Thankful.. Blessed.. Humbled..

This is the season to be thankful! I am not lucky, I am blessed.

I am thankful for:
- The Lord and all the blessing he has given me and my family. He loves me even when I fail him and he has given me the promise of eternal life.

-My father who is my role model. He is the hardest worker I know and never has a negative attitude. Plus, he takes care of my cows all winter!

-Jacob and Jackson. When the Lord was picking siblings, he gave me two of the best!

-Kelsey and Nicole. I am so glad my brothers have these two women in their lives. They have become friends who make me better.

-My education. I often complain about studying or doing homework but being college educated is one of the greatest blessings.

-Our lifestyle. We get to produce food for consumers all over the world. Being raised in agriculture is the best life possible and I am excited for the future.

-My friends. They say you become like the five people you spend the most time with and I would be proud to be just life my friends.

Winter 2014

It's been awhile since I posted, but I'll catch you up on life at Rose Cattle Company in Three Forks, Montana. This winter has been extremely windy and has shown us record freezing temperatures...the coldest I've been in for a long time. The chill is hard to describe...think freezing and then subtract another 60 degrees to that! Bundling up is serious business

John, Jacob and Karoline attended the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville in February. That's always a great learning experience and it gives us new ideas to try on the ranch throughout the year. We were able to enjoy a night at the Grand Ole Ory and as always, there was educational meetings like Cattlemen's Colleges and Regional Caucuses.

All of the Rose Family, (John, Jacob, Kelsey, Jackson, Nicole and Karoline) were able to spend Christmas in Sun Valley with Grandma Mary Rose and John's sister Allison and her family. It was nice to be able to relax for a few days and for the first time, we were ALL able to leave Toston at the same time. Even Sweep got to come along. We surprised John with a custom saddle for Christmas..it was a special moment for all of us kids and for dad.

We are hoping March will bring sunshine and green grass. Calves will be hitting the ground here in a few weeks. The door is always open, stop by and say hi!

Pork-The other white meat!

Pork.. 

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you'll quickly come to find out that I may be a BEEF girl but I love my pork.  Bacon, pork chops, ribs and ham makes my mouth water.   I am a firm believer in eating my fair share of pork, actually almost daily!  

We all know its football season and I bleed blue and gold for the Montana State Bobcats and pork is perfect for tailgating! 

Whether you break out the grill, use the slow cooker before you head to the stadium or stay in the backyard and use the oven, pork is perfect paired with football. 

Now let's talk about a few of my favorite tailgating recipes! 

Ribs – Craving back, country-style or spare? Ribs are a classic hit that everyone will enjoy on game day.  They are great paired with potato salad and bacon!   They are finger licking good. 

Try this rib recipe: Pork Ribs   
       
Pair it with some Potato Salad and you have the perfect meal! : Potato Salad with Eggs and Bacon                              

Chops – Porterhouse, New York and Ribeye Pork Chops are some of the most popular cuts of pork because they don’t require long cook times or extremely time consuming marinates – and you can cook them just like a steak!

These Pan fried chops are amazing!  Simple Pork Chops


Now it is time for dessert and game day wouldn't be complete without bacon!  

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies?!  Who is going to try these when I make them this week?  

Bacon Cookies

A few things to remember when cooking pork:
Don't cross contaminate
Use a digital thermomater
Internal temperature should be at least 145 degrees F
Refrigerate any leftovers immediately

For more information on cuts and or cooking tips, check out the Pork-Be Inspired website!

Hormones in Beef?!

How many times have you heard that beef has TONS of hormones?!

Or that cattle are pumped up with hormones?!

If you listen closely, there is a concern about hormones in beef.  Yes, we do use hormone implants in our cattle every spring, but how does that really affect you, as the consumer?

What if I told you that 3 oz of cabbage has more hormones than 3 oz of beef.. Would you believe me?

How about the fact that 3 oz of peas has more hormones than 3 oz of beef.. Are you seeing the trend?

My favorite is 3 oz of potatoes has more hormones than 3 oz of beef, so at McDonald's, your small fries has more hormones than your hamburger patty.

Hormones in beef should not be a concern of yours anymore.  Hormones naturally occur in beef, peas, potatoes, cabbage and in you!

Check out this visual and listen to this little speech.

Hormones in Beef vs Cabbage!

Australia week 1 and 2

It's Sunday afternoon and we are officially done with week one of calving and week one on the ranch!  It's hard to explain everything, so I will start with some pictures.  It's been a great experience and I am looking forward to the next 4 weeks. 

The sunrise and sunset here is amazing, everyday without fail.  I can't seem to take enough photos of it!

It's cold here and wet!  This fire is the only source of heat in this little house has and I love coming home to a warm house!

The view out my front porch.  Yes, I agree it's tough to look at! 

Moving heifers to be processed a few days ago.  Red dirt, blue sky and black cows.  I am not sure it gets better than that!

Amelia- My bottle calf, who was only an orphan for 2 days!   She found a mother and is happily playing in the field.

My 21st birthday was on June 6th.  Pete and Donna, who are employees for Lawsons made me leg of lamb for dinner.  I am so blessed to feel at home with this family and it's only been a week.

Curious heifers! 

You all should know, I have a soft spot for lambs! :) 

Freeze branding, new to me and I already don't like it!  I miss the sound and smells of real branding.  Every cow is in the chute for over 15 minutes just to get a brand on her!  Where are the hot irons? 

It's honestly beautiful here. 

My ride! I have put over 100 kilometers on this bike over the past week.  Most of you know my father, who firmly believes in horses over bikes and after this week I have to agree with him

I will keep you all updated about how the next few weeks go! 

Australia-The first few days

Good Evening,

I have been traveling like crazy the past few days.  Right now its 9 pm on May 30th and we are Albany  in Western Australia.   I landed in Melbourne after traveling for 31 hours straight and was quickly taken on farm tours.  We were in Melbourne for less than 20 hours and then boarded a plane, headed for Perth.  After 5 more hours of flying, my mode of transportation changed to a car!

We have been traveling around touring ranches or farms, as they call them.  Talking to pure bred producers and commercial producers who use Lawson Angus semen or embryos.  Harry, the owner of Lawson Angus has formed unique partnerships with all these farms and has helped create a more genetically superior herd.

We have spotty internet and will be headed to Hopetown to calve, starting tomorrow.  Australia is beautiful by the way!  I am loving every minutes, lots of high quality Angus Cows and lots of beautiful sheep.

Steak? or Protein Powder?

Steak? or Protein Powder?

There is so much hype about the nutrition (or lack thereof) in beef. Should you just eat a huge juicy steak before a run or drink a protein shake? Is beef really all that it's cracked up to be? Let's consider a 6 ounce of steak and one-third cup of SFH Pure Whey Protein. The big juicy 6oz steak not only tastes delicious, but it provides 42 grams of protein. When we consider the protein powder, about 1/3 cup (equals to 1.056oz) provides 24 grams of protein. You sure can't forget to add in the sugar, stevia, and chocolate to the protein powder drink. Let's say you did not want to consume a 6 ounce juicy steak, you sure could eat a 4 ounce hamburger which provides 28 grams of protein, still better than the protein powder. Sadly, there is no scientific evidence which proves that the protein drink provides more nutrients than whole foods. Now, let's take a step away from the math equations and take a look at the newly conducted scientific experiments. Whole foods will stimulate metabolism and it will take more time to digest. This is known as the thermic effect accounting for the energy expended by our bodies to process and digest our food. There you have it, the facts, plain and simple. 

Now it's up to you to decide, Steak or Protein Powder? 
If I were you, I would choose Beef! It really is what's for dinner.

-Allie Nelson
Montana Beef Ambassador