minutes to browse trending topics on social media, I saw a reoccurring theme….”My Beef with Carrie Underwood.”  Those five words were everywhere. My agriculture friends had shared it, my city friends had shared it, everyone had shared it. As I opened the blog post I soon realized that my good friend and past National Beef Ambassador, Malorie Bankhead, had written it! 

Malorie and I first became acquainted in September of 2010 when we both attended the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Legislative Conference in Washington DC. I was there with my family representing the Fall River-Big Valley Cattlemen’s Association while Malorie was with the 2010 National Beef Ambassador Team. I remember our walk to the Capitol when I first asked her this question “What in the world are you doing in that bright red shirt?” She straightened up, smiled, and proudly said “I’m a member of the National Beef Ambassador Team.” After chatting about the program over the next few days, it didn’t take me long to know that I wanted to be just like her. Malorie’s passion for the beef industry is contagious and she has this special way of making you believe that you can change the world, and after her blog on Monday….it is undoubtedly true.

Taking that step to write an opinion piece was brave. She was confident, she was bold, she went out on a limb, and guess what? It paid off. Carrie Underwood, yes….the Carrie Underwood, read Malorie’s blog! Her blog was also shared over 10,000 times on Facebook with over 110,ooo views. This opened up the door for conversation! It is possible, people.  

No, there were not any pictures in today’s blog. Pictures are used to grab peoples attention. I believe the simple fact that Malorie Bankhead, from middle of nowhere California, made Carrie Underwood think twice about who she supports is attention-grabbing enough.

What is even greater is that it doesn’t end here. YOU can make your voice be heard. Have an opinion about something? Write about it. Thanks to social media, the sky is no longer the limit! Just remember that when you speak up you need to be a L.E.A.D.E.R.:

L: Listen to opposing views

E: Embrace challenges

A: Acknowledge new ideas with merit

D: Dedicate yourself to positive solutions

E: Encourage others

R: Respect diversity

You can still be proud of your heritage, bold in your actions, and confident in your beliefs all while being respectful.

Just in case you missed them, here are Malorie’s blogs written this week: “My Beef with Carrie Underwood” and her follow up blog “Mending Fences”

http://malthebeefgal.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/my-beef-with-carrie-underwood/

http://malthebeefgal.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/mending-fences/

Keep up the good work, Mal!

As of today, I have two weeks until I am done with classes and back to the farm for the summer! After a relaxing weekend with my wonderful mother here in Indiana, I am more than ready to return to Minnesota (but it would be nice if the snow melts by then!) for a summer of farming and family time. As I’m sure you’ve gathered, the past week has been extremely busy for me! My beef ambassador events involved our Purdue event, the Boston Marathon and the NCBA legislative conference. My time in these big cities showed me how much I appreciate the quiet, rural lifestyle that I grew up with!

When I heard that our team had received a grant to send us to the legislative conference I was beyond excited! But, the small town farm girl in me started to feel a little differently as I got into the taxi cab in our nations capital. I couldn’t help but question if I was cut out for all of the hustle and bustle in D.C. It didn’t take me long to realize that I actually enjoy a lot of the activities that occur in this awesome town!

Our team had some time for some sightseeing! Can you tell which building we are standing in front of??

The most exciting part of our trip involved our trip to the hill to visit with our state’s representatives. In my high school politics class I had learned all about the buildings that the congressmen and senators have their offices in, but I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to enter these buildings and visit with my representatives about issues that impact my way of life! During the day I visited eight of our elected officials and explained to them the direct impact of the farm bill, clean water act and delisting the timber wolves as an endangered species on my family and our farm. At first I was nervous to be involved in the conversation, but I soon learned that the staffers who met with us were genuinely interested in listening to our opinions and personal stories!

Between the busy schedule of meeting with politicians, Jacquelyn and I found some time to grab a quick picture!

I’m not convinced that I want to completely change paths and become a career politician, but I do have a deep desire to continue lobbying and sharing my story with the politicians who are elected to serve us!

Until next time,
Erin Morrison