Short Cattle

06/08/2026

From Grandma's Grass-fed Kitchen:
As I sit here looking out, I see the cows strolling past going to get a drink. It is a beautiful, warm, sunny day. I am appreciating the moment to just sit and look out at God's beauty. I have been shouldering some tiresome burdens here lately. Life changes quickly, and plows forward at it's own pace. The young look forward in expectation and the older look back and wonder at the unexpected outcome. Throughout it all though, you can see God's help along the way. Praising Him for being there and helping us through.
Our recipe is from the internet by Elisa, called Sauerkraut Casserole with Ground Beef. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 pan. In a large skillet, heat tallow in a pan over medium heat. Add 1 medium chopped onion and cook until soft, then add 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook another minute. Add 1 lb. ground beef and cook until brown. Drain fat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tsp. paprika, and 1 tsp. caraway seeds (optional but traditional). Stir and set aside. In the baking pan spread the drained sauerkraut evenly and then layer the cooked beef mix on top. Spoon the 1 cup sour cream over beef and spread gently. Sprinkle 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the sour cream and add ½ cup shredded cheddar on top. Cover the dish with foil, bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake 10–15 more minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly. Let the casserole rest 5-10 minutes before serving. This casserole was good but needed something more, maybe something mixed in with the sour cream. We have another recipe for a sauerkraut casserole that I like better but this one is good.
I am ready for things to give me a break. Will be glad when some decisions are made and things are settled down. I just am so thankful that God is walking with us and will help us deal with things. Remember God knows what you are walking through today and is there to help you.

05/25/2026

We have some exciting news to share!
Besides our wonderful grass-fed beef we now have pastured meat birds for sale. These tasty birds enjoy a soy and corn free diet once they are out of the brooder. And they also get moved to fresh grass every day.
If you purchase 10 or more birds the price is $5.25 per pound. Otherwise the price is $5.50.
We have dates available in June, August and October for pick up.
Send us a message and we will get you all the details!

05/04/2026

From Grandma's Grass-fed Kitchen:
We're calving! We have 8 laying around the pasture. I like seeing them now but it will be more fun to watch in a month when they run and jump around. The other day when I was outside working, I watched a newborn calf wobble around trying to find where to get nourishment. Mamma pushed it with her head toward the udder but the calf tottered the other way. Mamma tried again, the calf got closer only to go too far. I stood there a while watching it, while filling a 55 gallon drum. I was cheering it on but didn't see the normal drinking stance with a waggling tail so I don't know if it got anything or not.
This time I tried a recipe from an old cookbook, for pasties. We all agreed those were a bust. The dogs finished them. So I gave a different recipe a try. They were good but I won't be making them again. The insides were tasty but we didn't care for the outside, we would rather have dough like in the Nebraska's Stuffed Beef Sandwiches, a previous recipe. But I will share the recipe in case you want to try. 1 ½ lb ground beef, 4 refrigerated pie crusts (I made my own), 1 onion chopped, 2 carrots diced, 2 potatoes diced, ½ tsp each salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Also ½ cup frozen peas, ½ cup shredded cheddar, ½ cup beef broth, 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce and 1 egg beaten (egg wash). Boil carrots and potatoes about 10 minutes. Saute onions and add beef, garlic, salt, and pepper, then cook until brown. Remove any grease and add carrots, potatoes, peas, broth, cheese, parsley and sauce. Stir until cheese melts. Remove and cool. Preheat oven to 375 while you form pasties. Cut the pie crusts into quarters and roll into circles. Put ½ cup of filling in each, fold over, brush edge with egg wash then seal edges. Set all on baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake 20 minutes. Hope you enjoy them.
In watching the calf, the thought crossed my mind that God tries to show us where to go but we walk around trying to figure it out without listening. Things would be so much easier if I would listen more intently and obey. This month let's all listen to hear Him as we walk with Him.

04/21/2026

Fun Farm Fact: Did you know that it is calving season here at Short Cattle?

Our calving season started yesterday with a nice small heifer calf!

04/14/2026

We are so sorry. They fix our phone line and then it goes out again. Right now it is out for the third time. We have been told that it just rings and rings on the callers end. It does not ring here. Sorry if you are trying to reach us. Please message us if you need to contact us or want to pick up any packaged beef. Thank you.

Send a message to learn more

03/01/2026

From Grandma's Grass-fed Kitchen:
This morning we drove in snow, now the sun is shining. I can't wait until it greens up. Rachel planted onion seeds today, the first seeds for her garden. I love seeing them sprout into little “baby plants”. That reminds me of a time when she was a wee thing and we were in the orchard. She went around pointing at the tiny fruit saying, 'bay-bee peach', 'bay-bee apple', drawing out baby. It was so cute. Seems like yesterday. How the years have flown. We have grandchildren older than she was. This month we are going to see our oldest granddaughter in her second play. They did a great job last year and I can't wait to see how well they all do again.
Today we had Beef tips and Gravy. It uses 1 ½ pounds of stew meat or sirloin tips, 1 medium onion, 3-4 tbs. oil (used tallow) , ½ c. flour, ½ tsp. salt, 1 tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. black pepper, 2 - 10.5 oz. cans beef broth, ½ c. water (used 2 ¼ cup bone broth in place of broth +
water), 1 pkg. onion soup mix, 1 tsp. each soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Sauté onions in tallow. Meanwhile mix the flour, salt, garlic, and pepper in a bowl. When the onions are done put them into a crock pot, dredge meat in flour and brown in the skillet. When browned, put on top of the onions. In the bowl, with any flour left, add broth, soup mix, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and whisk together. Cook on low 6-7 hours or high 4-5. For thicker gravy, take out about ½ cup and add a little flour to it, then mix it back in to cook a few minutes without a lid to thicken it. The flavor was good although Rachel said it could use more garlic. When I make it again I won't use a pre-packaged mix, but make one and use more garlic. I liked that there was little prep work and it only dirtied 1 skillet and bowl. I don't like making large amounts of dirty dishes for one recipe.
This month enjoy watching the earth again come alive. Remember God's promise after the flood in Genesis 8:22 “While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Seed time is coming and we will have a break from the cold winter. God is good.

02/19/2026

Our Phone line is working on and off right now. If you try calling and it keeps just ringing it is out again so please message us. We are here and are willing to serve you but we are not always receiving the calls. We have been assured that it should be fixed next week.

02/13/2026

We are restocked on most of our beef products! Including many steaks, roasts, liver, bones for making broth, and fat for making tallow. Message us for the list if you are interested.

We also currently have eggs available. Soy and corn free. $4.50/dozen

02/01/2026

From Grandma's Grass-fed Kitchen:
Wow, it has been cold. I hope you all have stayed warm enough. The cold and snow makes chores more of a challenge. I'm glad I don't have to go out to help anymore in this. The guys have been giving more hay so the cattle have more to keep their bodies warm. They moved them toward the woods so they would have a wind break in that bitter cold wind. We drove by them one day and they were laying in the snow chewing their cud. They were peaceful and very contented.
We tried German Meatballs last week. I took 1 lb of ground beef, ½ lb pork, ½ c finely chopped onion, ¾ c fine dry bread crumbs, 1 tbs. fresh parsley (I used dried), 1 ½ tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 large egg, and ½ c milk. I mixed it all up well and shaped it into 18 meatballs about 2 inch each, then browned the meatballs. Then I removed the meatballs and put 27 oz. Sauerkraut in the skillet and put the meatballs back on top. I covered it and simmered it for 15 – 20 minutes to cook the meatballs through. This turned out pretty good, but it seemed to need something more. The leftovers were sprinkled with garlic and it was better. Doing this again, I would make the meatballs smaller, add garlic, and maybe even a little more salt and pepper.
I like this weather when I can stay in by the fire. Our wood stove was out of commission for a little while in that bitter cold and it is so nice to have it again. Not sure what February will bring us but we will endure. God is so very good to all of us, but we still tend to complain about our circumstances. Let's all think of things in a more positive light and be more thankful for His love. Be a valentine for Him.
If you saw last time we were waiting for an overdue grandchild, Ezra arrived in his own good time, and he is healthy. Thank you for your prayers.

01/04/2026

From Grandma's Grass-fed Kitchen:
I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Christmas with all the family here was great. It was so nice to have everyone together. The grandchildren enjoyed playing and the adults seemed to enjoy conversing. I enjoyed watching everyone enjoying themselves and each other. Contentment is a beautiful thing. I may be finding pretzels and sucker sticks in different hiding spots, but hopefully soon. Not like the bun I found moldy months later, tucked away in the play kitchen.
Seth and Mackenzie came with their 6 month old (our 12th grandchild). Seth had to work so he left them here while he went flying. It was nice to spend time with them. When he flew back, they stayed a few more days. I really enjoyed them being here.
Today I made Onion Beef and Rice. It used French onion soup mix, but I generally don't have mixes so I used a substitute off the web. It may have made a difference, so I thought I'd mention that up front. I preheated the oven to 425 degrees. Browned 1 lb. beef with 1 tsp. minced garlic. Then sauteed ¾ c. chopped onion and ½ c. chopped celery in a 12 inch iron skillet. Then ½ tsp. paprika, 3 c. beef broth with 2 tbs. dried broth for more concentration. I used (beef broth base, ¼ c. sauteed onions, 1 tsp. Thyme, and a splash Apple cider vinegar) in place of the soup mix and 2 c. rice was stirred in along with a tsp. of salt and ½ tsp. of pepper. It called for putting ¾ c. butter on top but I put ¼ to ½ on. Tin foil covering the skillet, it was baked for 30 minutes, with another 30 uncovered. The verdict on this was... “there's not enough there”. If I were to make again, I would definitely use more onions and celery along with more spices. I may not use butter, it seemed greasy to me. Sometimes when I do changes, they are not quite right so maybe I'll try again.
Happy New Year! A time to reflect and a time to anticipate. For us right now we are anticipating our 13th grandchild who is running late at this point. If you would, pray for Ethan's family as they are awaiting the arrival. May this year be one of blessings and peace for all of you.