Written by Lana Hoffschneider @ Common Ground Nebraska
As a winter storm approaches, my family is preparing our cattle feedyard by providing adequate feed and breaking ice out of their fresh water to keep them healthy during the extreme weather. Thankfully, cattle have hair coats that are designed to handle living outside and adapt quite well to the weather changes. But my family and I still make sure to care for them during Nebraska’s extreme weather to keep them healthy and provide for their needs.
An easy (and warm!) recipe that my family enjoys is a Reuben Dip. I’ve recently been on a quest to increase my knowledge about food safety. Since we have a feedyard, I’m going to direct my comments to beef, and hopefully answer some of your questions about what you’re eating. I’m not a nutritionist, I’m not a scientist, and I’m not a meat processor, but I can tell you what happens at our feedyard.
One question you might have are about shots…vaccinations, antibiotics, etc. First of all, I think you might like to know that all shots go in the neck region of the animal. This prevents any needle damage in the meat.
Second, you need to know that there are specific “withdrawal times” that antibiotics have – which means an animal cannot be harvested until after a specified number of days of receiving the antibiotic. And yes – our cattle receive antibiotics (administered by a veterinarian). It’s the right thing to do – we take care of our animals when they’re sick! Here’s a great blog post about this… Antibiotics in beef farming.
So I’m not worried about that. Period. Enjoy this beef recipe and know that we are out taking care of our livestock during this storm!
Reuben Dip
Ingredients
1 pkg dried beef, chopped
1 pkg swiss cheese (2 cups)
1 can sauerkraut
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together in crock pot on low.
2. Stir occasionally.
3. Serve with crackers.