This past weekend was a fun time for both myself and my family. It was a culmination of 9 years of work as both a blogger, recipe developer and our families practice of advocating for agriculture with a cooking demonstration at the 2016 State Fair of Texas in their GO Texan Pavilion!
Most definitely one of the highlights for my blog and site The Ranch Kitchen has been my inclusion in the this year's Taste of Texas - Go Texan Recipe book that is housed in the Go Texan Pavilion during our annual State Fair of Texas with my Beefy Mexican Cornbread. More humbling was the fact that this recipe was handed down from my mother who made this for my brothers and I as children. We loved it then and continue to enjoy it now, especially with the Hereford beef we raise on our ranch. It's a southwestern inspired main dish with a cornbread topping mixed with corn that is extra spicy with a cheese filling and topping. When we can we will use green chili's from our garden sauteed with the ground beef as I did for my demo this weekend.
We do love our Texas Agriculture pictured here at the
GO Texan preview event
the week before the cooking demonstration!
So nice to get to meet Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller!
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| Here I am with the official Go Texan Taste of Texas Cookbook and my featured recipe for Beefy Mexican Cornbread! |
As an educator, I'm used to speaking in front of a crowd of students and teachers. But cooking and speaking in front visiting crowds was a different thing all together! With the ebb and flow in the building of passers by and then the audience who sat down to watch, it was a busy, busy place.
One of the most heartwarming moments was when my Audrey insisted to standing on stage with me and helping me every step of the way as the two older daughters Ilissa and Bethany ran back and forth filming and passing out small samples of each recipe. Bethany's missing in these shots due to being the one behind the camera.
Scott was the calmest through it all smiling and giving thumbs up from the back of the audience and throwing cues of things to say in his silent wording to stretch my time on stage! Goodness knows he has been thru the good and the not so good with my earlier recipes!
One of the most heartwarming moments was when my Audrey insisted to standing on stage with me and helping me every step of the way as the two older daughters Ilissa and Bethany ran back and forth filming and passing out small samples of each recipe. Bethany's missing in these shots due to being the one behind the camera.
Scott was the calmest through it all smiling and giving thumbs up from the back of the audience and throwing cues of things to say in his silent wording to stretch my time on stage! Goodness knows he has been thru the good and the not so good with my earlier recipes!
In the midst of it all we got rave review on the Beefy Mexican Cornbread, Tortilla Wraps My Way, and our Nolana's Family Hot Sauce. One of the neatest moments were the children that so sweet and complimentary especially of my hot sauce. One little girl came up twice to get samples and speak to me reminding me so much of the little elementary students I taught so many years ago. That in itself made my day even sweeter...because children and teaching others is at the heart of why I do this all.
Click on each links below to get the recipes!
Tortilla Roll Ups My Way
Funny moments came when the new food processor I had bought would not work...but thankfully I had a huge batch to show and samples already ready of our Nolana's Family Hot Sauce! I've check once...check twice and check again! However if that was my biggest issue, I'm one happy momma!
To say I could not have done this without my family is an understatement. Through it all they have been my biggest and most honest taste testers, supporters and push when I needed it. Each gave their weekend freely to support their momma and wife which truly touched me deeply. As proud as I know they were of me, I was of them for being there for me. It was a moment that will be etched in my memory forever.
Family picture by Big Texas! Sadly head got cut off by friendly lady who took our picture!
So, as I sit here this evening still reminiscing from the past weekend of fun and family, I'm reminded again at why I do this thing called blogging. At the conclusion of my cooking demo this weekend, a sweet lady came up to me and thanked me for advocating for agriculture during my demo. She told me few people ever do that.
I proudly told her it's just what we do, how we've raised our girls and wouldn't have it any other way. In a world where by 2050 there will be over 9 billion people, it's those of us in agriculture that farm and ranch that will feed and clothe our world. It's a tradition of hard work, dedication and values that we strive to instill in our girls and one that to date has proven worth it's weight in gold. We are FFA proud, agriculturally driven and passionate about the Hereford beef we raise on our ranch and the lifestyle it has enabled us to be a part of.
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| Special thanks to my personal media specialist and middle daughter Bethany for all these pictures! You won't see her in any pictures as she was behind the camera the whole time and Scott was supporting from the back of the audience! |
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| Visiting with the little girl and mom who loved Nolana's Family Hot Sauce! So sweet! |
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| Making my Beef Mexican Cornbread with Certified Hereford Beef of course! Click on the link more great Certified Hereford Beef recipes! |
I proudly told her it's just what we do, how we've raised our girls and wouldn't have it any other way. In a world where by 2050 there will be over 9 billion people, it's those of us in agriculture that farm and ranch that will feed and clothe our world. It's a tradition of hard work, dedication and values that we strive to instill in our girls and one that to date has proven worth it's weight in gold. We are FFA proud, agriculturally driven and passionate about the Hereford beef we raise on our ranch and the lifestyle it has enabled us to be a part of.
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| Stopping by the Go Texan Store to purchase some Pioneer Cornbread mix to use in my Beefy Mexican Cornbread! Most ingredients for all my recipes were proudly Texas products! |
Post cooking demonstration celebration watching
the Texas Aggies 'BTHO' Tennessee in the Mueller tent eating their 2016 State
Fair of Texas People's Choice Award winner 'Injectible Balls of BBQ'!
Delicious!
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The Ranch Kitchen has been a labor of love for many years now and something that I hope catalogs family favorite recipes for many years to come.
As always click on the links above to view the recipes on The Ranch Kitchen recipe section of my site. I'm very proud of how many recipes both myself and friends have added to date. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Leave a comment after the recipes you've tried and let me know about any additions you made to make that recipe your own.
Drop by the National Hereford Women's new recipe website that I helped create during my time on their board and of course Certified Hereford Beef as well where we showcase the 'ranch to table' aspect of our Hereford breed for more great beef recipes!
Drop by the National Hereford Women's new recipe website that I helped create during my time on their board and of course Certified Hereford Beef as well where we showcase the 'ranch to table' aspect of our Hereford breed for more great beef recipes!
Also check out on Pinterest Beef Loving Bloggers with the Texas Beef Council where The Ranch Kitchen is a contributing blogger on their board. Mouth watering, easy recipes there to get beef on your dinner plate as well!
The Ranch Kitchen is also a contributing blogger on Sure Champ VitaFerm and the Missouri Hereford Association's monthly magazine, so check out their sites as well in the links above with their names!
The Ranch Kitchen proudly affiliated with these great associations and companies!
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Many thanks to the GO Texan program, the Texas Beef Council, Beef Loving Texans, and my family for this opportunity this past weekend. And if you are at a Go Texan event this year, stop by and pick up a the recipe book.. It is full of great recipes from contributors like Southwest Dairy Farms and even a winning state fair cobbler dessert! YUM!
Have a great fall everyone and keep checking back for fun things to come at The Ranch Kitchen!
Alise - The Ranch Kitchen
Have a great fall everyone and keep checking back for fun things to come at The Ranch Kitchen!
Alise - The Ranch Kitchen
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