Buffalo Chicken Dip

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, plus additional for topping, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 heavy pinch dried dill
• 1/2 cup hot sauce
• 2 scallions, chopped
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Chips or vegetable sticks

Heat oven to 400 degrees. 

In bowl, mix shredded chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, onion powder, garlic powder and dried dill until combined. Add hot sauce; mix until combined.

Transfer mixture from bowl to oven-safe dish. Top with additional shredded cheese, to taste.

Bake until cheese is melted, approximately 15 minutes.Top with blue cheese crumbles and chopped scallions. Serve warm with chips and vegetable sticks. 

courtesy Culinary.net

Fiesta Snack Stacks

• 1 pound chicken, chopped
• 1/2 cup salsa, divided
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Eight 8-inch tortillas
• 1/3 cup refried beans
• 1/2 cup guacamole
• 6 ounces shredded cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In skillet, cook chopped chicken until done.

In medium bowl, mix cooked chicken, 1/4 cup salsa and sour cream until blended.

In small bowl, mix refried beans and remaining salsa until blended.

Lay two tortillas on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread chicken mixture over both tortillas. Place second set of tortillas over chicken mixture. Spread guacamole over top tortillas. Place third set of tortillas on top and spread refried bean mixture over tortillas. Place fourth set of tortillas on top and sprinkle shredded cheese over tortillas.

Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

courtesy Culinary.net

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

• 2 packages thick-sliced hardwood smoked bacon, slices cut in half
• 22-ounce package white cheddar mashed potatoes
• 15-ounce container package garlic herb cheese spread
• 20 jalapeno peppers, halved, seeded with membranes removed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Set bacon out to thaw to room temperature so it is pliable.

In mixing bowl, use rubber spatula to combine mashed potatoes and garlic herb cheese. Stir until incorporated. Spread 1 teaspoon mashed potato mixture in each jalapeno half; level each with butter knife or spatula.

Wrap each jalapeno with bacon; use three half slices for large jalapenos or two halves for smaller sizes. Be sure bacon is wrapped to seal in mashed potato mixture.

In small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar and cayenne pepper. Generously sprinkle over bacon and pat gently to make it stick.

Line cookie sheet with piece of parchment paper so sugar does not burn to pan. Bake until bacon reaches desired crispiness, around 25 to 35 minutes.

Let peppers cool slightly before serving, about 5 minutes.

courtesy Bob Evans

Easy Tiramisu Dip

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• Wafers or fruit, for dipping

In medium bowl, whisk heavy whipping cream and espresso powder until blended.

In large bowl, use hand mixer to beat cream cheese until smooth. Add mascarpone cheese and beat until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating after each addition. Add vanilla extract; beat mixture. Add espresso mixture; beat until soft peaks form.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Spoon mixture into serving bowl. Sprinkle with cocoa powder. Serve with wafers or fruit. 

courtesy Culinary.net

Easy Crab Rangoon

• 12 wonton wrappers
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounces lump crabmeat
• 1 scallion, sliced thin, green and white parts separated
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Press wonton wrappers into muffin cups. Lightly spray wrappers with nonstick cooking spray and bake until lightly browned, 6 to 9 minutes. Let cool slightly.

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Combine with crabmeat, scallion whites, ginger and soy sauce. Fill each wonton wrapper with filling. Bake until filling is heated through, 6 to 8 minutes. 

Sprinkle with scallion greens. Serve warm. 

courtesy Culinary.net

Spiced Apple Crumble

Filling:

• 6 medium Honeycrisp apples, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon white flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 lemons, juice only

Topping:

• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Vanilla ice cream, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

To make filling: In medium bowl, add apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and lemon juice. Toss to evenly coat. Spread evenly in 8-by-8-inch baking dish.

To make topping: In medium bowl, add oats, flour, brown sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, melted butter and salt. Fork mixture to create crumbles. Pour crumble topping over apple mixture.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

courtesy Culinary.net

Hummingbird Cake

• 1 spice cake mix
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup banana cream Greek yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 cup crushed pecans
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Frosting:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 package pecans, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixing bowl, mix cake mix and sugar. Blend in yogurt, eggs and pineapple. In separate bowl, mix pecans, flour and butter, then add to cake mixture.

Grease two 8-inch cake pans with butter. Pour half the mixture into each pan then bake 45 minutes. Cool on rack before icing.

To make frosting: In mixing bowl, mix butter, cream cheese and heavy whipping cream. Slowly blend in powdered sugar. 

Ice cake then decorate with pecans, if desired.

courtesy Cookin’ Savvy

Originally Appeared Here

Jess Ryan creates community for rural gals across Missouri. 

by Ricki Spargo  |  rspargo@ruralmissouri.coop

Jess Ryan never thought she’d live in rural Missouri. She happily waved goodbye to her small town of 200 when she left for college. Ten years later, she found herself packing up and moving back to Silex after meeting her husband, Danny. “I was totally that girl who said she was never coming back. I was gone for a long time,” she says. “It was a huge coincidence that my husband farmed in Silex, despite not growing up here.”

Even though Jess was gone for several years, the Cuivre River Electric Cooperative member stayed connected to her small town while living in St. Louis, through a blog called Roots Out West. “The name originated because my roots were west of St. Louis,” she says. “I tried to encourage the people I knew to travel outside of the city, but they always thought it was too far. Roots Out West started because I wanted to share places that I thought people needed to see. There are so many hidden gems out here that I just knew people would love.” 

After moving back to Silex and welcoming three daughters, Jess found herself struggling with the disconnection that can come with living in a small town compared to the hustle and bustle of St. Louis. Her social media was full of creators sharing their exciting lives in the city, but she found it hard to connect with their Target hauls or unrealistic date nights. 

“As a stay-at-home mom, I didn’t have coworkers anymore,” she says. “I missed those connections. One day I posted a video about a trip to Dollar General and the awesome stuff I found there. I called it ‘the rural gal’s Target.’ It really resonated with a lot of women in rural areas.” 

After that, Jess began posting the parts of her life that were a far cry from her life in the city: making field meals for her husband during harvest or the new seeds she was testing in the garden. Her rural gal community began growing with small town women looking to connect over their common denominator — rural Missouri. Today, she has more than 50,000 followers across Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. 

In addition to her online platforms, Jess operates a roadside flower stand and boutique that promotes shopping rural. “About four years ago I started growing a garden and daydreaming about owning a roadside stand,” she says. “One day, I just decided to go for it. I reached out to the stand’s owner, and she agreed to let me turn this old firework stand into a flower stand.” 

Now, the stand — which sits in the parking lot of a salon — holds a variety of seasonal and locally handcrafted items in addition to fresh flowers from her garden. They operate on the honor system, accepting cash or Venmo. The stand, which is appropriately decorated with Dollar General finds, welcomes visitors from across the state.   

“A lot of people have reached out saying they’d like to visit, but it’s out of the way for them,” Jess says. “Well, when you live in a rural area, nothing is exactly easy to get to. I’ve made it a priority to share day trip itineraries based on the direction you’re coming to encourage people to visit rural areas. The videos show different parks, coffee trucks, restaurants, other roadside stands, pretty much anything you’d want to do in a day.” 

As the Roots Out West brand continues to grow and evolve, Jess has committed to prioritizing the things in her life which she finds the most important. “I’m really mindful of protecting my capacity in this current season of life,” she says. “We have the cattle and the sheep and the flowers and the kids, which is a lot of things to keep alive. I want to give my best to each aspect of my life and romanticize it as much as I possibly can.”

Interested in joining the Rural Gal community? Find Jess on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok @rootsoutwest or contact via email at 

rootsoutwest@gmail.com. 

Originally Appeared Here

Rural baker creates beautiful macarons. 

by Paul Newton  |  pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop

The small French pastries had consumed Juli Ward’s home kitchen. Juli and her pastry partner — Kylianne Wilmering — were busy for weeks prepping these precise cookies — 2,000 of them — for the Lake of the Ozarks Food Truck Festival in September. Juli carefully handled the macaronage — folding the dry ingredients into the wet while making macarons — ensuring they passed the figure eight test for the proper consistency. Kylianne matched sets of baked macarons and piped in delicious fillings — one by one until they reached 2,000.

“That was by far our largest offering since we started,” says Juli. “We had about 250 hours put into it by the time we had done it all.”

Juli has made macarons for more than four years through her business, Aunt JuJu Macarons. The home baker makes most of her sweets from inside her rural Laurie kitchen ranging from special orders of a few dozen for retirement and birthday parties to weddings and larger gatherings — like the food truck festival — a few times per year.

Cooking runs in Juli’s family. She remembers her grandma, JoAnn Moulton, being an outstanding cook and her aunts and uncles owned restaurants around the Lake of the Ozarks. She got the urge to try macarons in 2020 while watching cooking shows.

“These were professional bakers and they would make a macaron, sometimes they came out and sometimes they didn’t,” she says. “I was making banana bread and cookies like everyone else back then. I was interested in seeing how hard it was to make macarons.”

She learned very quickly. Juli found a recipe and attempted her first batch. “They looked like moon pies and the tops had ‘volcanoed’ out,” the Co-Mo Electric Cooperative member says. “They didn’t look appetizing, but they were edible.”

Juli sought out all she could about the finicky cookie using online resources, and today specializes in French macarons — not to be confused with coconut macaroon drop cookies. Every cookie she makes is either gluten-free or comes with a gluten-free option. “The easiest way to describe it is a French sandwich cookie,” she says.

Juli used her newfound macaron knowledge in 2020 to try another batch in a few different flavors. She liked the results and sent them to Lake Christian Academy for Teacher Appreciation Week and made more for her daughter’s birthday. They went over well, so she decided she would sell them at the Laurie Hillbilly Fair to see if this was something she could do in the future. “I sold out by noon on the first day and took orders for 300 more,” she says.

As she’s preparing a batch, she talks through the intricate steps such as wiping down cooking hardware with lemon juice, sifting the almond flour and powdered sugar three times and the perfect amount of time to let them rest before baking.

“The bottoms have this little distinctive edge called the feet that’s caused by the air coming out the bottom of the shell while it is baking,” she says. “If you don’t let them rest long enough, you won’t get the feet and it will ‘volcano’ out the top. But too long and you have other problems.”

It takes plenty of patience to make macarons, which Juli attributes to her 10-year career teaching third grade.

“The chance of making a perfect macaron is very small, but a successful macaron with great flavor is more achievable than one might think,” she says. “So our goal is to have a beautiful cookie that tastes like an explosion of flavors in your mouth. Something you’ll remember.”

Since selling at her first Hillbilly Fair, Juli hasn’t stopped fulfilling orders big and small. Despite the finicky nature of the cookies, she takes pride in making them look beautiful. That’s where her lead decorator, Kylianne, comes in. “I call her the ganache queen because she has perfected that and she’s an artist at heart,” Juli says, noting Winnie the Pooh-themed macarons Kylianne decorated by hand.

“I think they’re fun to make with Juli and I love putting stuff together and making it pretty,” Kylianne says. “So that’s why the filling and decorating are mostly my part.”

In addition to festivals, Aunt JuJu Macarons takes custom orders of at least two dozen per flavor to be picked up in the Lake of the Ozarks area.

This Valentine’s Day, Juli and Kylianne will be making chocolate-covered strawberry macarons. A pair of heart-shaped macaron shells are filled with strawberry buttercream and homemade jam, topped with sprinkles to resemble strawberry seeds, dipped in semisweet chocolate and drizzled with vanilla-almond bark. They’ll be available in quantities of six for local pickup.

“I enjoy the challenge of making macarons and figuring out new flavor combinations,” Juli says. “But seeing the finished product and the customers’ excitement is my favorite part.”

For more information about Aunt JuJu Macarons and their offerings, email aunt.juju.macarons@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.

Originally Appeared Here

by Sara Schafer  |  sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop

As soon as you walk into Shooter’s Taproom & Kitchen in downtown Chillicothe, you know you’re in for a treat. The charming building is filled with the smells of good food, the long bar features colorful taps of craft beer and the walls are adorned with bright portraits of furry friends. The restaurant is a labor of love and a celebration of community for owners Lea and Andy McLean.

“We wanted to offer food you couldn’t find in a rural Missouri town,” Andy says. “We like to travel, so we take a lot of dishes we see other places and kind of put our twist on them.” Adds Lea: “We want to offer a big-city feel in a small town.”

The couple are accidental restaurant owners. For years, Lea was a nurse and Andy a paramedic. They were on a road trip with their kids to Chicago, stopping at a few wineries on the way. “We started joking around that when we got back, we wanted to open a wine bar,” Andy recalls. “We get back and the next thing I know we’re looking at buildings.”

That “joke,” as Andy refers to it, soon became The Sip, the couple’s first business. Inspired by its success and wanting to add something special to the Chillicothe dining landscape, they opened Shooter’s a few years later, named after their beloved white boxer. Originally, it was going to be modeled after a beer hall, featuring craft brews and hearty snacks.

“But when we started our menu, we thought, ‘Oh that food sounds good, let’s also add that,’ and then we had a two-page menu,” Lea says. “Today our menu includes mostly fresh ingredients. We don’t deep-fry anything; we cook almost everything on our flattop grills. We do a lot of the prep in-house and cook everything to order. The food is fresh and good. We’re proud people can come here for a nice atmosphere, be able to get a drink if they want and have a nice hearty meal for a reasonable price.”

Start your meal with the popular Reuben Dip. “It’s basically like a deconstructed Reuben sandwich,” Lea says. “I love Reubens, but they are just so hard to eat. So, we make this dip. We use corned beef and sauerkraut, so it has all the flavors of a Reuben. Then we toast the rye bread so you can dip it.”

For a hearty entree, order the Sloppy Jolene. To put it simply, this is a regular sloppy Joe but with all the fixings. The housemade, ketchup-based sauce is combined with ground beef. “It’s a sweeter sauce and kind of reminds you of the sloppy Joes you ate at school as a kid,” Lea says. “We put it on a toasted brioche bun and fancy it up with cheese, pickles and French-fried onions on top.”

 To complement the Sloppy Jolene, Lea recommends Mexi-Corn. It is similar to Mexican street corn except it is served in a cup instead of on the cob.

Another popular dish is the Stinger Burger. The 7-ounce certified Angus beef steak burger is served between two brioche buns and piled high with cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, bacon, pickles, mixed greens, tomatoes, crispy French-fried onions and jalapenos.

“We cook it to order however the customer likes it,” Andy says. “It’s a great big hearty burger.”

Customers tend to pair the Stinger with the housemade potato cakes. “We have some people who come here just for our potato cakes,” Andy says. “It took six months to get them the right consistency and flavor, but we finally got it.” Mashed potatoes are mixed with some spices, rolled in panko breadcrumbs, then flattened and grilled.

Be sure to save a little room for dessert. Lea’s favorite is Monkey Business, which is a cupcake-sized version of monkey bread. The cinnamon-flavored dish will remind you of your grandma’s cooking. It’s extra decadent because it is served warm with vanilla ice cream, caramel drizzle and whipped cream.

Andy’s favorite sweet treat is the Shooter’s Waffle Taco, which is perfect for sharing. “It’s a housemade Belgian waffle with chocolate ice cream and whipped cream,” he says. The dish is drizzled in caramel syrup and topped with mint crystals.

Of course, food is only half the fun at Shooter’s. Beer lovers will appreciate their numerous taps featuring a wide variety of mostly local beers. The cocktail menu features only top-shelf liquor and can rotate with the season or when the staff has a new idea. Margaritas are popular, and you can try a flight of them where you pick a handful of the 10 flavor options. “The flights are really popular, especially in the summer,” Lea says.

If you are a fan of drinks that could double as a meal, don’t miss the Loaded Bloody Mary. The tangy tomato-juice cocktail is adorned with skewers of grilled shrimp, crispy bacon, a hard-boiled egg, a golden Belgian waffle, pickles and olives.

So, the next time you want a special meal in a fun setting, head over to Shooter’s in Chillicothe. “Our food is homestyle but with a fun twist,” Lea says. “We really wanted to bring a quality and special place to Chillicothe, because we are from here.”

Originally Appeared Here

by Jim McCarty  |  jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop

Drop a Missouri electric cooperative lineman into a place he’s never been before. Take away most of the tools he normally uses in his job. Task him with building lines to serve people living without the benefits of electricity far from home. His response?

“No trucks? No trouble. Count me in.” 

That was the reply from 16 electric co-op linemen when word went out asking for volunteers to build power lines to bring electricity to a remote mountain village in Guatemala for the first time. The project would send two teams of eight linemen each to Viucalvitz, located in the highest mountain range in Central America.

“It was something I was wanting to do years ago,” says Tobey Bennett, superintendent of operations for Ozark Electric Cooperative’s James River office. “I just never had the opportunity. I love volunteering and doing things like this. If I’m not at work, I’m working somewhere, helping somebody. It’s a rewarding experience to go and help somebody in another country and see things that I’ve never seen before.”

The mission for the linemen: Build 3 miles of power lines down the mountain to connect two villages to a line built in 2020 by another group of Missourians, while also wiring more than 100 homes, schools, churches and businesses. The project — the fourth for the Missouri International Program — proved to be one of the most challenging efforts undertaken since the program kicked off in 2016.

Missouri electric co-op linemen have brought electricity to a pair of villages in the Bolivian Amazon. They built lines above 12,000 feet in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia. They spanned deep ravines in the Guatemalan jungle. All of these projects posed significant challenges. But this one certainly called for skills never taught in lineman school.

“This was definitely the toughest terrain we’ve ever dealt with,” says Craig Moeller, who coordinates the international projects for Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “It wasn’t as high as Bolivia, but the terrain was extremely steep. From pole 45 to pole 1 it dropped 3,500 feet in elevation. It had its challenges and struggles, like the thought process you had to do to make sure we minimized travel up and down the mountain as much as we could.”

The work was the latest electrification project in Guatemala through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s International Program. The program began in 1962 to export the success of the U.S. rural electrification effort to developing countries where people were living without the benefits of electricity.

Over the years, volunteer lineworkers have wired villages all over the world, bringing electricity to more than 160 million people in 45 countries. In the past 5 years, 285 volunteers have brought electricity to more than 7,000 people in rural Guatemala.

Just weeks before the Missouri team traveled to Guatemala in August 2024, a road was bulldozed down the mountainside to a small village called Vilacam. This was close to the path the new line would take. But the road washed out. That meant every pole had to be accessed on foot, forcing the men to carry everything from pole to pole.

“That hike down the mountain, you really can’t put into words how steep it actually was,” says Clayton Kemp, a lineman at Black River Electric Cooperative. “Even that last stretch we did, that hike up the mountain. I would have hiked down three or four times with the same energy as walking up a half mile.”

Adding to the difficulty were monsoon rains that came every night. The skies would clear in the daytime, but the near-vertical paths remained slick. “I was in one of those cornfields and that ground is soft,” Clayton says. “I rolled three or four times. I thought I was a goner for sure, with my climbing gear on my back.”

Somehow the herculean effort moved forward, despite the high altitude and steep terrain. Even more amazing was the effort of the villagers the linemen were here to help. Short compared to the Americans, they proved to be incredibly strong, agile as a gazelle and capable of running up and down the mountains in the rarified air. They packed material — including 30-foot poles and heavy reels of wire — down the mountain with ease. 

Determined to realize the dream of electricity for their homes, they showed up every day to assist the linemen. Some of the locals worked ahead of the linemen hacking the right of way out of the brush with machetes. This often involved scrambling to the tops of tall trees. Others pulled miles of wire down the mountain or helped carry drag bags with the linemen’s tools from pole to pole.

“They carried the poles down the mountain, they carried the wire down the mountain. They carried the transformers down the mountain. Everything by hand,” says Tobey. “They would work their butts off and then at night take their machetes off and go play soccer for an hour, still wearing their boots.”

Over the course of two weeks the new power line reached Trapichitos, the village wired in 2020 by another two groups of Missouri linemen.  

The benefits of electricity from the 2020 project could be seen throughout the village. In the stores and homes, bright electric lights were glowing. New homes had been built in the four years since the project was completed. A new restaurant — the first in the village — had opened. Cold drinks and ice cream were offered at many stores.

One of the Missouri linemen, Tim Thoenen from Co-Mo Connect, had his hair trimmed by a local barber. Previously the man worked by dim light amid exhaust fumes from a gas-powered generator. This time his shop was brightly lit from the electric grid and the fumes were gone.

“I was one who got the benefit from the electricity project and I am grateful for that,” Rosa Maria, a woman tending a store in the village, told the linemen. “Now here in Trapichitos life is better because I have a refrigerator at home. My life has been improved. I appreciate all the help you have given us.”

Once the line reached Trapichitos and was tied in, the homes in Vilacam could be energized. The Missourians had wired the homes, a church and a school early in the project while waiting for more materials to arrive. On a Saturday afternoon they carefully energized the line, then went from house to house testing the lights.

“They don’t show emotion,” Clayton recalls. “Then you turn the lights on and you get a small smile from them.”

Clayton answered the first outage call the next day. One of the men clearing the right of way dropped a tree into the line and it broke. He climbed the pole and spliced the wire, thankful he didn’t have to do it at night.

When the first group returned to Missouri much work remained. On Dec. 1, a second group flew to Guatemala and made the all-day drive to the village. Their task was to wire another 40 poles, hang streetlights, then focus on wiring 80 homes, several churches and the village school.

Before they energized the power lines, no lights shown in the village after dark. Far off streetlights in villages that did have electricity could be seen strung like pearls in the darkness. Now activity can continue past sundown, which comes early in the mountain valleys.

Both groups found time to visit Nebaj, the largest city in the region. Here they bought two refrigerators and a sound system for the school, using money donated by their friends back home. The men also bought soccer balls, shoes and clothes for the kids.

In the evenings, they played with the kids, showed photos of family to the locals and bartered for souvenirs such as machetes in leather scabbards and handmade slingshots. They bathed with water heated on a wood fire, then mixed with frigid spring water coming down from the mountain. They slept on uncomfortable cots with the only electric power coming from a noisy generator. 

No one complained. Even after working all day and then hiking back up the mountain, they were determined to get just one more span wired for their newfound friends.

These projects always end with an inauguration ceremony and this one was no exception. The entire village turned out in Viucalvitz. Many speeches were given, with the common theme being amazement that the Missourians left their homes and traveled so far to help out. 

For the linemen who left the comfort of their Missouri homes to help a people they had never met, it proved to be a life-changing experience. 

“There’s a lot of things that we are so accustomed to that would be over-the-top luxuries there,” Tobey says. “But when you live for 14 days up there, you realize there’s a lot of things we thought we needed but we don’t need. That’s where it changed me. Just the outlook of how happy people can be with so little.”

The effort to turn the lights on for these beautiful, humble people became a labor of love as the linemen got to know the people in the villages. No matter how big and tough the lineman was, when a child reached out their tiny hands, they took it. 

For a short span of time, the world became a lot smaller. All too soon the project ended, but the memories and lessons learned will stay with these volunteers forever.

Originally Appeared Here

Raspberry Streusel Muffins

Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups whole grain sorghum flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup canola or corn oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest, grated 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed if frozen

Streusel:

• 2 tablespoons whole grain sorghum flour 
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons uncooked quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons pecans, chopped
• 2 tablespoons light margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To make muffins:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly spray 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, stir sorghum flour, cinnamon and baking soda. In medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, brown sugar, egg whites, oil, lemon zest and vanilla.

Stir into flour mixture until batter is just moistened and no flour is visible. Don’t overmix. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Top each muffin evenly with raspberries. 

To make streusel: In small bowl, stir sorghum flour, brown sugar, oats, pecans, margarine and cinnamon to reach texture of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over muffins, gently pushing into batter. Bake muffins 16 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Transfer pan to cooling rack. Let stand 5 minutes. Carefully transfer muffins to rack. Let cool completely, about 20 minutes.

courtesy American Heart Association and Sorghum Checkoff

Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Bowl

Chicken:

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 pound small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• Zucchini: 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

Cauliflower Rice:

• 1-pound bag frozen riced cauliflower, thawed and drained
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 1/3 cups red grapes, halved

To make chicken: In bowl, combine oil, garlic, ginger and cumin. Add turmeric, salt and pepper and whisk to blend. Lightly pound chicken pieces then turn to coat in oil-spice mixture. Let stand 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown underneath, about 4 minutes. Flip and reduce heat to medium. Cook about 4 minutes until just cooked through. Put chicken on plate and tent with foil. 

To make zucchini: In skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add zucchini and cook, stirring often until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

To make cauliflower rice: In same skillet used for chicken, add oil, onion and water over medium heat; cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, cumin and turmeric; cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add cauliflower and beans; cook until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro, salt and pepper.

Divide cauliflower rice among four bowls. Slice chicken and arrange on top of rice along with grapes and zucchini. 

courtesy California Table Grape Commission

Gluten-Free Brookies

Brownie batter:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Cookie dough:

• 1 3/4 cups cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum or cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups butter, softened 
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 
• 3 eggs 
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
• 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. For brownie batter, mix granulated sugar and cocoa powder in large bowl. Set aside. Mix cornstarch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Microwave butter in large microwavable bowl on high 2 minutes until melted. Stir in cocoa mixture until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well blended. Set aside.

For cookie dough, mix cornstarch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop brownie batter by tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Top with rounded tablespoon of cookie dough, placing it slightly to the side.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes until cookie is lightly browned and brownie is set. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute and remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Read labels of ingredients to ensure all are gluten-free.

Flavor Variations: Substitute any of the following flavor extracts for the vanilla extract in the brownie batter.

• Raspberry Brookies: 1 tablespoon raspberry extract
• Peppermint Brookies: 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Orange Brookies: 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• Almond Brookies: 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

courtesy McCormick and Co.

Energy Bites

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raw or rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup flaxseed meal
• 6 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

In medium mixing bowl, stir peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract until combined. 

Add oats, coconut, flaxseed meal and chocolate chips. Mix until combined. 

Shape into 1-inch balls. Store in airtight container in refrigerator until ready to serve. 

courtesy Culinary.net 

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

Originally Appeared Here

by Sara Schafer  |  sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop

With its four universities, cutting-edge health care system, 22 research farms and 114 county offices, the University of Missouri System is one of the state’s greatest assets. As a land-grant university and Missouri’s only public research institutions, the system educates students, promotes lifelong learning and helps solve everyday problems.

Just like your electric cooperative’s board of directors, the University of Missouri Board of Curators serves as the governing authority for the system. They approve the budget, appoint leadership, confirm degree programs and set goals. The nine members are appointed by the governor to represent the state’s congressional districts. Let’s meet the four curators with strong ties to rural Missouri.

Robin Wenneker, Columbia

As a Columbia native, Robin Wenneker has always loved Mizzou. Since childhood, her two favorite places remain The Quad and cheering for the Tigers at Faurot Field. Today, she still loves strolling the expansive Columbia campus, which combined with the other three campuses, educates more than 70,000 students. “When you look across Missouri, our alums are your nurses, doctors, teachers, attorneys and bankers,” she says. “We’re in every county, every day making a difference.”

Robin, a member of Boone Electric Cooperative, is the managing partner of CPW Partnership, a family business that owns farmland in central Missouri. She sees how MU’s agricultural research farms, key degree programs and academic health care system benefit the entire state. 

With its seven hospitals, 80 clinics, four medical helicopters, innovative research and outstanding clinical care, the MU health care system is an asset for all Missourians, Robin says. “We care for patients from every county in Missouri, and our medical school’s rural medicine program is addressing the physician shortage that exists in over 90% of those counties,” she says. 

Todd Graves, Edgerton

As a young boy on his family’s farm in Tarkio, Todd Grave’s first introduction to the University of Missouri was on the radio. He spent his falls in the tractor listening to Tiger football — cheering for a team in a town he’d never been to, but a university that has been a second home to his family for a century. After his stint at Mizzou, Todd earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. Today the member of Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, is a lawyer in private practice with the law firm of Graves Garrett.

As a businessman and farmer, Todd says he’s most proud of Mizzou’s focus on research. For instance, the recent $20 million expansion of the MU Research Reactor will make MU a global leader in nuclear medicine research. Also, MU researchers are behind the first-ever vaccine to protect cattle from a devastating tick-borne cattle disease known as bovine anaplasmosis. 

“We should all be proud that the University of Missouri system takes its commitment to rural Missouri and its land-grant mission very seriously,” says Todd, the 2025 chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

Jeanne Sinquefield, Westphalia

For Jeanne Sinquefield, serving on the MU Board of Curators combines her top interests — economic trends, innovation and inspiring tomorrow’s leaders. Jeanne, a member of Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, spent her career in investment fund management and trading. After retiring, she and her husband bought a farm in Westphalia.

Since education has always been central to Jeanne’s life, she’s proud the University of Missouri system offers a vast array of education opportunities for students of all ages. For example, MU Extension partners with the University’s schools and colleges to offer continuing education units. With some programs you earn credits, while others just help you sharpen your skills.

Jeanne is also amazed at the research and innovation happening across the four campuses — everything from developing a tornado simulator to using drones on farms to composing new pieces of music. “MU is finding and growing inventors,” she says.

Bob Fry, Greenwood

As a teenager, Bob Fry had a big dream — play football for MU. “But I wasn’t good enough,” he humbly admits. Instead, he set his sights on dental school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and spent his career as an orthodontist in the Kansas City area.

Bob, a member of Osage Valley Electric Cooperative, splits his time between Greenwood and Urich. His combined big-city and small-town experiences guide his decisions as a curator. “Our organization puts billions of dollars into the Missouri economy,” he says. “Our customers are our students, parents, grandparents, alumni and legislators. We have to focus on the needs of those groups.”

That value is delivered through top-notch education, he says. For example, Missouri S&T is ranked as one of the best engineering universities in the U.S., and University of Missouri-St. Louis has one of the top international business programs. Plus, the Columbia campus is No. 4 for flagship universities in education value. 

 Beyond the accolades, Bob is proud of the system’s rural outreach. “We are trying to figure out how to make our extension offices meaningful to everyone,” he says.

Originally Appeared Here

by Paul Newton  |  pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop

Brandon Crandall was an intuitive kid. Growing up in rural Adair County, he would stretch his imagination by constructing Legos or building things on the family farm. “I probably made some things that my parents didn’t like, like I would be welding a go-kart when I was 12,” he says. “But it spurred my imagination and my mom pushed me to use that for things like doing Bob Ross paintings with people 50 years older than me.”

That interest in art and building as a kid helped shape Brandon. “I just realized I had a mechanical mind that could think three-dimensionally,” he says. “I could think spatially about objects whether it was mechanical or art.”

That path led Brandon to a career as a sculptor for nearly two decades. Today, inside his studio in rural Brashear, he creates highly detailed sculptures — both big and small — that are proudly displayed throughout Missouri and across the world.

Brandon went to the University of Missouri to earn a degree in computer engineering but realized art was his passion. “I guess I was more of an artist with an engineering bent,” he says. He graduated with an art degree from Mizzou in 2006 and has sculpted ever since.

His sculptures are located throughout Kirksville, on college campuses and beyond. The sculptor’s largest piece can be found at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville. Brandon was commissioned in 2022 to create an 8-foot-tall Bobby Bearcat statue that weighs 600 pounds.

Most of the projects Brandon takes on are big and can take up to two years from initial meetings to installation, including many months at the foundry. “It can be a lonely process,” the Tri-County Electric Cooperative member says. “I go through these emotional highs and lows. I’m more of a journey guy instead of the destination. But, it is fun to see it from concept all the way to being finished and people enjoying it.”

What sets Brandon’s sculptures apart is the intricate details he includes. “Through the years I’ve really devoted time to giving my sculptures the sense of motion even though it’s a static statue,” he says. “I love that look.”

One of his most recent creations Forest Maestro was dedicated in downtown Kirksville in August. It depicts a young boy holding a stick he’s found directing a choir of animals. Linda Treasure is president of the Kirksville Art Association — which commissioned the piece — and says the sculpture adds to the sense of community in Kirksville.

“Public art is something that we as an association are interested in creating,” she says. “We dedicated it to coincide with our 50th anniversary and there’s just so much detail to his work. The texture of the little boy’s hands and the claws and fur of the little critters. It’s just remarkable.”

Other notable sculptures Brandon has created include Selfless, which honors firefighters and is on display at Fire Station No. 3 in Blue Springs; Purple Heart, which honors Medal of Honor recipient Jehd Barker on Truman State’s campus and a bust of A.T. Still for the Hall of Famous Missourians inside the Missouri State Capitol.

With the increasing popularity of 3D printing, Brandon says the sculpting industry is transforming. “It’s crazy how fast it’s changing,” he says. “I think that’s scary for some people, but you have to evolve. I think there will always be a spot for the traditional sculpting techniques I do.”

Brandon’s success as an artist has kept him increasingly busy and in high demand. “Over the past decade I haven’t had to question if this is the right path for me,” he says. “Every time I finish a project I have another one starting. It’s exciting.”

While his work can be found outside of Adair County, Linda says his additions to Kirksville don’t go unnoticed.

 “It gives people something to be proud about,” she says. “And the fact that we have nine of his sculptures here is something every citizen of Kirksville should take pride in.”

For more information or to contact Brandon about his sculptures, visit www.crandallsculpture.com.

Originally Appeared Here