Cowboy Cookies

There’s something about a warm, chewy cookie that just hits the spot. These Cowboy Cookies have been my favorite since childhood, and they’re packed with the perfect mix of oatmeal and chocolate chips. If you’re looking for a tried-and-true cookie recipe that melts in your mouth and never lasts long in the cookie jar, this is it!

Signs You’re Less Than Two Weeks Away from the County Fair

As the County Fair approaches, the excitement and anticipation are high. Here are seven telltale signs that you're less than two weeks away from the big event:

The BBP Pizza

One of my favorite parts of 4-H is that it encourages youth to explore their interests and try new things. My son is in his third year of 4-H and has grown so much through the different projects and events he has participated in. This year one of his projects that will be shown at our county fair next week is his Pizza Food Challenge. He had so much fun going to a pizza workshop and creating his own pizza that I thought I'd share it here on my blog!

County Fair is more than the ribbons and awards...

County Fair is more than the ribbons and awards...

How to Celebrate National 4-H Week as Alumni

Spending every day in a tractor seat gives me a lot of "thinking time" (think of driving your car for 10 hours a day every day).  So today since it is Sunday, I thought it'd be fun to share a little "Sunday Funday" post about some things going on in my life besides driving a tractor.

The initial reason why I joined 4-H...

4-H is a youth organization that I was involved in that I feel truly helped shape me to the person I am today.  When I joined the Clear Lake Sailors 4-H Club in Hamilton County, Iowa as a 4th grader (so I could show at the County Fair) I had no idea the amount of leadership, citizenship and communication skills it'd give me by the time I finished my 9-year career, or how it'd help shape my core values and teach me responsibility.  I had no idea that I'd make life-long friends while being on the State 4-H Council, or that I'd be the national secretary of Collegiate 4-H someday and meet amazing professional from across the United States.  And the greatest thing I gained through 4-H was My Farmer.  When I was a freshman in college the first people I made contact with when I got to Ames were people I had gotten to know through 4-H.  I spent a lot of time on 5th floor Maple dormitory with   4-H friends and was lucky to meet the guy down at the end of the hallway and fall in love.  The connections and networking that are made through 4-H are amazing and unimaginable as a 4th grader.

Today is the first day of National 4-H Week, an annual celebration that showcases the great things 4-H offers today's youth and highlights the amazing 4-H youth in the community.  I loved driving to church this morning to see that one of the local 4-H clubs had decorated main-street windows, and hearing on the radio about a recruitment event happening this weekend.  When I was in 4-H I loved promoting 4-H all year long, and always made a special effort during National 4-H Week.  So as an alumni of 4-H, what can I do now?  I've came up with a list of ideas for all 4-H alumni to do during National 4-H Week, as a way of giving back:

• Volunteer - This is the obvious one, get involved an volunteer with your local 4-H club or your local county program.  I am personally my local county's Communications project leader and have chaperoned 4-H trips as a way of volunteering locally.
• Become a Judge - There is always a need for more judges.  Contact your state 4-H office and find out the procedure and trainings available so you can judge at area county events and fairs and even at the State Fair.  I have been judging for 10 years! And I am always so impressed with the presentations and projects I see every year.
• Share your 4-H Story through Social Media - I just shared a little bit about my 4-H story here on my blog, but it can be as easy as sharing a photo on Facebook or tweeting about 4-H.  If you are an Iowa 4-H supporter, the Iowa 4-H Foundation has created a great graphic that you can share (located below this list of ideas) and save as your Facebook profile for the week.  Also, be sure to follow your local 4-H organization through their various social media outlets - Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.
• Modify your Email Signature - To include a National 4-H Week message to the bottom of all your emails.  It can be as simple as "Celebrate National 4-H Week October 5-11" and include a link to your local county or state 4-H program.
• Write a Letter to the Editor - And share your 4-H story and why 4-H is such a great youth organization.  As an alumni, you can give a complementing view of 4-H to those youth members also contacting their local newspapers.
• Share your 4-H Story through your Workplace - Wear green this week, or ask to put up a 4-H flier or poster in your workplace's break-room to increase awareness about 4-H.  If your workplace has a marquee or lighted sign, display a National 4-H Week message.
• and of course Donate!

And one easy way for you to donate is by commenting to this post.  All month long, for every comment on my blog, I'll be donating $0.50 through my Comments for a Cause program to the Iowa 4-H Foundation.  So share what   4-H club you were a member of, or how you are going to celebrate National   4-H Week, and make a donation through me!

(This post is a part of a 31 Days from a Tractor Seat series.  The best way to keep up with this series is to follow via email on the right sidebar of this post and by liking the Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids Facebook page.)

October Comments for a Cause - Iowa 4-H Foundation

Temperatures are cooling and harvest has started.  Sounds like it is October 1st to me and time to talk Comments for a Cause!  In the month of September I had a total of 41 comments, equaling a $20.50 donation to the Hampton Public Library.

In the month of October I'm excited to be donating $0.50 for every comment to the Iowa 4-H Foundation.  I'm also planning on sharing more about 4-H next week during National 4-H Week (October 5-11) through my 31 Days from a Tractor Seat series.

I was involved in 4-H as a youth and I credit this activity for helping me explore my interests and ultimately helped me choose the major of agricultural communications for college.  Because 4-H gave me so much, I wanted to give back immediately.  I began judging 4-H projects and contest at the age of 19 and have volunteered with my county 4-H program for the past six years.  For my local county Extension program I am the Communications Project Leader, chaperon conferences, help during the County Fair, serve on the Extension Council Nominating Committee, and have been a 4-H Club Leader.

And I'm excited to give back one more way this month, by highlighting 4-H as my Comments for a Cause organization.  Help me give back by commenting all month long.  Were you in 4-H?  What does 4-H mean to you?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

What's Your 50?

I was honored to be recently recognized by Volunteer Iowa and their "What's Your 50?" campaign.  This campaign recognizes volunteers from across the state and then shares why they volunteer, to encourage all Iowan's to volunteer just 50 hours annually.  I was nominated by Franklin County Extension.

As part of the recognition I was asked to share the top couple organizations I volunteer with and explain why I share my time with them.  It was hard to choose the top couple because I volunteer with many groups.  In the end I decided to share my experiences of volunteering with 4-H, Make-A-Wish and Farm Bureau.

Chaperoning State 4-H Conference (I'm on the far right)

4-H.  I was involved in 4-H as a youth and I credit this activity for helping me explore my interests and ultimately helped me choose the major of agricultural communications for college.  Because 4-H gave me so much, I wanted to give back immediately.  I began judging 4-H projects and contest at the age of 19 and have volunteered with my county 4-H program for the past five years.  For my local county Extension program I am the Communications Project Leader, chaperon conferences, help during the County Fair, serve on the Extension Council Nominating Committee, and have been a 4-H Club Leader.

Working with one of my Wish Kids

Make-A-Wish.  I have been involved with the North Iowa Make-A-Wish chapter for four year and currently serve as the Vice-Chair and a Wish Granter for the group.  I got started with Make-A-Wish because of my cousin Jake who received a wish during his battle with cancer.  He always said that his wish meant so much to him during his last year of life.  I wanted to help make other wishes come true after knowing the impact Jake's wish had on him.  With Make-A-Wish I help with wish granting, fundraising and community events.  I have even jumped out of an airplane (twice) for a Make-A-Wish fundraiser.

Doing a radio interview before my local county Farm Bureau's
"Breakfast Battle" National Food Check-Out Week event

Farm Bureau.  Being a farmer and raising my family on the farm are very important to me.  My Farmer and I both have become active with Farm Bureau, which allows us to network and interact with other young farmers and to perform community outreach that shares information about the importance of agriculture.

So... What's your 50?  I enjoy volunteering because it allows me to make new personal connections and make a big difference in my community, especially in the lives of young people.  I am proud of where I am from and by volunteering I can only make it better and strive longer.  Volunteering is a great way to become a leader in your community.  No matter the amount of time you have to give, there is a volunteering opportunity for you.  I personally average five hours of service each week.  For you, it might be helping with one program's project or event.  Whatever it is, you are making a difference.  Through the "What's Your 50?" campaign, the Governor's Call to Action is to encourage Iowan's to increase their service activities to 50 hours per year.  Currently, Iowa is ranked second in the nation for its state volunteer rate.

Tuesday Tasty Pork Recipe

Me during the Pride of Iowa contest demonstrating
Fiesta Pork Soup (age 16)

It's Tuesday and time to share another Tuesday Tasty Pork Recipe in honor of National Pork Month.  Now this week's recipe I decided to also honor National 4-H Week, an organization I am a very proud alumni of, as well as volunteer for today.  When I was in 4-H as a member of the Clear Lake Sailors in Hamilton County, Iowa, I always participated in the Pride of Iowa contest every year at the county fair.  The gist of the Pride of Iowa contest is that 4-Hers give a live cooking demonstration and the food they make must include an Iowa product in it.  One year for the contest, I made the recipe I'm going to share today.  I got the recipe from the National Pork Checkoff and fell in love with the recipe's simplicity and flavor.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Fiesta Pork Soup 

My kitchen helper

(This is a great recipe for kids to help with or for a teen to take the lead on.)

Ingredients:
1 pound ground pork
8 oz picante sauce
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
2 cups (or 1 - 14 1/2 oz can) chicken stock/broth
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
1 - 11oz can condensed fiesta natcho cheese soup

Ingredient line-up

In medium saucepan, cook and stir pork until browned.  Drain.

Add chicken broth, picante sauce, cumin and pepper; bring to boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in cheese soup; simmer until heated through.  Do not boil.

Pour into serving bowls; garnish with sour cream and tortilla chips.  Serves 5.

(I like to dip with my chips while
My Farmer likes to crunch up the chips as if they were crackers!)

Now it is time to announce last week's pig silicon pot holder winner - congratulations Dee W!  Please send me your mailing address and I'll get your new pot holder out to you!

Now for this week I'll be giving away another pig silicon pot holder.  To be entered into the randomized drawing, share your favorite soup to warm up with in the fall and winter in the comment section.  Thank you once again to the Iowa Soybean Association and the Soybean Checkoff for the pot holders!  The winner will be announced next week!

Learning + Fun + Extra Cash = 4-H Judging

Yesterday I spent the day judging at the 4-H Exhibit Day at the Hancock County Fair in Britt, Iowa.  I judged several project areas including Visual Arts, Poster Art, Child Development, Consumer Management, Health, Leadership, Citizenship, and Self-Determined.

I've been judging 4-H communication contests and county fairs for the last eight years.  I love learning new things from the 4-Hers and coming home with fun ideas.  Another added perk is that it is a nice way to get some extra spending cash.

I feel like 4-H helped shape me to be the person I am today, and by judging, it is one way of giving back to the organization.  I hope I have encouraged 4-Hers I have evaluated to explore their interests and educate themselves more in those areas.  By doing those things I believe I have helped strengthen their life skills of leadership, communication and citizenship.

If you are from Iowa and are interested in becoming a 4-H judge, right now is the perfect time to start!  Starting in October, there will be Judges Trainings in Ames, Calmar, Marion, Storm Lake, Iowa City, Algona, Carson and Osceola, through March.  Judges Training builds knowledge and skills needed for a quality judging experience.  It also gives you an opportunity to practice before direct interaction with 4-Hers.  For experienced judges, the training provides revised and updated resources.

Are you a 4-H Judge - why do you enjoy judging?  Are you interested in becoming a 4-H Judge - what questions do you have about judging?

Fair Time Favorites

Last week my family and I kept busy because our local Franklin County Fair was being held.  There was only one day last week that between My Farmer and I, we didn't have to be at the fair - We joked around that we can only imagine what are fair schedule will be like when we have kids in 4-H!  Overall we had a great time and the weather was great for it.  Here is my Top Five Franklin County Fair Favorites:

• Promote Our Commodities - I've been lucky the last couple of years to have be asked to judge the 4-H Promote Our Commodities contest.  This is a cooking and baking contest where 4-Hers bring dishes that feature beef, pork, lamb, dairy or soy.  It is always fun to try all the fun recipes the 4-Hers bring and to talk to them about Iowa's top commodities.  I hope I continue to be asked to judge this event!

LP helping me judge 4-Her Abby's Oatmeal Cranberry Soy Cookies - very delicious!

• Farm Bureau Burger Feed - Every year the Franklin County Farm Bureau (which both My Farmer and I serve on) sponsors a day at the fair.  One thing the Farm Bureau does as a part of that sponsored day is that we have a burger feed.  We pass out 1,000 pork burger and hamburgers.  It is great way to promote pork, beef and Farm Bureau.

My Farmer on the left, with a couple other Farm Bureau board members grilling pork burgers
at the burger feed.  You can see part of the burger feed line behind them.

• Entertainment - Our County Fair does a great job with an Entertainment line-up every year.  This year we really enjoyed going to the Oak Ridge Boys concert, Rodney Atkins concert and the Monster Truck Rally.  My personal favorite was the Oak Ridge Boys concert.  My Farmer, LP and I brought my Mom and Grandma along with us to the concert.  My Grandma, who will be 80 at the end of the month, is a huge Oak Ridge Boys fan.  She had a great time at the concert which made me enjoy it that much more!  She stood up near the stage for the concert and got high-fives from the whole band at the end of the night.  They played for over an hour and a half and had the entire crowd on their feet.  Their final song was Amazing Grace which was dedicated to those in Aurora, Colorado.

My Grandma is the one with white shoulder length hair in the bottom right of this photo.
You can see how close she got to the stage!

• Food - You can't talk about the Fair and not talk about FOOD!  Every year at our County Fair I have to eat at the 4-H Food Stand and get a taco salad and a slice of homemade pie, I have to get a chicken wrap from the Smoke & Crome stand, and I have to get homemade ice cream from Pleasant Hill.  This year my new favorite food I tried was fried cookie dough on a stick!  The food at the County Fair makes me excited for food at the State Fair next month!

My Farmer and LP after eating some homemade ice cream at Pleasant Hill

• Family Time - We had a blast as a family at the fair this year.  LP is only 16 months old but he had so much fun at the fair!  He enjoyed just people watching, to singing and dancing at the concerts, to cheering on the Monster Trucks.  It was fun to do things as a family all week long.

LP loved putting his hands up in the air and cheering at the concerts.
Here we all are cheering for the Oak Ridge Boys.

I always love hearing from readers.  What is your favorite thing to do at the Fair?