Is my pillow really full of dust mites?

It is 5 am on Sunday morning and I'm wide awake and thought this would be a good idea to write a post asking for advice.....I mean aren't most people up at this time on a Sunday? There are a couple reasons I am wide awake. 1.) I swear something bit my wrist as it was dangling off the side of my bed. Could it have been a dream? I'm not sure but woke me from a dead sleep in freak out mode wanting to flip the light on and see if it was a spider, bee, vampire under the bed? Options are endless. However due to the sleeping husband I decided to abort the light and intensive search. 2.) I'm so excited for breakfast my taste buds won't let me fall back asleep. This new little cute restaurant opened in town (town consists of one stop light....population 600....maybe?). They have the most AMAZING cinnamon rolls and biscuits and gravy. My mouth is salivating.

Back to the issue at hand. So I have this pillow....it is my favorite pillow I have had since childhood. It could be paper thin and not really provide much at all support but I find it to be amazingly comfortable (perhaps due to the 2 other pillows I put under it). I recall watching an episode of Oprah back in the day when they were going through all the stuff in your house that is gross and you don't know.....here is my question....is my 15 year old pillow really full of all the dust mites like they want me to believe it is? Is it time to let go of old trusty? I have pondered this often but convince myself....not my pillow. These are my questions at 5 am on a Sunday morning. All professional medical advice is welcome. Do I keep it or trash it? Is it really that bad?

Pinterest Christmas Success!

Hello All!  I hope that Christmas was an epic success for all of you.  After what seemed to be a week of holiday dinners and gatherings I am now attempting to work off all the food consumed so I can get out of these sweat pants....I really feel sometimes they should include them as professional attire especially after the holidays.  I'm not sure how the weather is in your part of the world but here in the Midwest we are getting what they would like to call a snow storm.  Now my thoughts of a snow storm and the weather man's thoughts of a snow storm must be quite different because I would expect 12 inches or so to be a storm not so much 2-4......but who am I?

While sitting here listening to the wind blow while tucked away in my warm house I would like to share some pretty cool things i created this holiday all thanks to Pinterest.  Now I feel that most people have heard of Pinterest but if you have not you need to check it out HERE asap!!!  It is a virtual pin board that has some of the most amazing things you can cook or make or buy. It is genius. 

For our family Christmas this year we decided to have a pinterest Christmas and make each other things instead of buying them!  Here is one of my favorite creations I found on Pinterest and made for my sister.

How cool is this coffee table?  Now the link on pinterest takes you to an etsy page where they are selling these for $340 dollars!!!  Here is a little secret....you can get these crates at Michaels and make this table for under $40!!

 

I also went to pinterest to get ideas to make food for all the different gatherings and here are some of the recipes I chose:



For Christmas morning I made this yummy potato bacon egg casserole.  It was super easy.  Layer shredded potatoes then bacon then cheese and layer again.   Pour a couple eggs with milk over the top and bake at 350 for 50 min.  voila!

This dip is AMAZING!!!  We had a cousins Christmas where all of the cousins got together since we all seem to live far apart and only see each other at holidays.  We also had a gift exchange with the "As Seen on TV" theme.  Hilarious to say the least.  I made this dip and it was a hit.  It is a different take on spinach artichoke dip.  You can get the recipe Here

And last but not least...the dessert.  This was the most amazing dessert ever and it was SUPER easy which is always a bonus!!  It is called Pumpkin Better than Sex Cake!

Photo and recipe courtesy of www.somethingswanky.com

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 small can pumpkin puree
• 1 - 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 - 8 oz. tub cool whip
• 1/2 bag Heath Bits
• Caramel Sundae Sauce

Instructions

1. Mix together the cake mix and the pumpkin puree (DO NOT add the other ingredients on the cake mix box).
2. Pour batter into a well greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350º according to the directions for a 9x13 cake on the cake mix box.
3. Let cool for about 10 minutes after baking. Using the bottom of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the top of the cake.
4. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake, filling the holes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Spread the cool whip over top of cake. Sprinkle on the heath bits, and drizzle caramel over top (just to your liking). Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, or overnight (best).

Notes

DO NOT USE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING. YOU MUST USE PUMPKIN PUREE IF YOU WANT THE CAKE TO BAKE CORRECTLY. The cake mix + pumpkin puree version of pumpkin cake may not be for everyone. I like it just fine, especially when it's soaked in SCM and caramel. But if you're not sure about it, feel free to substitute your own pumpkin cake recipe as the cake base. DO NOT mix together the pumpkin, cake mix, and the other ingredients on the back of the cake mix box!!!! ONLY mix the cake mix and the pumpkin puree. You must let the sweetened condensed milk soak in all the way. Letting it sit overnight will yield best results. Use the bottom of a wooden mixing spoon to poke the holes in the cake-- it's just the right size.

 

Try some of these out....you won't be disappointed!!  What was your favorite thing Santa left you this year?

 

Enjoy!

 

Time to get off your high horse

While sitting here in Detroit at the airport while they attempt to repair our plane that has a leaky fuel tank I figured there was no better time to write a blog post than now.....mind you if they don't do a very good job repairing it this may be my last post! Ha! Only kidding....hopefully

Recently one of the inspiring people I follow on Facebook posted a picture that said "No Farmers, No Food, No Future". What I absolutely love about Anthony Pannone is that he gets you to think outside the box. He did this with replying "No Customers, No Money, No Future". I feel he pretty much nailed it on the head.

Many times I feel the we in the agriculture industry feel entitlement. Like if it wasn't for us the producer everyone would die. Now to an extent maybe but I think we get a little too high on our horse sometimes and need to be brought back a little. I think that if there were not all of us out there producing the food for the world many people would take it upon themselves to grow their own food. They don't because it is easier to go to the store and buy it and they've never "had" to produce their own food while some may just not have the capability to do so. We see the whole "Thank a Farmer" campaign but where is the "Thank a Consumer" campaign? These are questions I have.

I believe now we as producers need to start giving a little more thanks to the customers because if they don't buy we don't have a market and for people who rely solely on farming/ranching this is a big deal. It's time to create a balance!

With that being said the snap on truck just drove up to the plane which can only mean something may get fixed.....hopefully I make it to Vegas in time to catch the rodeo.......wish me luck!!

Featured Farmer Friday: End-A-Lane Dairy

Today I am featuring Perry Cisco who is the owner of End-A-Lane Dairy.  Perry currently milks 220 cows and has been in the dairy industry 35 years!  When I first met him I thought that the name of his farm was quite interesting until you drive down his road and see that it literally dead ends at his house.  Hence the End-A-Lane.  Perhaps others picked that up a lil quicker than I....don't judge.

I would like to start off with giving a quick disclaimer.  Perry is the type of guy who is going to tell you exactly what he thinks and will not sugar coat it for you.  Which I think is great and what the Ag industry itself needs more of.....transparency.  So while you read his comments and answers to my questions please note that these are his thoughts and comments and not everyone will agree with him and that is perfectly fine.  That is what this series is about.   To get the views from all sorts of people across the country!

To begin: What is your favorite thing about the Ag industry?
         He honestly said " My milk check and deer hunting, and probably my cows too.

Where do you see the industry in 10 years:
        "I think it will all be bought and run by wallstreet.  Investment groups are buying so much land these days so at some point small farmers will be gone.  That's pretty much all we have left in the industry is land and food.  What happens when these investors buy up all the land?  There isn't much industry left that is independently owned.  Many of us in agriculture are lucky to say that we are, but for how much longer I don't know."

Do you believe that there is a gap between producer and consumer and if so how can we help to bridge that gap?
       "Yes there is a huge gap.  Most people believe that their food comes from the grocery store.  That is scary.  It will be hard to bridge that gap because people are so far removed anymore.  Back in the 60's probably 80% of people lived on some sort of farm.  We are close to 3 generations now removed from the farm.  That is what makes it hard.  We do the Breakfast on the Farm which brings a lot of people out and we also do farm tours but do you think that is really enough?

I feel he has some good points and it would be great to hear some of your thoughts on these same great questions!  Also if any of you would like to be the feature farmer or know a good candidate shoot me an email!

Have a great weekend!

I sell Monsanto seed and you MUST plant and grow what I say!

Earlier this evening a fellow blogger Katie Pinke of whom I look up to in the blogging world posted a statement looking for info on a matter.  She had said that while in NYC over the summer someone had said to her "I feel so bad for farmers, Monsanto decides what seeds they have to plant and tells them what crops they have to grow."  I don't even know where to begin.  Sometimes I feel that the Internet has made people loose all common sense.  Perhaps it,s because I work in the industry I know that statement is far from the truth.  If I were to hear this statement and it really concerned me I would probably drive out of the city, find a place that had grain bins or farm machinery and stop and ask some questions.  Instead people hear something or look it up on the Internet and take it for the gospel.  This amazes me.  Remember in school when you had to learn about the great depression?  You went and interviewed people that lived through it, be it your grandparents or neighbor.  Not just look it up online and roll with it.  This is the same concept.

This statement may frustrate me more than others mainly because I sell Monsanto seed.  I can tell you first hand that I do not walk onto a farm and tell a farmer what to plant and grow.  I wish it were that easy.  Do people not realize that the seed industry is not a monopoly?  There are many other genetic companies out there besides Monsanto.  For example: AgReliant Genetics, Dupont, Thurston Genetics the list goes on.  How would one company demand a farmer do something when their are other options/companies out there to choose from?  Exactly.  If I were to walk onto a farm and tell that farmer what to do he would laugh at me and kick me off the farm.  These farmers select the company they want to buy from and the varieties that they want to plant.  We help them by offering information on the varieties but by no means do we force or tell them what to buy and plant. 

I do not understand the evil that is associated with Monsanto.  A company becomes successful not by having a bad product.  They become successful by having a good product that you put a lot of time and research into that has a large demand.  It is no different than Apple.  They have evolved with technology so why are they not evil.  I guess haters will just hate.  It is hard to change their minds. My father in law says that people will believe a blatant lie before the true facts because it is easier sometimes.....that rings true a lot in Ag.  People try to  say that they want to make everything GMO.  Not true:  we sell conventional seed.  That is seed that has not been genetically modified.  Farmers have that option to purchase that seed.  Farmers purchase seed for what fits their needs.  Some need root worm protection or else they will lose their whole crop so they go with GMO seed that will protect against that.  They do their research.  They look at plot info and company research to see how these varieties do against each other and what will fit for them.  So these farmers have options and they make these decisions based on what is best for their production.  I have never been able to tell a farmer what he has to do.  If it ever comes to that point I will let you all know!

To conclude:  I would challenge you all to go out and find information on your own.  Please do not just believe the first thing you hear.  Do you remember playing telephone back in grade school?    Same concept.  Information gets twisted down the line.  If you are concerned about anything that is happening on a farm go and ask a farmer.  They are nice and friendly and would be happy to talk.  If you still don't believe me come and ride with me on some sales calls.  You will learn quickly we don't tell people what to do!!!  I can confidently say this myth has been debunked!!!!  Have a great week!!

Featured Farmer Friday: My father in law-Dave Reitzel

Today is not only Black Friday but it is also featured farmer Friday on my blog!  This is where you get to meet some of the farmers and ranchers that produce the food you eat!  Since I kicked off my series with my father I figured it was only right to follow up with my father in law.  Introducing: Dave Reitzel (he pretends to be shy so finding a picture of him was quite a task!).

 

My father in law and his brother Kenny own a business called Reitzel Bros which is a used machinery dealership.  They ship tractors all over the country and have very successful at what they do. 

 

While running to auctions to buy equipment and managing a business isn't all he does; he also finds time to grain farm.  He grows corn, soybeans, and wheat. I thought it would be good to get his thoughts on some of the Ag industries current important issues.  Here are his thoughts.....

 

1.)  What is your favorite aspect of the Agriculture industry?



        -Watching something grow from practically nothing but a small seed into an important plant that helps feed the world.

2.) Where do you see the Ag industry in 20 years when your grandchildren are in your shoes?
      -I see the industry getting better with technology because people have to eat and as long as they don't keep putting too many restrictions on us they will be fine.

3.) How do you think we can help to connect producer to consumer and do you think it is important?
    -I think it is very important.  Many consumers think that their food just comes from the grocery store.  That is scary.  I think that the people putting on seminars and like you with this blog will help to inform customers where their food comes from.

I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving and survived Black Friday shopping!

The BEST Thanksgiving side dish ever!!

So if any of you out there are like me, I tend to wait until the last minute to decide what to take to family gatherings.  Last Sunday we had a thanksgiving and i was debating what to take and i remembered that my new Food Network magazine recently came in the mail.  I looked through it and like a sign from god there it was......the most delicious looking sweet potato casserole i had ever seen.  While baking it made the house smelled of deliciousness and once tasted it you were in utter amazement! I got tons of compliments on the dish and am going to share this recipe with all of you so you too can be the star at this years family gatherings!!

This recipe is from non other than the woman herself....The Pioneer Woman..naturally!

We may have devoured it before I could snap a pic so here is the one from the magazine

 

Ree Drummond's Soul Sweet Taters

• 4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 3/4 lbs)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar -(this is the secret weapon)
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees  Put the sweet potatoes on the oven rack and bake until fork-tender, about 45 min.  When the potatoes are finished cooking let cool slightly, about 5 min.  Slice them open and scrape out the flesh with a fork into a large bowl.  Increase oven temp to 400 degrees.

 

2. Add the granulated sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt to the bowl with the sweet potatoes.  Mash the mixture with a potato masher until combined and slightly lumpy-you don't want it to be perfectly smooth

 

3. Now, in a separate bowl, mash the brown sugar, pecans, flour and butter with a pastry cutter or fork until thoroughly combined.  The mixture should resemble a crumble

 

4. Spread the sweet potato mixture in a  14-cup oval shaped baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 min.

 

Good luck, enjoy, you won't be disappointed in this dish, and....HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!  Don't forget to be thankful to the farmers and ranchers that supply the food for the meal today and everyday!!