Category Archives: Sandwiches

Beef Production Has Been This Family’s Tradition for Five Generations

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Medberry's Stone House

Nestled in the rolling hills and green pastures of Clayton County, Iowa, you’ll find Rob and Dawn Medberry’s generational home almost blending into its native landscape.

“The attractive old stone house, erected in 1860 of stone quarried on the farm, still stands staunch and strong. The tall barn, erected in 1864 with a hewn oak frame and stone foundation, stands straight with nary a sag in its roofline,” according to an article printed in a 1967 newspaper that Rob shared with me. More than four decades later, this report is still accurate.

The farmstead was built by James Kerr, who moved from his native Scotland to New York state as a young man. He worked as a bargeman on the Erie Canal before moving to Elgin, Ill., and taking a bride. The young, married couple moved 5 ½ miles north of Volga, Iowa, and stared acquiring farmland. Kerr bought this farm in 1856, just 10 years after Iowa gained its statehood. He was truly a Scottish pioneer, gaining notoriety for his registered Shorthorns and fine horses.

James Kerr’s son, John, took over the farm in 1908. John Kerr’s daughter, Agnes, married Perry Medberry and the young couple became the farm operators in 1924. Rob’s father, Glenn Medberry, was born on the farm and lived there until 1988.

Rob Medberry's Latham Dealer Sign, with frame built by his son Max. A purple-ribbon award winning 4-H project!

Rob’s family is the fifth generation of Medberry’s to live in the beautifully crafted stone house. He and Dawn will celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary on June 11. They’re also the proud parents of four very active children: son Max, 17, is just finishing his junior year of high school; 13-year-old daughter Madelin is a 7th grader; Maria, age 7, is finishing second grade; and daughter, Mayleigh, is three years old.

Activities on the farm keep the brood busy when school dismisses for the summer. From the time he was old enough to enroll in the program, Max has been active in 4-H. Last summer he earned a purple ribbon at the county fair for his woodworking project, which involved building a frame for his dad’s Latham dealer sign. This summer Max is showing a steer at the county fair, and Madelin is showing a heifer. Both of them have also entered a Pen of 3, which will be judged according to feed efficiency and cost of gain, as well as for amount of back fat and length of ribeye.

Rob Medberry and part of his cattle herd.

Raising beef is a natural in this part of the state, where pastureland and forage is abundant in the hillside. The Medberrys have 70 cow-calf pairs plus 110 feeder cattle. They also plant Latham® Hi-Tech Hybrids and Soybeans.

Rob is in his first season as a Latham® dealer and says he’s enjoying it. “Nick Benson (Latham’s regional sales manager here and corn product specialist for the west) knows the products and is great at placing them in these soils,” says Rob. “I don’t have to worry about product performance because Latham has developed a reputation for quality. And, the people are just great to work with.”

With chores and field work, plus a household of busy children, the Medberrys rely on quick fixes and kid-friendly meals like this recipe for Sloppy Joes. It’s a crowd pleaser for all ages!

Sloppy Joes

You will need:

  • 1 pound of ground beef
  • 1 can of tomato soup
  • Ketchup
  • Mustard
  • Hamburger buns
  • Skillet
  • Container for excess fat
  • Strainer
  • Stove top, hot plate or outdoor oven

Directions:

  1. Brown the meat in a skillet.
  2. Hold the strainer over the container for fat. Pour everything from the skillet into the strainer. It will catch the meat and let the fat run through.
  3. Put the meat back in the skillet. Add the soup, ketchup and mustard. Heat until thoroughly cooked.
  4. Serve on buns.

Lessons Learned on the Farm

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Teresa Falk, Creator of Rural Route Ramblings

Guest blog by Teresa Falk, freelance writer
and creator of Rural Route Ramblings blog

Growing up on the farm I was surrounded by animals. As a young child the much bigger cows and bulls were intimidating at first, but I soon grew to love them. Helping dad feed the animals, spread straw or guard gates were part of our everyday chores on the farm. These chores taught us responsibility and the importance of working hard.

Every winter when the cows calved I would pick my favorite calves and give them special names. But deep down I knew not to get too attached to the calves because as my dad often reminded me – the cattle were not our pets. They were part of our livelihood. I was well aware that my favorite calf would eventually grow into a heifer and may end up on my dinner plate or someone else’s. And I was OK with that. I knew that the animals we raised on our farm would provide nutrition to others. I grew up eating beef and continue to because I know it’s part of a healthy diet.

I get my love of animals from my dad. For his recent 60th birthday we had a party on the farm where we served his own beef. As I told the guests, when you come to a beef cattle farm, you can expect to eat beef. My mom made this delicious recipe of Barbecued Beef served on a bun.

Barbecued Beef

1 (4 lb) beef chuck roast
1 cup ketchup
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 cups water
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt

Place beef in roaster and into oven. Cover and bake at 350 F, turning occasionally, until done.
Remove from oven. Cool and shred beef with fork. Place shredded beef in slow cooker. Combine all ingredients and pour over beef. Let simmer in slow cooker for awhile to heat and blend flavors. Serve on buns. Enjoy.

Plan a “Fancy” Tea for Mother’s Day

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Throwing a party for your mom and her friends tops the list of “How to Celebrate Mother’s Day.” That’s all well and good for older children, but it might not be so practical for an 8- or 9-year-old child – unless you’re a Brownie Girl Scout!

Tomorrow our Brownie troop – 19 members strong – is hosting a Fancy Nancy Tea Party. We’ll be breaking out the boas and bringing the bling. “Pink” will be the theme of the day because Nancy wouldn’t want it any other way!

Fancy Nancy is a fictional character in the best-selling books by Jane O’Connor. Nancy loves everything fancy, from clothing and accessories to activities and words. (Yes, she’s a girl after my own heart! Nothing makes me smile like a fun pair of shoes, and I’ve always loved using fancy words – even before fancy words were cool.)

To keep with our theme, we’ll be serving a menu of fancy foods including:

  • Pink mints – thanks to Laura Cunningham for sharing her grandma’s recipe;
  • Pink Lemonade Cupcakes – thanks to Leslie Maynes for sharing the recipe below;
  • Strawberry Sherbet Punch – thanks to Mary Schumacher for sharing her family tradition; and
  • Ribbon sandwiches – thanks to my own mother for this one; plus
  • PB&J, using a Pampered Chef® Cut-N-Seal® to make them fancy, too!

While our Brownies are busy in the kitchen with food preparation, their mothers will be treated to manicures. We’ll also show a PowerPoint presentation that highlights our troop’s activities throughout the year. In addition, each girl will have the opportunity to have a “party pic” taken with her mother.

Tomorrow’s tea is sure to be Très Magnifique! How will you make your Mother’s Day extra fancy?

Special thanks to all of the special ladies below, who are helping make our Fancy Nancy party extra special:

  • Michelle Carlson Hartman, Michelle’s Country Cookin’;
  • Cathy Carlson, Cathy’s Country Cookin’;
  • Lori Sanders, Forever Yours Flowers & Gifts;
  • Sharon Sanders & April Sanders, Sanders Photography; and
  • fellow Brownie leaders, Beth Strike and Tracy Dirksen.

Cream Cheese Mints

Ingredients:
2½ c. powdered sugar
3 oz. cream cheese
½ tsp. flavoring
Coloring as desired
Rubber mint molds in desired shape

Directions:
Mix together sugar and cream cheese well. Add in flavoring, then coloring. Dust molds with powdered sugar. Press dough into mold, remove and chill on a cookie sheet. This recipe yields approximately 70 mints.

Note: If you don’t have rubber molds, the following method will yield great-tasting mints as well: Roll into balls and flatten with fork onto cookie tray. Sprinkle on powdered sugar. Chill 1 1/2 hours, flip and chill another 1 1/2 hours.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
2 or more drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.