Basil Pesto Italian Meatloaf Sliders with coleslaw

1&1/2 lbs of lean ground beef
half cup of Cheez-its
two eggs
Basil Pesto(BIG ol' TB)
Italian Seasoning(to taste)
red onion
bagged shredded cabbage
coleslaw dressing

I mix this by hand right on my plate, but it could be  done in a ziplock bag or even a bowl.  I like to save washing dishes so I mix by folding over and over into itself with hands onto the plate I will use for my precooked patties

 Once the egg, meat and crushed Cheez-its are mixed together, I use a HEAPING tablespoon of Basil Pesto and mix in Italian herbs. Use as much Italian seasoning as you would like.

 It makes 8 nice slider size burgers

Next use butter....I must use butter when cooking my home grown LEAN beef because there is little to no grease from this meat and butter keeps the patties nice and moist and they don't dry out.  Plus....you can't beat the taste of burgers cooked in butter!

When cooking your patties, place the patties into the hot buttered pan and then turn them over within a minute to seal in the taste and then cook on medium heat until DONE covered, making sure the butter doesn't cook away.  Add a small pat or two to keep the bottom of the pan moist.

 Remove from heat and plate to keep the grease in the pan and not on your plate.  

 Make your coleslaw when the burgers are cooking to have CRUNCHY coleslaw for topping your slider
I add pepper and about a 1/4 cup of cane sugar to my coleslaw

Very finely sliced red onions, the coleslaw has enough crunch you usually get with raw onions.....I use my pampered chef simply slicer on 1 for perfect slices
USE Hawaiian rolls, slice them up for little hamburg buns.  

 Combine all the ingredients for a sweet, CRUNCHY flavorful little burger that even the kids LOVE!
Don't forget your seasoned french fries and a baby dill pickle or two!

Pasture blessings

It has been a terribly LONG time since I have blogged.....gawwwshh. 
FORGIVE MY absence from the virtual world of blogging.
Life is busy.....this farm wife seems to have a blessed plate full.

This morning after my monsters...aka the kiddos left on the bus, I went out to the pasture to check on the ladies and two calves were born

Here is one.....#100 Silky the Limousin/Holstein cross had a BEAUTY of a bull out of our Fleckvieh bull.  She is 15 year young! 

GO SILKY!

HE is as soft as his curly brownish-gray coat looks. 

I HEART him

 Momma says, "We are hiding....."

 WAIT for me momma!!!

 Don't you JUST love the forest floor???

 Handsome feller!

 

 

 

 

 

Thistles are SUCH a pain in the neck in the broad scheme of things....but look a little closer and they are a popular hang out of the insect crowd.

Not to mention pretty.....

 Busy as a bee....

 Green shiny guy.....or girl....I never stopped and asked.

 Yellow butterflies were dancing everywhere and taking a break to get a sip.....

 Pretty wheat....sure sign of fall

Sincerely,
Michigan Milk Momma



Sharing the Love of Agriculture

 As June Dairy Month drew to a close a few short days ago, I felt the need to share my little story of what our little northeastern Michigan family dairy farm is doing on a personal level to promote the dairy industry. Our local 4-H chapter of anything dairy has basically vanished. Why? Well because most of the smaller dairy farms have sold their dairy animals and there are only a handful of us left. So I feel the strong urge to reach out to the youth and share my love of these bovines and what they provide for us.

Exposing young people to a farm usually is the only prodding that they need to fall in love with the dairy industry. Yes, being a dairy farmer is crazy hard work, with long hours and many times headaches, backaches and even heartache. The positives outweigh the negatives, especially when it becomes a way of life for you, it becomes an obsession.



   When dairy gets in your blood you are filled with pride when your blood, sweat and tears pay off in watching that perfect calf you have been breeding for stand for the first time. You become filled with joy when you watch your herd of cows come in from the pasture and laugh at the sight of calves being freshly bedded run and buck showing their appreciation with pure actions of joy.

 It is only natural when you truly love something, which you long to share with others. Being a family operation it is a natural progression of wanting your children to following in your footsteps. On a side note, when passing on the farm, be sure you provide your children incentive to earn their way into the business instead of gifting them a part of it. If they LOVE something enough they will find a way to get their hands on it. When your children eat, sleep, breathe farming, then they usually become the amazing next generation of dairy.

 

Is it time for a Parent’s Date Night???

ARE YOUR KIDS STARTING TO DRIVE BOTH OF YOU CRAZY? 

DO YOU FEEL STRESSED AND NEED A BREAK???

Maybe it is time for a Parent’s Date Night? 

This makes me laugh and I want to say sucks to be her

….but

WAIT!!!

……………..that is me! 

Except I have a few more heathens following me….

Mark it on your calendar, make it a priority.  You have so many important and pressing duties to attend to, but in my unimportant opinion, nothing is more important than keeping your marriage together and healthy so that the two of you can stick together working as a TEAM dealing with life and continuing to be a united front for or against your children. 

Another benefit is it keeps you from running away to the circus.... 

Children benefit greatly from being around parents who show true affection towards each other in a normal everyday setting.  I’m not preaching you start heavy petting or a make out session in front of the toddlers, but hand holding, couch cuddling, hugging, real kisses (longer that then 5 seconds) and saying I LOVE YOU everyday imprints your offspring with loving someone in a good way is normal and hope to dear GOD that they do the same when their time comes.

What makes a good date night??? 

Well………………that is up to the two of you.

Movie and dinner

 couch + movie + cuddling,

hitting the bar, hitting the beach, having a picnic….

……………actually anything the TWO of you can do WITHOUT the kids for a few hours. 

Get a babysitter…………..hire one,

take up people’s offers of watching the kids,

bribe someone,

BEG!!!! 

Whatever it is one of the most important appointments you can make and keep! 

………….What is my perfect date you ask????????

Dump kids off with anyone brave enough to babysit……….

………………spin the tires out the driveway………..some grub at a sit down joint………

……………hit the casino, for some money wasting time and people watching with the man…………….

……………drive as slow as legally possible home to pick up kids……..stay married…..lol

Actually I love drinking coffee with my husband and arguing about world events………

MARK IT ON YOUR CALENDER TODAY! 

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES.....LOVING THE FARM WIFE LIFE

Coping with Stress

               ~*~STRESS~*~

Men’s real feelings get lost in the scramble of stress and women are more likely to take an eraser to the problem.  Stressed women know it, live it and spend time trying to do something about it.  In the wake of new survey results released this week, numbers support the stereotype that women are more aware of feeling than men.  The American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America survey finds that women historically have reported higher levels of stress than men and did so again in 2011.  On a 1-to scale of little to no stress, women report stress at a level of 5.4 and men at a 4.8.  The gender divide is more pronounced when it comes to dealing with the stress or even wanting to own up to it. 

Stress happens when people perceive that the demands they face, work, school or relationships and then exceeds their ability to cope say experts with the psychological association.  At times, some stress can be beneficial because it gives your body a boost of energy that can drive you to get through tough situations such as exams or work deadlines.  On the other hand, an extreme amount of stress can be harmful to your health by taking an emotional toll on you, result in anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system.  Stress can also contribute to the development of major illnesses such as heart disease, depression and obesity. 

Women think it is more important to manage stress and believe that they are not doing a good job of it, but men report being less concerned about managing stress and are also more likely to say they are doing enough about it.  Social support is very beneficial to cardiovascular health and longevity.  It is possible that women just have more stress in their lives, in terms of certain societal issues such as gender discrimination, sexual abuse and traumas.  Women as a result tend to use more stress reducers such as reading, exercising or spending time with friends and family. 

Exercise reduces feelings of anxiety and tension and can minimize future stress.  The exercise needs to be higher intensity or long duration to have a beneficial effect on later stressors. 

Take a break-you can’t avoid the stressor, but you can momentarily get away from that project at work, the crying baby or that mountain of bills.  Even just a 15 minute break helps to give you a new perspective.

Get social support-sharing your feelings with another person who will just listen is another reliever of stress.  Don’t share those concerns with someone who adds to the stress.  The person you talk to needs to be someone you trust and who understands you and can validate you.

Trying to keep thinking positive even during stressful times helps to relieve some effects of stress.  Remember that there is simply things that we cannot change.    

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr

Who do you turn to?????

It has been over two and half years since my son's first medical diagnosis of Autism, and not much has changed for the little dude.  His speech has improved, thankfully and he will tolerate playing with other children and frequently will seek interaction with his sisters.  Sad fact is that there is NO-ONE who reached out to help your child, when he is special needs.  Especially those children with Autism.  Still so many people treat us mothers as if we mess up in some way.  The help is supposedly out there, but by golly she is hard to come by. 
It is like this....
here is your diagnosis....have a nice day.
Newbies are left assuming that help is on it's way...
Here is a tip....don't hold your breath.  Nobody advocates for your child and your family.  YOU are the only one who can.  Do not wrongly assume that "they" send out the Autism support team, to help you through the process.  You are left stumbling and fumbling your way through this obstacle course of steps to get your child the help he or she needs.  My imaginary "team" has yet to show up to help my son. 
Instead I am calling and calling and hoping and praying and cussing through these tedious steps that seem to be getting me no where.  Between his school, who disagreed with his medical diagnosis from over 2 years ago, but are finally in THAT long process of getting his educational Autism diagnosis, the community health in my area, which is like pushing a chain....and his pediatrician who treat our many questions as if we can wait indefinitely for help.  How long do we have to wait until his needs are important to these people who obviously pretend that he is a priority?  DO I have to come in raving like a lunatic, DEMANDING what we need?  Call twenty times a day for a damned referral so my son can see a doctor who can prescribe him something to make his life better? 
Poor kid screams many hours a day, flips back and forth from Laughing hysterically to punching his sister in her face, to sobbing uncontrollably, to acting as if nothing happened.  His anxiety and meltdowns are terrible on him, his raw throat, headaches, digestive problems, and not to mention the stress it puts on the family. 
Who do you turn to for actual HELP in Michigan, especially rural north-east area? 
How loud do I have to scream for someone to help my son?  Do I go in their office and have ME a meltdown to get my point across? Are we really truly left with no guidance from all these supposedly caring individuals who claim to have my son's best interest at heart. 
No wonder we parents of special need children are so depressed and keep to ourselves.