The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

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Every once in a while I get caught in a cooking rut, cooking the same thing over and over.  At this point I find one our tried-and-true favorites that I know will satisfy my rancher.  I hit this point this weekend and pulled out an old favorite- Sweet and Sour Meatballs!

 

Funny thing about meatballs at our house… When we were first married, The Rancher just told me not to bother making them- “I don’t like them,” he said.  Then we visited my parents in Montana and had some meatballs and he loved them!  Guess what honey, that’s how I make them…  Now I have all green lights with the meatballs!

 

What I love about a meatball is that you can make it so many ways, add whatever you like, take out whatever you don’t and every time it’s delicious!  They are fast to make and really don’t require a big clean up… I make dinners depending on what I am willing to clean up some days…

 

But the meatballs…

 

I thought I would try something a little new and threw in some bacon and cheese to give it new flavor.  It’s like a bacon cheeseburger rolled into a meatball!  I have to admit, they turned out AWESOME!  Definitely worth sharing!

 

So grab all the meatball ingredients: ground beef, onion, bacon, cheese, egg, toast bits, Worcestershire, salt, salt, pepper, milk, and red pepper flakes.  We only mix up once, so you just as well have it all pulled out! 

Start with the bacon, toast, and onion.  I go for a chunkier meatball, so I don’t worry about getting it all so finely chopped up.  But you do what you want!  I just toast a few slices of bread and chop them up rather than buying breadcrumbs.  It’s my way of making good use of the ends that nobody wants to eat!

Once these are diced, you’re ready to throw it all in together.  Yep all of it!

 

And stir, stir, stir!  If you’re brave you can even mix with your hands.  Unless you’re not into the meat squishing through your fingers…

 

I added my cheese a little at a time so it didn’t end up in one big pile that didn’t get mixed around.  We are going for a little cheese in each meatball!

When everything has been evenly mixed, its time to roll them into meatballs.  I go for a golf ball size, but they all vary.  I have big cowboys and little cowboys, so it all works out!  Place them in a 9×13 baking dish, spacing about 1” apart. 

 

Now with the meatballs ready, it’s time to make a little sauce!  Grab all your ingredients again, pour tem in and mix!  I added a little pineapple juice to liven up the “sweet” part of the sweet and sour.  Yummy!

After it’s all mixed up, pour over those meatballs! 

 

I sprinkled a little parsley on top for just a bit of extra flavor.

Cover it up and throw those babies in the oven!

Let ‘em cook for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.  You know their ready when the house is smelled with a tantalizing aroma that you can’t hardly stand! 

Oh… and when they aren’t pink in the middle (that’s probably a better rule to follow!)

 

Next step- EAT!  And share… We had friends over to dinner and was perfect to fill those boys up!

 

 

If you’re ready for a new dinner to spice up your menu, you’ll want to try these Sweet and Sour Meatballs!  I promise, they won’t disappoint!

 

Sweet and Sour Meatball Recipe
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb bacon
1/4 cup cheese, shredded
1/2 cup toast, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tap salt
1 egg
1 dash red pepper flakes

 

Sweet and Sour Sauce
¾ cup water

½ cup vinegar

½ cup ketchup
¼ cup pineapple juice
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce

 

Prepare bacon, cheese, toast, and onion.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine ground beef, bacon, cheese, toast crumbs, Worcestershire, onion, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and egg using hands (or a wooden spoon) until well mixed.
Shape into 20 meatballs and place 1” apart in a 9×13 baking dish. 
Mix sauce ingredients together and stir until combined.  Pour over the meatballs.
Cover and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the center is no longer pink. 
Enjoy!

 

To the Leadore Angus Ranch Bull Sale

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At this time of year, the ranchers around here have bulls on the brain.  There is a lot of prep work to be done before we turn the bulls out for another summer. 
I have to throw this out there that I am so glad I’m not a cow (for a lot of reasons) because if someone was planning my next pregnancy this close to having my last baby (or if I was about to have a baby) I think I would give them a zap with the hot shot.
Good thing the cows don’t feel this way, because we are getting things geared up out here.  One bull will cover (breed) about 25 cows, which means we need about 35 bulls.  Choosing and buying new bulls can be pretty intense.  The bulls we choose will factor in the end product we have- a good finished steer or a good replacement heifer.
The Rancher, the kids and I loaded up in the truck the other day and headed out to Leadore, Idaho (which happens to be where we met, fell in love, and lived when we were first married!) to find a bull at the Leadore Angus Ranch bull sale.
Before the auction ever starts they give the ranchers time to really look through the bulls.  They give out as much information on the bull as possible to help buyers find what they want.  In their sale magazine they have the parents of each bull, the bull’s individual performance (which is his birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, ect.) and then a list of the expected progeny difference (how they think the calves from this bull will perform).
It’s a lot to take in.  In fact, I don’t even know what it all means!  I guess that’s why I brought The Rancher…  He was looking for a good bull for first time heifers.  What he looks for in that jumble of numbers is a bull that will have a low birth weight (it makes calving easier for first time heifers), a high weaning weight (it means they gain weight well), and high milk production (for the heifers we will keep to be mommas later on).   PS, did you know that milking traits are paternal, not maternal? Another important bit of info to look at was the CED, calving ease direct.  It directly identifies which bulls will lead to easier calving. 
Picking out a bull by the numbers is just the first part.  Since we are looking to market our calves for meat, we want to produce cuts that have high marbling and a large rib eye (the spot where all of your steaks come out of) surface area.  So the next page of numbers we looked at was the results from an ultrasound which gave the bull’s muscle and fat measurements.
After narrowing down the bulls we liked based on the progeny potential and the meat quality potential, it was time to actually go see the bulls.  We look for a really fleshy bull, something with a wide backside and a long, deep body.  Something that would grow a lot of good meat!  We also check out their condition and how well they will make it out on the range.  Some of the areas our cattle will go can be pretty intense, so we need a bull that will keep up and get the job done.
The real fun is when the auction gets started.  There is all of the bustle of the people, the constant rambling of the auctioneer (I know its not rambling, that’s what it sounds like), the cattle moving in and out, and the ring man taking bids.  There is a sort of tension in the air from the buyers trying to bid at just the right time against their competition, the men working the sale trying to get it just right, and the owners trying to have everything just right for a good sale day.  I really meant it when I say the auction is the fun part!  I love it all!
It was a little more stressful for The Rancher because he was busy trying to get in on those few bulls he really liked without paying a fortune!  His patience won out and got him a really nice heifer bull at a good price.  All in all, it was another good day for The Rancher and posse!
 
 
 

The Rancher’s Wife Living in the Middle of Nowhere

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To have the amount of land we need to run the ranch, we live in the middle of nowhere (TMNW). The Rancher would say we GET to, that it’s a privilege.  We have the space to ride and play.  We can have as big of lawn as we want (or the lawn mower can handle).  There aren’t too many neighbors to worry about being quiet for.  We get to live life how we choose to!  I can agree with him now that I have learned a few tricks to living away from civilization, some that are definitely worth sharing!

1.  Get a freezer.  Or maybe two… You will curse yourself every time you run out of food, every time you make an extra trip for more food, and every time you try to cram your groceries in the little freezer space above your refrigerator.  Yep… get a BIG freezer.

2.  Since you bought a freezer, you have room to buy extra groceries… so do it!  Load up on your favorite frozen fruits, veggies, chicken nuggets and of course BEEF!  I even have butter and cheese in there!  And just to be on the safe side, grab a few frozen pizzas for the days that dinner just doesn’t work out.   Stick it all in and enjoy it later. 

3.  Every visit to town warrants a trip to the grocery store.  Even if you think there isn’t stuff you need, go.  I always end up grabbing a couple of gallons of milk.  My family can never have enough milk!  In fact, I get so much that I freeze some to ensure that we don’t run out.

4.  Living far away from a gas station makes you realize how precious fuel is.  In an ideal world you would have your own gas tank at home to fill up at.  But if you can’t manage that, always leave town with a full tank of gas.  Running out of gas in TMNW is SUPER frustrating and there is nobody to blame but yourself.

5.  It’s sad to say, but since there are less trips to town (because it takes up way too much of the day just to get anywhere) you don’t always have fresh stuff.  Either learn to live with that or learn to grow a garden.  I suggest the latter because there isn’t much more satisfying than a good green salad from the backyard!

6.  Those man car skills really are not just for men.  Learning how to change a tire, check the oil, airing up tires, and using jumper cables is something that every person living in TMNW should know.  Cowboy Charming (instead of Prince Charming, right?) is a LONG way away and really doesn’t have time (or even want to) to come save the day. 

7.  You will spend lots of time in the car… LOTS.  Make sure you have a car that will be able to go the distance (especially if you didn’t learn those mechanicing skills we already talked about…).  Just accept already that putting more than 15,000 miles on the odometer in a year is normal.

8.  And if your car is getting that many miles, so are your kids.  There have been a lot of late nights spent on the road.  Teach the kids to sleep in the car.  Take pillows and blankets, at least one for every person… or maybe two.  Heck, take all you have in the house and borrow from the neighbors if you’ve got to!  The extra work is worth it!  And since the babies will be falling asleep always take pjs so they can just got straight to bed once you hit home. 

9.  Take out doesn’t exist in TMNW.  Nor does delivery.  Sorry, you GET to have a home cooked meal every night.  I highly recommend meal planning, left overs, and guilt trips to get someone else (hubby, anyone?) to make dinner.  If all else fails, get out the frozen pizza- that’s why you have a freezer, remember!

10.  We don’t have a time to make lots of trips to town, nor do really want to.  So with each trip, make it worth it!  Hit up the grocery store, the bank, the hardware store, the post office, CAL Ranches, and the local Good Will.  Or maybe just Walmart… they’re supposed to have it all, right?

 
Living in TMNW can make life tough, but choosing to make it work makes it all worth it.  For us, getting to live where we have the space to do what we love is always worth it, even when I have more milk than I know what to do with!

Taking on Texas

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Its crazy to believe that it was only a week ago that we were living it up in San Antonio.  The Rancher and I managed to leave the kids with grandma and took on a little vacation (oh ya, we went to a wedding too!).  Texas is a great place for a couple of ranchers to visit because our boots and buckles totally fit in.  We could have been taken for locals… until you listened to us talk of course!

Before we got too busy with the hair and nail prep for the wedding we played tourist for a bit!

Like to the Alamo!  Which everybody and their dog was there too.  Maybe we shouldn’t have gone during spring break…  It was a good hangout for the preacher man too.  I didn’t hear what he was saying, but he was pretty fired up!

There were some beautiful places around the grounds at the Alamo.  I wish I could have taken some it home to be at my house.  A little pink amidst the brown would be awesome!

My new sister-in-law said that we had to go to Rudy’s BBQ for lunch.  Apparently its famous throughout Texas.  With all of the hype I was expecting something huge and somewhat of a nice restaurant.  But its not… its a hole in the wall.  And in Texas that means that it is the real stuff.  I’ll admit that it was stinking good!  This from a bunch of country folk that love their BBQ!  I highly recommend it!

The Rancher found the Rose Palace, the home for George Strait’s Team Roping Classic.  He was supposed to be picking me up but got distracted when he saw so many horse trailers passing by.  Ya, he totally ditched the idea of coming to get me.  Eventually he came back (he knows what is good for him), but he started explaining really fast why he was late.  He didn’t forget about the roping… We had to go back and check it out before we got on the plane.  I guess its better than going to the roping instead of the wedding…

Walking through the city was so fun for this country girl.  I don’t want to live there, but there are so many fun and interesting things to see.  I love the shops, the architecture, the people, the landscaping… ALL OF IT!  Maybe its because we don’t see so much of that around here, like a stoplight.  We don’t have those in our town of 90 people.  Or tall buildings or cool fire escapes.  Its all so exciting! 

DIY Frame & Barbed Wire Inspiration Station: Repurposed Ranch Stuff

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I love DIY projects.  I’m a crafter, big time.  And lately I have an incredible desire to do it with old ranch stuff to make some new home decor.  I mean, we are ranch people- why not decorate with a little bit of it too!

I’ve had a big old frame sitting in the house for a long time.  I’ve been trying to figure out just what to do with it.  And last week it hit me- make a little inspiration station to go in The Ranch Princess’s room (her one wall looked like it needed a little something).

The Rancher has been spending a lot of time in the shop lately doing some organized and fixing stuff.  I really don’t get into the shop stuff- if I’m going to clean it should be the house and I know nothing about mechanics.  But I go to the shop with him because he has a plethera of tools and old ranch stuff that I can use for projects!  And it is awesome that the mess doesn’t happen in my house (yay!).

So back to this little inspiration station.  I just wanted something that we could put up pictures or kid art but I still wanted it to have a little flare to it.  So I grabbed the frame and got to work on it.

I started with repainting the frame.  It needed a face lift.  Its amazing what a few coats of spray paint can do!

Once it dried, I did something a little crazy.  I found some old barbed wire (because if I would have used some new or currently being used stuff I would have been in trouble…) to string across it.  Originally I had planned to used chicken wire, but I saw some barbed wire laying around and totally changed my mind.  I figured it would be awesome to slip on to but it also gave it little out-on-the-ranch feel.

Using the old barbed wire was a good choice to use because it had already been stretched once, making the job of straightening it out a LOT easier.

Unless you are going for a bit of randomness (which it totally cool) quick measure where you want your barbed wire to be.

I found a staple gun in the depths of shop and used that to attach the barbed wire.  I took a hammer to them just to make doubly sure that it was secure.  The last thing I need in this house is to have some barbed wire fall off and the kids find it.  It spells disaster upside and backwards!  If I didn’t have a staple gun I would totally give a hot glue gun a try.  Seriously, I feel like I can do ANYTHING with a hot glue gun!

After getting the barbed wire attached I took it in the house to add a little fluff (you won’t find any flowers or rafia in the shop…)  I had grabbed a horse shoe from the barn (and I patted the calves!) that would be a perfect flare.  Then to give it a bit of a girly touch I glued some flowers and rafia on it.

And done!  Seriously so cute, so fast and so easy!

In case you want to make it, here is my little “recipe”.

DIY Frame & Barbed Wire Inspiration Station

Supplies:
Frame (obviously)
Paint
Barbed wire (and grab yourself some gloves to work with the barbed wire, you don’t need to get poked!)
Wire cutters
Staple gun and staples (or a hot glue gun)
Fluff to decorate!

Hang it on your wall, set it on shelf or a dresser.  Even hang it in your kitchen to put notes or messages on.  Ooo, you could put recipes on it!  The options are endless!  Leave a comment with how you used your barbed wire inspiration station!

Calving Down South in Locomotive

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Every operation has its own calving process and the crucial chunk of ours is in the location.  Locomotive is such an ideal place for our cows to calve because it only (ok, usually) gets little bits of snow.  The weather is mild enough that there is still good range feed (aka grass) and warmer temperatures that we don’t have to worry about losing calves to the cold. 

Being that it is out on the range, there are wide open spaces for the herd (channel your inner “Home on the Range” background music!).  They can be spread out to make sure that the right momma and babies get paired up together.  There are times when cows are bunched up too close that they try to claim another calf as their own.  We tag them when we can, but since cows can’t read, it only helps us.  I guess it doesn’t work like in the hospital when the momma and babies have matching bracelets!

Another plus of calving on the range is that it also helps to prevent sickness from spreading through all the calves.  When the calves are so spread out, they have less contact with each other.  When they have less contact, the germs don’t move from calf to calf so much.  Just think of a kindergarten class of kids that are always wiping their runny noses on their neighbor.  This is what we are avoiding!  Young calves have young immune systems.  And although they are building their immunity, especially through momma cow’s milk, we want to lesson their exposure as best we can.

Its a more of a hands off approach.  When I was very first involved in the process I was sure that we weren’t doing enough and we were doomed to fail…  But I was so wrong!  We have incredible calving percentages every year.  These are experienced momma’s that, with the right location, have babies without any problems.  And then once the calves hit the ground, they just get growing!

Don’t get me wrong, we don’t put ‘hem out on the range and forget about them.  We (read The Rancher and Rancher Sr.) ride through them nearly every day on the off-chance that there is something going hay-wire.  But we certainly don’t wear ourselves out as if we calved all 600+ at home!

Roundup of Other Ranches: Calving in Cold Weather

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We have had such a mild winter which is AWESOME for calving.  But that hasn’t been the case for everyone. 

My old neighbors in Montana have really been having a hard time this last weekend.  My dad was saying its the worst calving season they have had in 25 years.  A town nearby was dealing with a wind chill of -68 degrees at night.  That’s beyond brrr!  That’s cold enough to freeze a baby’s nose even before he has been born.  Not being able to keep all the babies and mommas out of the cold is like throwing money in the wind.

But my Montana friends aren’t the only ones dealing with the cold.  Its a normal part of winter calving.  Over the years we have all found things that help on those cold nights.  We have our go to hot boxes or shelf ready ear warmers. We’ve learned when we need to bring a calf in or when to leave it with momma.

But don’t just take my word for it.  Here are a few other ranchers that have been out fighting the cold.

 
1. Calving in the Cold on PincherCreekVoice.com
 
2. Baby Calves Will be Here Soon on KansasCattleRanch.blogspot.com
 
3. Ranch Snow Day: Calving Heifers on AgricultureProud.com
 
4. Calving Shed on BeefMatters.org
 
5. No Maternal Instinct on JustARanchWife.com
 
6. Warming Baby Calves on TalesOfAKansasFarmMom.blogspot.com

“They’re Sheep… Not Cows!”

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On our last outing to check water we came across some range neighbors.  As soon as The Rancher’s Sidekick could pick out what they were he shouted, “They’re sheep… not cows!”

Apparently we need to get out and see more critters than what we normally see on the ranch because our kids loved seeing those sheep!

There is a big sheep herd sharing the range with our cows in Locomotive.  They blend in with the country side really well and when you finally recognize that the sheep are there they just POP out at you.  Hundreds of sheep!  There is even a little sheep camp and their very own sheep cowboy, sheepboy, shepherd…

I think that they must have been surprised to see us because they just took off running.  Little fluffy sheep running all over.

 I had to do a double take when I saw a black sheep in the midst of the other white sheep.  I had to ask what it was… I assumed it was a herd dog!  I think that I had better stick with what I know best-cows!
 

Hauling Cows to the Calving Pasture

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The Rancher has sighed a big sigh of relief last week.  All of the cows that were home (about 500) have been hauled to the calving pasture in Locomotive. 

It took 3 days to get them all moved down and we jumped in to “help” take them down

Now that we have all of the cows moved we will be making the trip down to check them, but Locomotive is a great place to calves out our cows!

A Ranch-kid’s Amusement Rides

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I avoid taking our kids to the tractor stores.  I know that sounds harsh but I know that they will want to climb on EVERY tractor.  I’m terrified that some day we will be taking home a lawn mower because we broke it from The Rancher’s Sidekick climbing all over it.

But there is a day that we wait for every January when there are tons of tractors that we can explore.  ISU in Pocatello hosts an Ag Expo where businesses bring their products for farmers and ranches to check out.  They also bring tractors, of all sizes.  I honestly wonder how they get some of those BIG combines in- I have yet to the a door that they can fit in!  This year The Rancher’s Sidekick even found some his size that weren’t lawn mowers!

Usually it is the same old stuff but its always worth going to see if they have anything new.  And of course we all want to sit in the new tractors!

 Even The Ranch Princess had to sit in the tractor.  Nothing will stop her from being with the boys!

 Ya, super big equipment…

I had to take this picture because we have pride in agriculture

About Me

Hello! I'm Allison, The Rancher's Wife! There's nothing I love more than being out on the ranch with my husband and kids. Join me for a look at what goes on here at the ranch and the life being a rancher's wife!

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