I can’t believe I am flying to Texas tomorrow already!  A few months ago Karli invited me to another National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Beef Checkoff event – remember the one I went to last October that was in Chicago?  So I was thrilled that she was inviting me to a destination event.  Check out some of the cool things on this all expense paid trip:

Objective:  “This event has been designed to provide an opportunity for a deeper understanding of how beef is produced.  Since 2011, we’ve hosted more than a dozen immersion experiences with the goal of creating a stronger understanding of the beef lifecycle via first-hand exploration of the farm-to-plate process.”

  1. Screening of Farmland – a documentary about the future of farming
  2. Meet and greet with ranchers Brad & Molly Bellah
  3. Visit Hale Center Feedyard (I am secretly hoping I get to milk a cow!)
  4. Visit Matador Ranch
  5. Cattle Nutrition
  6. Grain and Grass Finished Beef – the similarities and differences
  7. Q&A with beef and agricultural experts

It’s no secret I love beef.   Here are some of my top favorite beef recipes:

I could go on and on, but you get the idea!  I am so excited for this trip.  I was on the fence of whether or not to go because of Tony’s health, but he’s insisting I go – he says I deserve the trip, so it’s a done deal.  It’s a quick trip too – I am back by Friday night!

So I really didn’t do much of a meal plan this week since I was going to be gone for half of it.  I knew with our small grocery shop over the weekend and what we have on hand, I could find stuff to fix.

Breakfast was an egg beater and spinach omelet with watermelon on the side.  Funny thing is, is that I had forgotten I bought that watermelon a week and a half ago and it was in the back of my car the whole time.  I thought it might be rotten, but it’s perfect!  So maybe I should let my watermelon sit out for a week before cutting it?!

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I walked out of the house without my Fitbit – dammit!  But as it turns out, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.  It’s the first of the month and work is super busy getting bills out, and it was only the second time our new secretary had been through the process.  I ended up eating lunch at my desk.  We bought small tostadas – 4 of the are a serving at 180 calories.  I made black bean, corn, cheese and red cabbage tostadas.

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I have to laugh at this next picture though – I think some people think if you have a DSLR all of a sudden all your pictures are going to be stunning.  That may be true, but after I took that picture above, this was the next one after I played around with the settings – ha!

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Work flew by and before I knew it, it was time to head home.  Tony said there was a bad accident on the main road coming home.  I decided to take a different set of back roads to avoid that and passed by Wal-Mart – I was going to go there after dinner to get my eyebrows threaded, but I ended up stopping on my way home – no wait!  I got there at 5:30 and left at 5:34 – still the most painful 4 minutes, but it always turns out good.

We decided to grill chicken.  I made a rookie mistake and didn’t put enough coals in there, even though Tony told me so, I was sticking to my guns that I had enough.  Nope.  So I ended up finishing our chicken on the gas grill.  I have to say though since it was cooked low and slow (um, we didn’t eat until 7:45 and I lit the grill at 6!) it was super juicy and tender.  I added my Rudy’s BBQ sauce after it came off the grill.  I have some time between when the event ends on Friday until my late afternoon flight – hope to make it to Rudy’s for lunch for the moist brisket and sausage!

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The corn was just okay – I probably left it on the grill too long, but I think we have a ways to go before we get some good corn around here.

So I won’t be blogging until next Monday most likely.  I don’t have a lap top and I am sure I’ll be too busy to post anyway.  You can, however, follow me on Instagram:  just search the user hashtag:

#mybizzykitchen

I hope you have a great week!  Can’t wait to share with you next week what I learn.  Make it a great day!