Next Ridge Acres

04/13/2026

No-Bake Nutter Butter Banana Pudding Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 family-size red package Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies

• 2 (3.4oz) boxes Jell-O Banana Cream Instant Pudding mix

• 3 cups TruMoo cold milk

• 1 (8oz) tub Cool Whip (thawed)

• 3 fresh bananas (sliced)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the Jell-O Banana Cream pudding mix and TruMoo milk together for 2 minutes. Let thicken, then fold in the thawed Cool Whip.

2. Line the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish with a tight layer of Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies.

3. Layer the sliced fresh bananas directly over the peanut butter cookies, then spread the fluffy banana pudding evenly on top.

4. Repeat the layers and top heavily with crushed Nutter Butter cookies. Chill for 4 hours.

04/12/2026

My husband always orders the same giant sandwich when we go out, so I finally just dumped all those exact flavors into a baking dish at home 🥩

Tender slices of beef mixed with softened bell peppers and onions, bound together in a rich creamy sauce. You get all the savory, cheesy goodness without dealing with a heavy hoagie roll falling apart in your hands.

1 lb thinly shaved steak
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow onion
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese
6 slices provolone cheese

Slice the bell pepper and onion into thin strips and toss them into a warm skillet with the butter.
Cook them down until they are completely soft and starting to caramelize on the edges.
Add the shaved steak, garlic powder, and salt to the pan until the meat is fully browned.
Stir the softened cream cheese right into the hot meat and vegetables until it melts into a thick coating.
Spread the entire mixture flat into a baking dish and cover the top completely with the provolone slices.
Bake until the cheese layer is bubbling loudly and getting deep golden patches on top.

Drain away any extra liquid from the cooked vegetables before stirring in the cream cheese so your filling stays nice and thick 🧅

04/12/2026

I threw a bunch of sliced beef and bell peppers into the slow cooker right after lunch and completely ignored it the rest of the day. The meat was ridiculously soft by the time we finally sat down to eat. 🥩

The dark soy gravy slowly thickens up and coats every single piece of the colorful veggies. Ladling a massive scoop of it over plain white rice makes a heavy, deeply savory bowl for a very lazy evening. 🍚

1.5 lb sliced flank steak
2 large bell peppers
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp cornstarch

Drop the sliced beef right into the bottom of the crockpot
Chop the peppers into thick strips and pile them over the meat
Whisk the soy sauce, brown sugar, beef broth, and garlic together
Pour the dark liquid over everything and secure the lid
Let it cook on low until the steak is completely tender
Mix the cornstarch with a splash of cold water and stir it into the hot broth
Give it a few extra minutes until the sauce turns thick and glossy

If you prefer your bell peppers to maintain a slight crunch, wait to throw them into the hot liquid until the final hour of cooking instead of adding them at the very beginning. 🫑

04/06/2026

04/06/2026

04/06/2026

Getting dinner on the table tonight was barely any effort since the slow cooker did all the heavy lifting for me 🥘

The potatoes get incredibly tender simmering in the thick sauce, and the sliced sausage adds so much savory flavor. The dry seasoning mix gives the whole dish a really nice kick without taking over. 🥔

2 lb russet potatoes diced
14 oz smoked sausage sliced
1 oz packet dry ranch seasoning
1 cup sour cream
10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Grease the bottom of the slow cooker so nothing sticks.
Layer the chopped potatoes and sliced sausage right in the pot.
Stir the sour cream, condensed soup, and dry ranch mix together in a small bowl until smooth.
Pour that creamy mixture over the meat and potatoes and give it a gentle stir.
Let it cook low and slow until the potatoes are completely tender.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese all over the top right at the end and cover again until it melts down. 🧀

If you chop the potatoes into fairly small and even pieces they will cook through a lot more consistently.

03/20/2026

A few new little girls the past week!

02/17/2026

I remember this night, as if it were yesterday.

The date was April 9, 2013.
Past the date of blizzards in Nebraska.
Or, not.

She roared in with a severe thunderstorm warning. Dad took cover in the calf shed out in the pasture, as the sky poured down hail.

Then, the temps fell and we were in the midst of a roaring blizzard.

That night, we brought in every calf, as soon as it hit the ground. The wind and wet snow was so bad, there was no safe place to hide in pasture. We did our best to zip tie tags to legs and keep records. They began to pile up in the shop.

I ran colostrum back and forth, through the night. At one point, I found my dad, asleep on the floor, his hand holding the work light so calves wouldn’t knock it over, and start a fire. The other men kept ferrying calves in, while we tended them here.

The following week, rivaled the things written, but never for the public’s view. It would take too much to explain it, too bone tired to try.

And why is that?

Because, we humans crave control.
We want succinct answers, and immediate gratification. We demand instantaneous explanations and solutions.

And we couldn’t give it.
We still can’t.
But, that doesn’t rattle us much.
Because we in animal agriculture, have to accept a harsh reality, and even embrace it.

Plan for the best, and then, come what may.

April of 2013 challenged every bit of our resolve. And there have been seasons since, that did it, again.

And now you may understand my “why”.
2005.2012.2013.2018.2019.

Crisis came. It came to us.
It will come again.
Unpreventable crisis of magnitude.
And our USDA professionals HELPED us.
The next time you want to rail on your FSA or NRCS folks, remember that they have helped. They have mechanisms to help. They need MORE qualified help and good training so that they can be here for us all.

Thank those who have helped you in your time of need. Then, thank them again. The job is not easy.
Believe me, I know.

02/16/2026

This arm roast went into into my crockpot yesterday morning, as part of my plans to serve up a home raised Sunday supper for my family, and leftovers for today.
Do you know the color or breed of the steer who provided this roast?

Typically a grain finished steer goes to market at about 18 months of age. This steer was what we call “bottom end” as he was born late in season, didn’t wean off as well, or get the best start in our feed pens, after he came off his grazing days.
The kids and I raise the “bottom end” for freezer beef that we gift and sell to family and friends.
He flourished here, went to slaughter on time, as a well finished steer.

Beautiful marbling, nice and tender, just the right size for our family of four.

Now hear this.
He, was red-hided.
Red cattle historically get “dinged” at the sale barn. Why, you might ask? I just got done telling you that he stands at the top amongst all his peers.
It’s because certain breeds have done a superior job of marketing their product as “the best”.
When the truth is…GOOD beef is just GOOD beef. Period. End of story. I will say, I prefer to eat American raised, owned, and slaughtered. It tastes even better! 😉

The various cattle breed associations can and MUST work together to tout their protein sources as important, valuable, tasty, nutritious, essential, affordable, and the list goes on.
We do not need to tear down one another, OR any other animal protein source.
Just like dairy industry breeds need to work together.
And this is because those who want to tear away at us, don’t have any one of us in mind.
We are ALL in the cross hairs of those who want to dismantle animal agriculture.
So next time you read your labels, do not be deceived by labels touting “Certified Black Angus/Hereford…blah, blah, blah”.
GOOD beef is GOOD beef.
Read the labels, discern what your taste buds like best.
Remember ALL breeds deserve a fair shake.
Little Red (and I) say so.