Celebrate Healthy Living with Beef!

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Laura Cunningham, Marketing Coordinator

Guest blog by
Amanda Radke, BEEF Daily editor, and fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, SD

After a long, cold winter and spring on the ranch, the sun is finally shining, the birds are chirping, the pastures are greening up, and I’m dusting off my running shoes to start training for an upcoming half-marathon this summer. May not only brings a change in weather and our spirits, but it’s also a time of celebration. Did you know May is Beef Month?

As a busy rancher, writer, blogger, speaker and wife, I believe in the power of protein found in beef to keep me strong, healthy and energized to conquer the things I need to accomplish throughout the day.

Beef Stuffed Peppers

In honor of Beef Month, I hope you will try this family-favorite recipe, “Beef-Stuffed Peppers.” This is an oldie, but a goodie, found at BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com. The best part about this easy recipe is that it always wows a crowd and makes a bold statement when entertaining. Be inspired by this recipe and have a May fiesta to celebrate family, friends, healthy living and May Beef Month!

BEEF Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
4 medium green, red or yellow bell peppers
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup uncooked white rice
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Sauce:

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian-style stewed canned tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Cut tops off bell peppers; remove seeds.
Combine ground beef, onion, rice, 3 tablespoons ketchup, salt, 1/2 teaspoon oregano and pepper in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly.
Spoon beef mixture into peppers; stand peppers in 8 x 8-inch baking dish.
Combine sauce ingredients; pour over peppers.
Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in 350°F oven 1-1/2 hours, until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pepper registers 160°F.

More about Amanda Radke:

When BEEF magazine decided to initiate BEEF Daily, an online roundup of beef-industry news and commentary presented each morning from Monday through Thursday, Amanda Radke was the logical choice to serve as its Editor.

She’s a fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, SD, and a recent South Dakota State University graduate. She grew up on a family-owned Limousin seedstock operation in which she’s still very active.

At a young age, she already has a long record of advocacy for the U.S. beef industry. She’s the 2006 National FFA Extemporaneous Speaking champion, and the 2006 National Beef Ambassador. And she’s served previous internships with USDA’s Ag Marketing Service in Washington D.C, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Denver, Colo., in addition to an internship with BEEF magazine this in 2008.

Just how much of an advocate is she? You might ask. Perhaps you heard the story of a young FFA member who led a walkout of several thousand members from a Carrie Underwood concert a couple of summers ago in protest of the country singer’s anti-meat positions and association with the Humane Society of the U.S. That young person was Amanda.

On BEEF Daily, Amanda will be providing timely industry news each morning from Monday through Thursday, to which readers can comment; along with her blog chronicling her experiences and adventures as a young ag professional.

Lessons Learned on the Farm

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Shannon Latham, Vice President

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.

Fire Up the Grill: It’s Beef Month

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Shannon Latham, Vice President

Earlier this year, I wrote about one of my favorite agvocates, Debbie Lyons-Blythe. A Kansas cattle rancher and mother of five, Debbie grew up on her family’s Angus ranch. She has continued her passion and involvement in agriculture by caring for 500 cattle each day in the heart of the Flint Hills.

In an effort to share her passion and help educate consumers about modern agriculture and animal care, Debbie started a blog, Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch. Debbie says her ultimate goal in creating the blog was to connect with the individuals buying groceries and educate them about their food choices. She wanted to bridge the gap between the knowledge we often take for granted in rural America and the average consumers’ agriculture background and knowledge. Thus, she says, it seemed natural to start sharing some of her family’s favorite recipes with blog readers.

We were lucky enough to receive just such a recipe from Debbie in honor of National Beef Month. I must admit that I was thrilled to see that this recipe involves steak, grilling and butter! Not only that, it’s an award-winning recipe. Debbie’s children made this recipe for the CAB Beef Cook Off last year, and won the senior steak division.

Give the Blythe’s recipe a try and let us know what you think! For more of her delicious recipes, visit Debbie’s blog.

Cowboy CAB Steak and Whiskey Butter

2 Tbsp New Mexican chili powder
2 Tbsp chipotle chili powder
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp white pepper
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Sugar-in-the-Raw
4 CAB (Certified Angus Beef) Ribeye Steaks, cut 1 ½” thick
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 slices Whiskey Butter, recipe below

Combine in bowl: chili powders, paprika, peppers and sugar.
Prepare grill for direct cooking over low heat.
Just before grilling, remove steaks from refrigerator, pat with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Brush steaks with oil, sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of rub and a little salt on each steak, rubbing in with fingers.
Place steaks directly over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn and grill 5 more minutes for medium-rare doneness. Remove from grill. Let rest at least 5 minutes.
Top steaks with Whiskey Butter.

Whiskey Butter

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 shallots, minced, soaked in Whiskey Extract
3 tsp minced parsley
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp Whiskey Extract
½ tsp sea salt
White pepper to taste

1. Combine butter, shallot, parsley, mustard, Worcestershire, Whiskey extract, salt and pepper. Mix well. Drop butter onto waxed paper, roll into log. Refrigerate until hard and easy to cut, at least 3 hours. May store in refrigerator up to 1 week, in freezer for up to 3 months.