Recipe's from the Ranch' - Grillin' That's Better The Next Day on Sure Champ's Blog for March

As a rancher and advocate for agriculture, I know first hand how beef has helped shape our lives.  Raising our own Certified Hereford Beef on our ranch allows our family the benefit of taking part first hand in the daily process of knowing where our beef comes from.....aka 'ranching heritage'.  Knowing beef producers from across our nation affirms our pride in the US beef product because we've also witnessed how when it comes to feeding the world as they do, both safety and a great tasting and lean beef product are paramount for these ranchers, their associations, and on the state and national levels.  

This month for Sure Champ's Blog and my Recipes from the Ranch blog contribution I chose to showcase a few meals we prepare using left over CHB steak and brisket.  These recipes are quick and easy to make.  A little thinking ahead by grilling or smoking extra beef the weekend before makes these dinners come together in a snap allowing the cook (me) the ability to not spend all their time in the kitchen!

 Sure Champ's Brisket Stew

You can click here at Sure Champ's Recipes from the Ranch Grillin That's Better The Next Day's March Post for three recipes for Sure Champ's Brisket Stew above, and The Ranch Kitchens' Brisket Fajitas and Beef Stroganoff from both grilled steak and brisket below. 

  The Ranch Kitchen's Brisket Fajitas

                

The Ranch Kitchen's Beef Stroganoff

As the temperature warms finally here in Texas and spring begins to peak it's head out from behind the clouds, do your best to get out and grill!  Make enough extra beef to help plan your week aheads meals.  And all the while as you are planning ahead remembering that no one ever said cooking had to be hard!  It's just takes a little planning ahead that will result later in some great meals with minimal effort and overall savings of your hard earned cash in the process!

Enjoy!

And in closing from my favorite television commercial....Beef.  It's what's for dinner!

Alise - The Ranch Kitchen




Sure Champ December Post

This past year has gone faster than I've wanted it too.  Life the older I get seems to have a sneaky way of doing that, but I have no complaints. They year has been a good one with many memories and milestones for our family.

This month's Sure Champ Blog Post Recipes from the Ranch sums some of our year up and shares some recipes we'll be making at our ranch this month. December is a busy time, but when you plan a bit ahead, it's never to hard to get a healthy meal on the table in no time.  Check out the recipe tab above for all my recipes!  

Sure Champ 'No Stress' Peanut Butter Pie

Have a great rest of December and I'll be posting as I can to share more family friendly recipe that are from staple items most cooks have readily on hand in their pantries.

Alise @ The Ranch Kitchen

Tailgating Recipes from the Ranch on Sure Champs Blog today!

Our annual tailgating picture!

 

 

 And a fun weekend was had by all!  This past weekend we hosted our annual Nolan Family and Friends Tailgate in College Station, Texas at Texas A&M University!  This annual tradition is now going on 8 years strong and it's a favorite thing for us to do each fall while watch some Fighting Texas Aggie Football!

For this month's Sure Champ Blog submission of Recipes from the Ranch, I decided to share our weekend and foods with our readers!  Tailgating has become an institution in the south, be at a high school, college or even pro parking lot.  It's a time to feed the masses before, during and in our case again after the game.  More than anything for our family it's a way to connect with our daughters and their friends becoming a part of their college experience.  Tailgating at Texas A&M has brought us closer to our daughters, their friends, our friends and given us memories we will never forget.

Our first experience was probably the funniest when we smoked out a neighbors RV from our smoker's smoke....he woke up in the middle of the night thinking his camper was on fire, until he smelled the BBQ smell!  We made friends with him and his entire family by inviting them to tailgate with us and thankfully they forgave us! 

One of our favorite memories was our every other year Texas A&M vs. Texas Thanksgiving Tailgate when Scott and the girls.....shh.....slid down a certain 'mountain' there on campus....we don't have much snow in southern Texas, but a plastic tub and a little ingenuity made for a fun night and some soaked kids!

This past weekends tailgate was another winner and the men decided to go with the 'surprise' factor or what they probably thought was the 'wow' factor and serve along side my husband's famous catfish, some fried froglegs.  Not many of the women ate them, but the men tore them up! 


For dessert we had fried apple, pecan and peach pies that will now become a tradition!  Oh my...these were like the best thing ever and a great idea by our friend David.  We couldn't have put this tailgate on without his help, his wife Kelly's (their remoulade sauce and fried pie idea), Tim and Erin Lockhart and their Cattle in Motion TV's & fajita lunch, and Ken and Felicia Marks (her wonderful dips and dessert) and all these sweet couples foods they brought!  These men and their Cajun Cooker/fryer have definitely gotten their system down and fed over eighty hungry kids and parents with the ease of seasoned cooks! 
 

                       The cooking crew! We couldn't have done it without David and Ken!

 

The night was a cold one for Texas and for those who stayed behind to watch the game outside our RV, we all covered up in the blankets I had luckily stashed a year before.  A husband should never underestimate why a women packs as much as she does and always remember that her wisdom will eventually shine through!

 Our girls and their friends!

 

 

My cousin Krissy and I!

I hope you'll stop by the Sure Champ's Tailgating Recipes from the Ranch Post today and check out some of the best foods we shared this weekend while there in Aggieland!  These dishes aren't just for tailgating, but for anytime you feed a crowd or want something fun and different to serve at home!

Enjoy and have  fantastic start to your fall!


Alise - The Ranch Kitchen

Special thanks to Gayla and Kelly for their help! 

 Ryon was the first to rsvp and we are so glad he and his family came!

                                                             My dear friend Dena.

 The Lockharts - center - were awesome to help us host!

 Our Williams family friends who are faithful TRK followers! So proud Catherine is an Aggie ZTA now!

 

Our dear friend the Marks who helped so much!

 

Gig'em Aggies!

July Sure Champ VitaFerm Recipes From The Ranch Blog Entry

We are home!  Home sweet, Texas home!  Another Jr. National Hereford Expo is behind us and we  made memories to last a lifetime again!!

Our Audrey thrilled us all with her Reserve Champion in Jr. Showmanship and loves her belt buckle prize and new halter!  Her heifer About Time helped her achieve this huge honor and we couldn't be more proud of her!  It's every showman's secret desire to place in showmanship on the national scale!

Our Audrey and her buckle she won for winning Reserve Jr. Showmanship.  Showmanship contest in cattle shows judge the showman and how they handle their heifer in the ring.

We are so proud of her! 

A special thank you to Live Auction TV for broadcasting this contest so our big sister at home could watch her win! Thank you also to Sullivan's Show Supply for once again sponsoring this great contest!

Also a HUGE than you to the American Hereford Association, National Jr. Hereford Association and Amy Cowan their Youth Director, and the National Hereford Women for once again putting together another great show. To the Delegations from the eastern states and especially Pennsylvania, the Howe and Firestine families, thank you from the bottom of our hearts and stomachs. The meal plans, barn facilities and your beautiful area of the country are forever etched in our memories as a Jr. Nationals and cowcation we will never forget!  And to Diane Johnson for manning our HYFA Club!  You all deserve a standing ovation!

And last and certainly not least a special thank you to the team at Sure Champ VitaFerm for once again helping sponsor the Jr. National Hereford Expo and therefore enabling our future generations as you do!  It's an honor and a privilege to say I get to share recipes on your site, but most importantly the you impact so many families in such a positive way!  Rest Team Sure Champ....your summer has been a busy one!

Check out my newest blog recipe entries for Sure Champ VitaFerm at Recipes From The Ranch!  You'll find my linked recipes here (just click on colored name link in this sentence) for Sure Champ Pico de Gallo, our new Sure Winner Peach Ice Cream and The Ranch Kitchen's Garden Squash and Zucchini all with a Sure Champ theme!

Enjoy your summer and for those of you now officially off the show road for a small break...rest, and remember the reason we do this show thing is that while spending the quality time and funds that it takes, ultimately raises hard working, self sufficient kids and allow us to continually advocate agriculture.

 Its takes a lot of time in the barn and time in the trim shoot to get our heifer 'NH About Time' ready for the show ring!  A special thank you to the crew at Rainbow Cattle Company, Mark, Jade, and Chad for their care of our cattle and working so well with especially our Audrey and our family on this long trip to Pennsylvania and our first time to let someone else haul our Hereford cattle!  This allowed for some much needed family time and sightseeing!  

This final shot was on our last day of showing thanks to my friend and supporter Stephanie Keahey of Texas! She captured a sweet, sweet moment between our daughter and her dad. 

A picture I like to think that puts what we do as a family all in perspective!

I will always cherish this photo! Thanks Stephanie!

Alise - The Ranch Kitchen