Wrapping Up November on the Ranch
WOW! What a month! I kinda feel like my head is spinning… our days have been filled with all of the things. Ranch life chores (there is truly always something to fix), building out our NFR Cowboy Christmas booth, planning the upcoming M5 Entrepreneurs Convention in Fort Worth, TX , and all of the things in between. I really do LOVE IT all and those are all super exciting things… I’m just sayin’ I think it’s time for a sidecar tonight. You too? Here’s the recipe :)
With Thanksgiving last week it was nice to spend the day cooking and think about everything I’m thankful for. I’m always thankful for my number one partner and four little Marys in this wild life… but also very thankful for our community and customers (YOU!) who love our ranch raised goodness, support our family, share what we do and enjoy every bite, recipe, or book that we work hard to produce. Community and thoughtful consumers make the world go round by keeping small businesses, farms, and ranches alive.
And speaking of small business… we opened up registration for our M5 ENTREPRENEURS CONVENTION this week! We’re assembling some of the best minds in business to inspire, teach, support, and motivate you to help entrepreneurs build their businesses right now, from where they are, with what they have - giving them the confidence, tools, guidance, and community to GET IT DONE AND GROW. It’s also at a stunning hotel, The Drover, in Fort Worth, TX… can’t wait! Are you a small business entrepreneur or do you have someone in your life that is?! I’d love if you shared this with them!
After our Thanksgiving meal last week, we had some really yummy leftovers (my favorite part!) I made two leftover recipes using my Ranch Raised Cookbook and oh my goodness you need to try them - they turned out so good. The first was a rancher’s pie (here’s the recipe). It actually calls for ground beef or ground lamb, but I used what we had left of the turkey and leftover mashed potatoes on top. The second was a Brioche Bread Pudding with Bourbon-Butterscotch Sauce and… wow. Feel free to take a picture of the recipe down below and try it for yourself (people will thank you!)
After the Thanksgiving festivities died down, the girls stayed true to their tradition and trekked outside to find our Christmas trees (yes, that is plural) on the ranch. We keep a big one in the family room by the kitchen and then some of the girls like to have a smaller Christmas tree in their bedroom so they can sleep under the lights. They do it all themselves so I don’t mind at all!
It all started several years ago when Francie and Maisie came home from church with a bee in their bonnets to go cut down a Christmas tree on the mountain by themselves. Brian was planning to hike to the top of the ridge with JJ and Tess and I was settled in for a little Sunday nap. Francie and Maisie headed out in their little quad, stopped at the workshop to grab a sawzall and went off in search of a tree to cut down and bring home. They came back two hours later and hauled this beautiful cedar through the front door SO proud of themselves.
They climbed in the storage containers to pull out the lights and ornaments and let Tess help them decorate. I only helped by sweeping up broken ornaments… there were a few :) Brian said it was the prettiest tree we’ve ever had and I was so proud of them… mostly for how proud they were of themselves.
I just really love that they still love this tradition and it still happens every year at exactly this time :) This year we had a little mishap after Francie spent the entire night decorating… tree down! She was bummed, but we got it set back up and it’s looking as pretty as ever :)
Francie also shared some info about her beloved HayGain this week over on my instagram account. She’s been diligent about steaming Redman’s hay before feeding him everyday for increased absorption of nutrients for better body condition and overall health.
She wanted to show you the process of how she steams the hay for him everyday, so go check out my Instagram if you’re curious and would like to see! If you’re interested in purchasing a HayGain steamer, use code ‘5Marys’ for a discount.
I hope that you all have a great start to December and are able to enjoy some chilly, cozy, weather! XO, Mary