Have you ever noticed someone’s tattoo and thought, “That’s different. I wonder why they got that?”
Interesting enough, it is because of an artist’s willingness to talk to three, crazy ladies sitting at a bar, that I came to see such a tattoo and definitely wanted to know the story behind it.
The artist’s name was Maddy. One of the three crazy ladies at the bar was me.
Maddy’s intriguing tattoo was pansies in a tin cup.
The story behind the tattoo stared when Maddy’s grandparents Kerry and Nancy welcomed the first of their six children into the world. Kerry wanted to surprise his wife with flowers after the birth of their son. He did not have money to purchase long-stem roses or a fancy arrangement from the flower shop, so he gathered a handful of pansies and delivered them to his bride in a tin cup from their pantry. The sentiment was well received and continues to be a story of simplicity and love passed down to their children and grandchildren.
Each morning as I check turkeys, I am amazed at how much they have grown and how their looks change from one day to the next. The funny thing about turkeys is the older they get the prouder they are of their looks. As their plush, yellow fluff is replaced with fine, white feathers, the birds make it their business to hold their heads higher when they pass by. When their fully white plumage is in place, turkeys seem to spend all their time admiring and admonishing their tails and wings, and flaring their feathers as they strut around. Pride in their maturity seems to be the opposite of what we humans do. We lose confidence in our appearance as we age. This loss of self-esteem is tough emotionally and isn’t very attractive. So while turkeys are definitely not the most beautiful of creatures, I think we need to be more like them.
5 Days Old
21 Days Old
As we begin this new 365-day trip around the sun, many of us are focusing attention on our appearance. The most common New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight or exercise more. So while, many of us are counting our calories and watching our weight, I want to encourage you to fluff your good stuff. Don’t let love handles or belly rolls be what you purposefully draw attention to. Single out your best qualities and draw attention to what makes you feel good about yourself.
There is nothing wrong with being proud of a personal quality or physical trait. There is tremendous benefit to knowing what you are good at or what makes you beautiful and unique. So, if you’ve got it, fluff it!
After surviving Christmas week and gearing up for a highly anticipated New Year’s, I thought it would be a good idea to share something that has given me tremendous hope… well, 12,000 things that have given me tremendous hope to be exact.
We welcomed a new flock of turkeys last week, and I am so very grateful for the opportunity to continue growing quality turkey and beef for American consumers. The chance to continue our farming tradition is not something we take lightly. I hope everyone out there has the ability to be grateful for their means of contributing to our communities and having purpose that keeps them moving.
For today, I encourage you to reflect on the chances you can take. Let opportunity and gratitude be the foundation for making great things happen.
By: Melanie A. Peters
P.S. Don’t forget those Old Year’s Resolutions! There are only 3 opportunity-filled days left.
As I made my way through the recipe box, I wanted to share a variety of recipes that would appeal to diverse tastes and cooking abilities. These last 10 recipes range from appetizers to Thanksgiving centerpieces, but all are dishes that showcase turkey and its versatility.
21st Way: Turkey and Vegetable Tetrazzini
Turkey and Vegetable Tetrazzini
Ingredients: 16 oz. linguine pasta, 2 Tblsp vegetable oil, 1 lb. turkey breast cut into 1″ pieces or shredded, 2 cups broccoli chopped, 2 cups carrots sliced, 2 cups mushrooms sliced, 2/3 cup milk, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
Cook linguine according to directions on package.
Heat oil and cook turkey until done.
Set turkey to side. Add broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms to pan and cook on medium for 3-5 minutes.
Add milk, cream of chicken soup, parmesan cheese, and turkey. Cook until heated through.
Stir in cooked linguine and cook till hot.
***Left-over baked turkey works great in this recipe.
22nd Way: Turkey Asparagus Risotto
Ingredients: 1 lb turkey shredded or cubed, 1 lb asparagus, 3 cups mushrooms sliced, 1 shallot, 4 cups chicken or turkey broth, 1 cup Arborio rice, 2 Tblsp olive oil, 2 Tblsp butter, 1 cup white wine, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
Steps:
Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces.
2. Sauté the asparagus and mushrooms in non-skillet. Cook just until the vegetables are soft. About 7 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.
3. In a large pot, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Once butter melt adds shallots and cook just until softened.
4. Stir in the Arborio rice and mix until coated in butter. Toast slightly but do not brown.
5. Pour in wine and cook until wine absorbs.
6. Pour one cup of broth over the rice and stir consistently until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat process, one cup at a time, until all liquid is absorbed by the rice.
7. Add the shredded turkey and sautéed vegetables to the risotto, heat through. Mix well. Serve immediately.
***Left-over baked turkey works great in this recipe.
23rd Way: Turkey and Bisquick Dumplings
Ingredients: 2 cups turkey shredded, 2 1/2 cups Bisquick, 2/3 cups milk, flour to roll dough, 6 cups chicken or turkey broth, salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
Mix Bisquick and milk until in tight dough ball.
Coat rolling pin and rolling surface well with flour. Roll dough as thin as possible. Use butter knife or pizza cutter to cut 2 inch dough squares or strips. *Works best if you allow dough to dry out a bit before trying to pick up to place in broth.
Bring broth to boil in a large soup pan.
Add turkey and return broth to a boil.
Gradually add Bisquick dumplings to boiling broth with turkey.
Simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring often to make sure dumplings are not sticking to bottom of pan.
Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowl.
***Left-over baked turkey works great in this recipe.
24th Way: Short Cut Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients: For filling: 2 1/2 cups cooked turkey shredded or cubed, 2 Tblsp veg oil, 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, 2 cups pre-made poultry gravy or poultry gravy mix, 1 15 oz can black beans, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper For crust: 2 1/2 cups Bisquick mix, 2/3 cup milk, flour for rolling crust or use pre-made pie crust
Steps:
Preheat over 350 degrees.
In large skillet heat oil. Cook turkey until done.
Drain and rinse black beans.
Add frozen vegetables and black beans to turkey and set to side.
Heat gravy according to directions on package.
Mix gravy, salt, and pepper into turkey and vegetables.
Mix Bisquick and milk. Once dough is mixed, use rolling pin and flour to roll dough flat enough to cover 9×13 baking dish.
Pour gravy/vegetable/turkey mixture into 9×13 backing dish.
Cover dish with crust and tuck edges around inside lip of pan. Use knife to cut two or three slits in center of crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
***Left-over baked turkey works great in this recipe.
25th Way: Fancy Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients: 2 Tblsp butter, 1 onion chopped, 2 stalks celery chopped, 3 carrots chopped, 4 Tblsp flour, 4 cups chicken or turkey stock, 2 potatoes peeled and diced, 2 cups shredded turkey, 2 Tblsp chopped parsley, 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed, 1 prepared pie crust (*or use Bisquick trick from Shortcut Turkey Pot Pie Recipe), 1 egg lightly beaten
Steps:
Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in sauce pan and cook chopped onion until tender.
Stir in celery and carrots and cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes.
Add chicken or turkey stock and bring to a simmer.
Add potatoes and simmer until tender.
Stir in turkey, parsley, and peas.
Pour mixture into 9×13 baking dish.
Top with pie crust and brush with egg.
Bake 30 minutes unit crust is golden.
Remove from over and let set for 5 minutes prior to serving.
2020 has been a rough year on most of us. A lot of people want to forget the year ever happened, so I thought I’d give the December 2020 Positivity Challenge a crazy spin. Instead of thinking about a New Year’s resolution for January 2021, I challenge you to make an Old Year’s Resolution.
That’s right, an Old Year’s Resolution! I challenge you to set a goal or envision yourself taking on a new skill, talent, or outlook for 2020. For the rest of December work harder on helping the year end on a positive note than you normally do on the usual weight loss or decluttering resolutions of new years past.
Take this Old Year’s Resolution seriously!
Think of what you pictured 2020 looking like. Remember the resolutions or goals you set for yourself and grab onto one of those dreams, goals, or ambitions. Work your darndest to make that objective a reality as you wrap up this craziest of years.
Don’t let this be the way you move into a new year.
Here are some examples:
For the next 24 days, cut out the sugars and carbs you have always said you should.
For the next 24 days, send a Thank You text or card to someone for whom you are grateful.
For the next 24 days, work out for 25 minutes while you watch your favorite tv show.
2020 has felt like a year that would never end, and yet, I experienced a slight panic realizing today is the last day of November. Where did the year go?
While much of my time has been spent at home, I hope my efforts were impactful outside the boundaries of our family and farm. I volunteer as library lady two afternoons a week at my children’s school and am a lector and song leader at church. In spite of hell and high water, my friends and I work sporadic lunches, happy hours, and lengthy, meme-filled text messages into our chaotic schedules. Making weekly phone calls and sending cards manifests my desire to keep connected with those I love, but I continue to wonder if it’s enough. Do you ever feel the same?
“Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.”
Holding in the things that bother us and keeping big problems to ourselves can be detrimental to our health and relationships. A constant spewing of our issues can also cause others to be desensitized to our downfalls. On the other hand, shedding light on what makes us shine brightens the world around us. Tooting our own horns is a healthy way to say “Woohoo!” when we do something great, but can make us come across as cocky. We have to find a balance between what makes us rant and what makes us rave.
As we enter a holiday season unlike any we’ve experienced, let’s take stock of all that is good and worthy of appreciation. Celebrate the talents and skills that make us successful and unique. Set our weaknesses and shortcomings aside. (You are probably the only one who notices these anyway.) Quit throwing pity parties and start throwing “I’m a Bad Ass”bashes.
I guess you could say I am grateful for opportunity this week because I am embracing two new ventures with Intentergy. First, I am starting a Monday’s Message video series with my new YouTube Channel. Please give my video a watch and let me know what you think or let me know if you have any suggestions for upcoming Monday Messages.
Second, I am starting a feature called “From the Farmer’s Table.” I plan to use this feature to share recipes from my own kitchen. This week I am beginning a three part series on ways to make turkey. We eat A LOT of turkey here on the farm and I’m sharing our 30 favorite ways to fry, bake, grill, or crockpot turkey. I’ve cleverly called the series “Turkey 30 Ways.” I hope you will try and enjoy the recipes. Let me know how they turn out!
With Thanksgiving in the forefront of our focus, reminding ourselves that there is always, always, always something to be grateful for is important. Not only because we have many blessings in our lives, but because we can also be positive reminders for others. We have the opportunity to help them remember they have much to be thankful for.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read Intentergy! I hope you know that your support is something I am sincerely grateful for. Please comment and let me know for what you are most grateful or how you help others remember to be thankful.
By: Melanie A. Peters
P.S. Putting a video of myself out there is terrifying. Thank you for being here for me!
The sound of the alarm clock is not the most pleasing to my ear. The cool air hitting my skin when I finally do roll out from under my quilts is less than reassuring. The fussing of my tired children as I attempt to rouse them less than inspiring, but the possibility of a new day is a smell that I can’t resist.
Today I would like to give you a sensory challenge. Consider the sights, tastes, touches, sounds, and, YES, smells that this day has to offer. Find ways to appreciate all you can physically experience. The joy you find may come in the softness of your socks, the smell of a shop as you enter, the calming noises of nature as you walk to your car or the hard rock blaring from you car speakers, the sight of someone’s smile, or the taste of your favorite snack. It is in the words, bites, hugs, high fives, fresh brewed coffee, and morning breezes that we know we are alive and that the day offers us possibility. And there is nothing I love more than the smell of possibility in the morning.
By: Melanie A. Peters
P.S. If you’ve lost your sense of smell, you know what a gift it is.
I will be the first to admit that I often give the excuse that I am too busy to do what my kids want, especially when it involves going into the woods to see a “secret” fort, deer stand, or “special” rock. Not because I don’t like my children or am anti-nature, but I don’t always find joy in the trees or rocks that my darlings do and the matters in the house seem much more pressing. (The stick-tights and cockleburs are also on my list of unhappy things, and they are bad right now.)
This past weekend was no exception. I was not particularly excited about following my son down his “secret” path to see his “deer hunting” tree or his “special” hidden fort. Something told me that it meant more to him to share than it did for me to fold the laundry or finish the dishes. As he lead me into the woods, my 9-year-old chattered like a squirrel in a tree about the way he and his friends had discovered this place and how cool it was. His happy chatter was welcomed, as he has been in a bit of a funk lately unable to find kind words or pleasant things to say to his siblings or I.
When we arrived at the “deer hunting” tree, I saw a dead, dried up evergreen. What my son saw was an opportunity to sit up high, watching wildlife, with ample branches to share the spot with his friends as they “hunted” deer. I asked if the branches felt like they were going to break and he said, “No. They’re good. I know which ones I can stand and sit on.”
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll fall?” I asked.
“Nope. I’ll just catch another branch if I start to go down. There’s plenty in this tree.”
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