Footballs and Fajitas

Football is one of my favorite sports to watch.  Did you know Super Bowl XLIX was watched by 114.4 million viewers, making it the most watched television program in U.S. history?  Do you know how many footballs are used during the Super Bowl?  What do footballs and fajitas have in common?

Our son, Jeff, had the opportunity to play and win the Class D-2
State Championship with his team from Dodge in 2007. 

Our son, Scott, after a junior high football game
Scott was a quarterback for Dodge High School and
holds the record for the longest completed pass. I
have to admit I did not enjoy seeing the hits he took.

 I have to admit I watch the Super Bowl as much for the commercials as the game.  During the Super Bowl there will be 72 footballs used.  Do you know how footballs are made?  There is an excellent video about how the Wilson football is made that you can watch here. 

Before the Wilson factory can make a football they need the material that comes from a farm like ours.  Thanks to cattle we can utilize not only the great protein they provide for our fajitas but also the cowhide to make items like footballs.  One bovine animal provides 20 footballs.  Did you know the cowhide is equal to about 8 layers of human skin?  

The cattle in our feedlot could produce around 100,000 footballs a year.

Besides watching the game and commercials many of us will be snacking away on recipes old and new.  Fajitas can be a great game day food with an estimated eight million pounds of guacamole eaten on game day!  Holy moly that's a lot of guacamole!

These steak fajitas with guacamole look delicious!

Steve and I will be joining our fire and rescue squad members to watch the game at the fire station.  There will be a variety of snacks to eat and the chance to be together in a non-emergent situation.  Last year we missed the party because of a blizzard now remembered as super snow Sunday for us.  One of the items I will bring is a very simple dip recipe that I would like to share with you.  Whatever you eat tonight we just ask you to include beef in your menu!

Taco Bean Dip

1 can refried beans

                                 1-2 pounds taco meat (I use hamburger)

      1 container sour cream

                   1-2 cups salsa or picante sauce

       2 cups shredded lettuce

                     2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

        1 can sliced black olives

Layer the ingredients as listed on a round serving plate. Adjust the ingredient amounts according to the size of your plate or servings needed.  I have a plate with curved edges that helps hold everything in place if I take it somewhere.  Enjoy the game!

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

We are getting hit by the fourth snow event in two weeks and I just had to take advantage of the wet snow by building a snowman.    I don’t remember the last time I made a snowman because when it snows here my time is spent moving the snow out of the way.    My husband is especially sensitive to songs like “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”  and “Let it snow” because snow means more work.  

  

While many folks enjoyed Super Bowl XLIX in
the warmth of their homes, we were moving snow
from early in the morning until late that night. We
called it Super Snow Sunday.  We finished in time to
 enjoy the last few minutes of the game with a bowl of chili.

When we get a snow event there are several jobs that have to be done.  First the roads must be cleared so that the feedtruck and vehicles can get around.   The next job is getting the bunks clean.  We have a very nice piece of equipment that makes this job much easier than when we had to scoop them all with a shovel.  The bunk blower works well unless you get really wet snow.  Really wet snow usually melts or it has to be scooped.  

After the cattle are fed and cared for we get to work removing the snow or piling the snow that is in their pens.   The snow eventually gets hauled out so that the pens can stay dry.  When we get wet snow we keep the cement areas cleaned off and put some type of bedding material down so they have a dry place to lie down.

Steve is box scraping snow from the cement pads.

I have always been amazed at how quickly cattle adjust to weather changes.  They seem to adjust the quickest to cold weather.  Cattle are often seen running around in the snow, kicking up their heels and playing like children.   My favorite sight to see is when they are laying down soaking up the warm sun on a cold day.

Cattle enjoying a dry place to lay and sunshine.  The metal
windbreak provides additional protection from cold winds.

One of our favorite meals to enjoy on a cold day is chili soup.  I have a recipe that has gone over very well with our family and when used at large gatherings.  Here is my recipe: 

Game Day Chili

2-pounds ground beef

1-46 ounce can tomato juice

1-27 ounce can Bush’s Chili Beans

2-tablespoons chili powder

2-tablespoons onion flakes

Brown the ground beef with onion flakes. Turn crock pot on high and pour in tomato juice and beans.  Drain hamburger and add to crock pot. Sprinkle chili powder on top and stir mixture.  Leave on high for 1 hour or low for several hours. Toppings that go well are shredded cheddar cheese with crackers or corn chips.  It is a tradition in our community to serve cinnamon rolls with chili soup. 

I am joined by my husband, Steve, granddaughter, Ella,
daughter, Ginger and son-in-law, Casey for a chili supper.

My husband enjoyed my snowman made of snow, insulators, caps from spray cans and whatever else I could find around our shop.  Our dog also enjoyed time to play in the snow!   Having a playful attitude helps to relieve some of the stress weather can bring! 

 

Our Bichon, Zoey, loves the snow and after playing it looks
like she has a snow moustache! 

Do you have snow?  Doyou wanna build a snowman?  How about a nice, hot bowl of Chili?