A Love Story That Breaks Veggie Hearts

Absolutely hilarious

I try to read a lot.  Sometimes I am successful and other times, I will let days slip by me without ever cracking a binding. So, while enduring a long layover in an airport recently (I honestly can't remember where I was) I spied Food: A Love Story on the shelf, which has been on my "to read" list for quite some time.

I'm not going to give a lengthy review here - I honestly laughed OUT LOUD about every other page of this book. Most of the time spent reading this book was on a plane, so just imagine me busting a gut next to some random stranger trying to sleep. Whoops! It was so outlandishly funny that I could pick it up and read it again, right now. Instead of a review, here are my favorite jokes, which mostly happen to bash vegetables.Read more »

Meaty Monday: Apple Spice Pork Chops

The Ninja's new colleague had supper with us one night a few weeks ago so I was looking for a recipe that had two things: 1) pork as the main ingredient and 2) some sort of fall implement. I am trying to beckon colder weather with fall aspects; home décor, apple pie etc. I may even drink a pumpkin spice latte.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it looked so easy and delicious I couldn't pass it up. The key thing to remember about this, and any pork chop recipe, is DON'T OVERCOOK YOUR PORK. You're doing yourself a disservice by cooking pork chops and roasts until they are dry as a bone. Pork is best served at 145 F and it is ok to have a little pink in there. Trust me - I'm married to a doctor ;)

I hope you enjoy this meal - if you try it and like it, shout it out below in the comments!

Ingredients:

 - 4 or 5  pork chops (ours were about 1" thick)
 - 2 T vegetable oil
 - salt and pepper
 - 1 medium onion
 - 2 medium apples
 - 2 T butter
 - 1 T brown sugar
 - 1/2 t cinnamon
 -  1/4 tsp nutmeg
 - 1 t chicken bouillon
 - 1 cup water



Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, season chops with salt and pepper (I use heavy salt and pepper because we like spiced up food). Once the oil is hot, place the chops in the pan and let the bottoms get a nice brown crust (2-3 minutes). While the chops are browning slice up your onions and apples (you don't have to peel the apples). Flip the chops and brown the other side for 2-3 minutes, then remove them from the pan.








Give the chops a few minutes to get a good crust on one side; then flip and repeat with  the other.

Now put the apples, onions and butter in the pan so that they can soften (approximately 5 minutes), then add in the bouillon, water, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir everything together well and ensure that the apples and onions are softened, then add the chops back to the pan. Make sure there are apples and onions on the chops so that the flavors can collide.



They taste better than they smell - and they smell DELICIOUS!

Simmer the whole mess until the sauce is reduced by half and the chops are 145 degrees F. Serve chops with apples and onions served on top, with your favorite starch or veggie.














I hope you enjoy these as much as we did - fall weather is here and this is great recipe for those chilly nights! What are your favorite fall recipes?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Protein Challenge - Let Me Eat Steak...and Pork and Chicken

The past few weeks of the Protein Challenge have sort of gone by in a blur. Actually, April in general went by in a flash! How is tomorrow the first day of May?!

So over the past two weeks, I've really tried to step up my protein game. Here are some of the awesome protein-rich meals I've had in the past 1-2 weeks.


Medium rare top sirloin at Medium Rare in Washington DC

Did you know that 3 oz of lean beef has an average of 154 calories? I have been able to eat 6-8 oz of beef at many meals and not have to worry about going over my caloric max for the day. I have eaten a lot of pork and chicken as well, but the photos in my kitchen don't look near as great as the plated restaurant meals!


Bacon, egg and cheese on whole wheat English muffin

 In addition to these delicious meals, I had a lot of string cheese, eggs and yogurt for breakfast and utilized beef jerky as my snack for the afternoon. For dinner, I focused on subbing out a dinner roll and instead eating cottage cheese as a side.


8 oz sirloin for my birthday - medium rare of course!

The results of this challenge have been phenomenal for me - I have noticed a significant decline in my desire for afternoon snacks, I have increased energy (not as tired at night) and I my average mile time improved by 4-8 seconds overall.

 

I will most definitely keep the increased protein intake going in my life - I have no reason to go back! Why would I stop a dietary pattern that has given me more energy, improved quality of life while helping me stay fit? I would be insane to stop!

 

All the more reason to keep chowing down on pork chops, steaks and chicken wings!

 

So now I hope with all my heart that you will sign up for the Protein Challenge yourself and start down the path to a healthier, more energetic lifestyle. You have absolutely nothing to lose (except a few pounds if you do it right)!

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

Taking Control with the Protein Challenge!

Today I take control of my race-training and overall health by starting the Protein Challenge. The 30-Day Protein Challenge is a fun, step-by-step way to help you get an optimal amount of protein throughout your day. Significant research shows that some people can lose and/or maintain a healthy weight, support a healthy metabolism, and age more vibrantly when they consume more high-quality protein, within calorie goals.

Since I am extremely interested in maintaining a healthy weight and fueling my active lifestyle, I am stoked to be participating. This may surprise you, but even a meatatarian like myself sometimes has a hard time getting enough protein. Which is why I will be utilizing the awesome tools for the Protein Challenge like the food journal, cheat sheet and on-the-go protein snack idea.

For example, I've already got a start on today by having two scrambled eggs with shredded cheese and a yogurt for breakfast. While delicious, that meal only had 23.2 grams of protein and the goal is to get 30 grams of protein at every meal. This is going to be challenging but fun!

Breakfast full o' protein

I will be blogging about my experiences here weekly (maybe twice weekly, who knows) and how I feel, what I'm eating, etc. I fully expect to feel more energized and, hopefully, improve my performance in some upcoming races!

I have full confidence that my increased protein intake
will have me smiling like this a lot more often!

I encourage you to explore the 30-Day Protein Challenge, and if so inclined, sign up and do it yourself!

What do you have to lose? Nothing.

What do you have to gain? Energy. A healthier lifestyle.

Take control!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Pounding the Pavement and Inhaling Protein

 

My feet and legs hurt - I think it's from kicking so much butt by breaking my 10K PR a week and a half ago. Or it could be because I need new running shoes. Either or.

Whatever the reason, I better get them quick, fast and in a hurry since I'm less than a month out from the race Kelly and I are running in Kansas City on April 18. Boy howdy, it's coming up fast!

From last Saturday to this coming Saturday, I'm scheduled to run roughly 35h miles but I'm a horrible traveling runner, meaning I don't do a good job of sticking to my training when I'm out-of-state, so I'll probably be relegated to about 25ish miles. Not bad, but not great.

I'm having trouble deciding/noticing if I'm getting any faster or more resilient during this round of training. I live in a holler among the Flint Hills, so GPS reception is sketchy and at any given time my Nike+ running app could be telling me I've run 1/2 mile farther than I actually have, which [falsely] leads me to believe I'm running 8:15 minute miles for 10 miles straight. Impossible? Absolutely not. Probably inaccurate? Yes.

So while I'm not sure if I'm going to break my PR next month, one thing that I'm certain about is that this girl is getting hangry quite often. Generally after a long run.

One of my favorite beef meals - smoked beef brisket.

After a long run, which I personally quantify as anything over six miles, I have a noticeable desire for protein, specifically meat. When I say “noticeable,” I mean that I must eat some sort of meat within a half hour or I may chew my arm off to suffice. Sometimes I will eat a few slices of lunch meat to hold me over until I can prepare a full meal or sometimes I will schedule my long runs so that I arrive back at my house roundabout the time my husband has finished grilling lunch or supper, which allows me to dive into a burger, steak or chop almost immediately after my workout. If I don’t get some sort of meat or protein in my system pronto, I feel very sluggish and have a hard time functioning the rest of the day.

Give me all of the flank steak. All. of. it.

Why am I craving protein? Well, that's easy: protein helps support a strong, lean body which is obviously important to me. Furthermore, a high-protein diet helps build and replenish muscles while at the same time providing the "full" feeling meaning if I'm full from steak I'm not chowing down on Cheetos or cupcakes. I get most of my protein from beef and pork but I am also a huge fan of scrambled eggs with ham and cheese and a big glass of milk. I personally believe that breakfast for supper is one of life's underappreciated treats. Actually, I think breakfast food anytime is pretty much the bees knees.

Anyhow, since I have no desire to stop running due to my fondness of my current pant size, I've got to devise a way to get more protein into my system in order to keep the Cheetos and cupcakes out of my system. Those items tend to mysteriously disappear shortly after they are purchased. Weird.

Next week, I'll have a protein update that I'm excited to share, a new meaty recipe and hopefully, some new kicks!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Hunk of Meat Monday: Balsamic Beef Roast

When I wasn't huddled around the heater trying to stay warm out here on the arctic plains this past weekend, I was catching up on my Pinterest recipe collection and cooking. I stumbled across what may be my FAVORITE beef roast recipe. Bonus: it called for ingredients I already had on hand and was super easy.

Buzzard's Crockpot Balsamic Beef Roast

Ingredients:
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
~ 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
~ 2 tbsp soy sauce
~ 2 tbsp honey
~ 1 tsp red pepper flakes
~ 4 cloves garlic, chopped

Assemble all of your ingredients, including a beef roast. The amount of marinade will work for a roast up to 3-4 pounds.

Gather your ingredients

Mix together all of your ingredients. Place beef roast in your Crockpot and pour mixture over the beef. Our roast was about 1.25-1.5 pounds and it was the perfect medium-rare doneness after about 2 hours on high. If you have a larger roast (3-4) pounds, you could do 4 hours on high or probably 6 hours on low.

Pour the ingredient mixture onto your roast. Look at all that garlic, yum!

When done, place beef roast in a serving dish and spoon gravy and beef bits over the meat to moisten and infuse with deliciousness.


Robust flavor and so very delicious!

Please, for the sake of all things holy, don't cook your beef to well-done! You only need to cook the roast to 145F!

If you try this one out, let me know how you liked it. We LOVED it - the flavor was robust and the roast stayed very moist. This will definitely be a repeat in our house.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Shopping For Meat On A Budget

It's no secret that the Frobuzz household is carnivorous. However, the Frobuzz household is also compromised of a grad student, a young professional, dogs, horses, chickens and student loans. Throw that in an equation and you get a smallish grocery budget. Shopping for meat on a tight budget can be difficult but we're not willing to cut back in that area so we employ some different strategies to keep protein in the center of the plate! So I'm going to outline, as easily as possible, how we eat a hunk of meat several nights a week without breaking the bank. This is no easy task considering pork prices are on the rise (thanks PEDv) and beef prices are at a 27 year high (thanks Mother Nature).

Ok, so before you even head to the store you need to have in your mind that you're not going to get T-bones and ribeyes for $3/lb. That would be awesome but will not happen. The goal is to find a diamond in the rough that you can put a little extra work and kitchen time into and still get a good quality meal.

Once you arrive at the meat case, you're looking for markdowns, BOGO (buy one, get one) or large hunks of meat that most people won't buy (think along the lines of a whole ham). You may not find a great deal every time but one good deal on a large sub-primal can last you awhile. On our shopping trip last Sunday, we found a few good deals but only cashed in on one due to our lack of freezer space at the moment.

You have to look beyond what is right in front of you and think about how you can cut things down or use them in different recipes. On this trip, the Ninja is debating which cut is a better deal and which one is the best cut based on color etc.



Comparisons are vital - look beyond what is right in front of you.

Just because something is 'convenient' doesn't necessarily mean it's convenient for your wallet. Here are some examples of not so great deals:



In this instance it seems awesome that you get a pork country style ribs that are already marinated but that is $4.29 for one serving that is less than a pound. You're basically paying for the fact that it is a single serving, that it's marinated and that it has a pineapple slice.



Same with these charcoal steaks, - these are from the chuck but have been cut down and marinated causing their price to be $7 per lb even though a chuck roast is much cheaper per pound.

Examples of good deals:



Ham on sale for $1.69/lb. Yes, I know it's a whole ham but you can cut things down and freeze them.

These whole  ham butts can be cut down and frozen for use in meals at a later date.

Although we didn't buy a ham, we have done so in the past. We cut it up into smaller portions and freeze them - then I can pull them out for soup, a crock pot meal or to throw on the grill.

This is the deal that we took advantage of last weekend:



Beef bottom round roast - buy one get one free!

Yes, you read that correctly. Beef bottom round roasts were buy one get one free! They were normally $6.99/lb and weighed around 2.5 pounds a piece. However, the sale meant that we got 5 pounds of good quality beef for about $17.65 ($2.50/lb). Talk about a steal.

Naturally, we brought two home and got them ready for future meals. Since crockpot season is over, we opted to cut them into steaks instead of keeping them in their roast form. We unwrapped them and took them out of the package - the first step was removing the fat and silver skin (bonus info: that little pad in the bottom of the package is called a 'diaper'). Silver skin is opaque connective tissue that is very tough so removing it can really improve the eating experience.



Preparing to break it down.



The diaper - soaks up juices that may leech out of the meat
 and keeps the tray and packaging looking clean and tidy.

 

Removing the silver skin and external fat (the dogs appreciated this step) - silver skin is tough connective tissue so it's important to remove to improve the eating experience!

 

 Next, the Ninja cuts the roast into steaks that are approximately 1" thick.



Cutting across the grain is important with roasts in order to improve tenderness




Here you can see how many ~1" steaks come from one of the bottom round roasts

Here are the results of the two roasts that were cut down - there were nine steaks and five 'midget' steaks (that's really what they're called), and of course the pieces of fat and silver skin for the dogs.

 

I realize it's hard to determine how big these are - a deck of cards is roughly the size of one-three ounce serving of beef. As you can see, these steaks are about four ounces.

The final product bagged up - I'll put them in the freezer and when we want to grill, I just pull one out the night before and let it defrost.

Each one of those steaks will serve as a meal for us, along with a veggie or rice side dish. It's about $4.50 total per meal, not per person (not including the veggies or rice). If we didn't do these trips, we would eat less meat and I would not be a happy camper.

I hope this provides insight on how you don't have to change your diet on a tight budget but rather just change your perspective or  your strategies and you can still have high-quality, lean beef on your plate (pork, too)!

Any questions - comments? Do you do something similar at your house?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Local or Organic Doesn't Matter - Chipotle Isn't Helping Your Diet

Disclaimer: I'm fully supportive of organic and natural producers. My in-laws produce and market natural beef and I have friends who raise organic/natural produce and/or livestock. To each their own - consumers have choices and so do producers. This post is focused on Chipotle's desire to disparage farmers instead of market their food.



Homemade burritos - no gimmicks, just food.

Chipotle wants you to eat "Food with Integrity" - meaning their food - which comes from local, organic farmers and ranchers. Except their food isn't always organic nor is it always locally sourced, as I've shared previously. But that's for a different day.

What I'm talking about is how Chipotle brandishes their "Food with Integrity" campaign and attacks conventional producers while pushing calorie-laden burritos down consumers' throats. And when I say attack, I'm not exaggerating. One need look no further than "Scarecrow" or "Farmed & Dangerous" to see that Chipotle has a vendetta against those who don't raise or produce food that is up to their standards.

However, while Chipotle heralds "Food with Integrity" ad nauseum, they have no problem marketing serving meals with such high caloric content that even the recently crowned Queen of American Food Decisions, Michelle Obama, should raise an eyebrow. Serving up a burrito that packs the caloric-punch of 1/2 of one's daily recommended intake is not exactly on the moral up and up since they tout their burritos as a superior product. Wouldn't that be sort of like Burger King promoting their chain as healthy and good for you while serving deep-fried-everything [I love BK by the way, so no offense intended].

For example, IF I ate at Chipotle [which I don't. EVER], I would get a steak burrito with rice and cheese and maybe some black beans because I'm [mostly] anti-vegetable. However, for argument's sake, let's say I was to order a steak burrito with white rice, black beans, fajita veggies, some salsa and cheese. Sounds fairly healthy, right? Protein, veggies, whole grains and no high-fat sour cream or guac - all very healthy things to consume, in moderation. Until you visit their nutritional calculator page and input that exact same order only to find out that you've just inhaled 935 calories. Do you know how many miles I have to run to burn 935 calories? I looked it up -- 10 MILES. That's a lot of running for a freakin' burrito. I should be honest here and say that 935 calories is about 75% of my RDI so it would wreck my diet more than most peoples'; however, even for a full-grown man whose daily RDI is ~2000 calories, 935 is still a lot for one meal.

So, instead of dragging down every producer who prefers to let pigs and chickens live inside climate controlled barns and outside of a coyote's mouth, or every beef producer who takes advantage of scientifically-proven safe technology that allows him to be efficient [during a time when the beef supply is the lowest it's been in 60 years], maybe Chipotle should focus on marketing their food instead of marketing their ideals.

McDonald's, Olive Garden, Red Lobster - all restaurants that I love that aren't trying to guilt me into eating their food. Which is why I still eat chicken nuggets, spaghetti and meatballs, and lobster tail platters.

Selling burritos must be super-hard when you play on a level playing field.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

The thoughts and opinions of this blog post strictly represent that of Brandi Buzzard Frobose and are NOT representative of any other entity or organization.

Beer Drenched Pork Chops

My friends and family will tell you I'm not a beer drinker. However, that does not mean that I won't cook with it - hence this recipe that I found on Pinterest.

When you read through the ingredients you're probably going to think the pork chops will be bitter and overwhelmingly 'hoppy.' Not so.

I only made three chops with this recipe but should have made six because I was wishing I had more for leftover lunches the following days.

Without further ado:

Beer Drenched Pork Chops
- 1 bottle dark beer (not as dark as Guinness - I used Amber Bock)
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- six pork chops
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 water

Season chops with salt & pepper.

The beginning of a great meal

Place in a skillet with a little bit of vegetable/canola oil. Brown both sides.

Mmmmm, meat.

While the chops are browning, combine your beer, ketchup and brown sugar and mix together well.



The dark beer of choice - I'd say it turned out well!

Mix together ketchup, brown sugar and beer. It will be foamy - don't worry.

After chops are brown, add beer mixture to pan and simmer, uncovered, until chops are 145 degrees F. This will take about 15 minutes but use a meat thermometer to be certain - don't overcook your pork or it will be too dry! Especially since you're going to add them back to the sauce briefly to coat.

 Bubbly, porky goodness

Remove pork chops and set aside. Add ~1 tbsp cornstarch and 1/4 water to sauce mixture and simmer briefly to thicken. Add chops back to mixture and coat with sauce for a few minutes. Serve with rice or your choice of sides.

 

Don't be fooled - my food photography skills are not improving I just used some editing to make it look 'better' - I think white plates and natural lighting would drastically improve my plated meals!



That's it! Seriously one of the best pork recipes I've ever had - I hope you love it as much as the Ninja and I did!

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~



Easy Last-Minute Chicken Stir Fry

I know, I know. It's chicken. Why is Buzzard blogging about chicken?

Because chicken is tasty when you season it perfectly, it's flexible and it's meat. Nuff said. Moving on.

Some days, I just really can't get motivated to think of something for dinner. My brain shuts off and just says, "hmmmm hamburger helper will work." However, then I feel bad that the Ninja has been at work for 12 hours and would probably appreciate a real meal with more than just meat and carbs. Picky, picky.

So, the other night, about 30 minutes before he gets home, I decide I should make something real. Out come the chicken breasts for three reasons:

1. We only have ground beef right now; no steaks or roasts and I already told you I didn't want to make hamburger helper.
2. Usually, for last minute meals I will use chicken because I can just bake it and while it's baking [which takes foreverrrrr], I can make some veggies and a rice or pasta dish.
3. They were in the fridge/freezer and I didn't want to venture outside to the garage freezer to look for something different.

My brain ran through all the chicken ideas I had that weren't just plain baked chicken and I finally settled on stir-fry. It's colorful, has a lot of veggies and super easy and quick! A lot of people think they need a wok or that making sauce will be difficult. It's not. Quit telling yourself that you can't do this because it's easy and you can!

Here is what came of my last minute meal prep using chicken - I hope you like it! Beef fajita strips or stew meat could just as easily be used for this (neither of which I had on hand).

Easy Last-Minute Chicken Stir Fry (makes 2 servings)

- About 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 green pepper
- baby carrots, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
- 1/4 white onion, sliced up (or diced, your preference)
- Minute rice
- 2 cloves garlic (or minced garlic ~ 1.5 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- vegetable oil

Chop your chicken breasts into bite sized hunks.

 

Brown chicken in hot pan with a couple tbsp veggie oil and 1/2 the garlic. Set aside on low heat.

On a separate cutting board (food safety!) slice and dice up your veggies. Again, I used green pepper, onion and carrots because that's what we had in the fridge but you could use whatever you like. I think sugar snap peas would be ok, as well.

 

In a separate pan, fry veggies with a little vegetable oil and the rest of the garlic. Cook until soft enough to eat but still crispy.

 

In a bowl, combine soy sauce, cornstarch and lime juice. Add to chicken when vegetables are nearly done. Allow sauce to thicken and stir around with chicken.

 

Prepare rice according to directions. Combine chicken (when cooked through) and sauce with veggies - stir together. Spread over rice and enjoy!

I did a lot of winging it with this recipe and the Ninja LOVED IT so I'm sure that you can do the exact same thing. The important factor is to make sure the chicken is done and that you allow the sauce to thicken a little bit over heat. If you want a saltier sauce, add more soy sauce. Also, we really like garlic in our house but if you aren't a huge fan, you can trim the amount back.

 Also, just as a reminder, I'm not a food photographer, although I really think I am getting better. The Ninja said this is one of his new favorite recipes.

Hope you like it!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Hunk of Meat Monday: Easy, Delicious Beef Meatballs in Under an Hour!

Dear readers, it is 'Hunk of Meat Monday' and yes, you read that right. You can prepare a delicious home-made beef meal in less than an hour. For reals.

This week, I thought I'd share something that doesn't require a crockpot - no offense Crockie, I still love you but sometimes you need something that tastes fresh, ya know?

I made this recipe because I wanted to see if it could compare to my grandmother's meatball recipe, which I have no intention of sharing. Good news - these are fantastic! This is the second time I've made them and they were delicious both times and SO FANTASTICALLY SIMPLE. The great thing is that you could substitute pork, veal or lamb really easily, or do a combo. The next time I make them, I plan to combine pork and beef.

Buzzard's Meatballs

• 1 lb hunk of meat ground beef
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp H2O
• 1/2 c bread crumbs (I make a piece of toast, then tear apart and put in my food processor)
• 1/4 c minced onions
• salt and pepper to taste
• ~ 1 tsp garlic salt*
• ~ 1 tsp Italian seasoning*

* Remember my inability to measure things? Note the approximation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 177 degrees Celsius for my Aussie friends). In large bowl, combine all ingredients except meat and mix together.

Doesn't look like much but all those spices contribute to the delicious factor!

Add hunk of meat/ground beef, broken into chunks, and mush with your hands to combine.

Mix it - mix it real good.

Form into meatballs and bake for 25-30 minutes for 1" balls. If your balls are larger, it will take more time to bake them. Mine were larger than a golf ball so it took about 40 minutes (always use a meat thermometer and for ground beef recipes like this, the internal temp should be 165 F).

Handsome little fellas

These could be really great for spaghetti or pasta or as a stand-alone meal. I like to prepare them as a meal and then serve with veggies and pasta on the side.



I've mentioned before that food photography is not my forte but trust your tongue not your eyes - these are delicious!

I hope you enjoy! Sound off below and let me know if you liked it!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Always a Little Late

I don't have a great picture for this post,
so here's the newest addition to our family!

Often, I arrive just in time for something - which in my mind means I'm late because I'd like to be everywhere 10 minutes early.

So it doesn't surprise me that I'm posting my my 'Best of Thirteen' post on January 2. Better late than never? Hope so. Here's a roundup of top posts and other fun factoids.

Top Posts of 2013

1. Chipotle: That's Not Natural -- Chipotle is the annoying, ignorant bully at school. They make several appearances this year on the blog, but this was the most read entry of 2013.

2. Is Horse Meat Healthy? Is It Better For Me Than Beef? -- I post about horse slaughter a lot because several people are opposed to eating horsemeat but how much do they really know about it?

3. Slaughter Plants and Rendering Facilities: Different but Mutually Beneficial -- No two facilities are the same.

4. He Loves Me So Much! -- I've been married twice.

5. Chipotle, Hypocrites No More, To Use Antibiotic Treated Beef (Maybe) -- Chipotle is on the list. again.

Top 5 Countries of Readership
1. USA
2. Russia
3. Australia (good on ya!)
4. UK
5. Canada

Google and Facebook (Buzzard's Beat) are still my top two drivers of traffic and some of my favorite and most popular keywords used to find my blog are listed below (these are always fascinating):

• Eating buzzard meat
• How to manipulate a man (they found this post)
• Buzzards
• Hippo Hollow Resort (they found this)
• Temple Grandin
• Turkey Buzzard (thanks Sharita)
• Horse meat
• Fiji

How was your 2013? I'm looking forward to blogging more and utilizing SEO better so that my posts get more views! I've got lots of exciting things in the hopper - so stay tuned!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Decorating with Meat

Well, maybe not literally.

But it's no secret that the Ninja and I love meat and livestock. So much that we decorate a lot of surfaces and rooms of our house with those themes in mind. Here are just a few examples of what we're rocking right now but it change every few months because I get bored:



A Tribute to the Stockman - a gift from one of Hyatt's sisters

 



This little piggy was a gift from our pastors in Australia

 



I gave the Ninja this print as a Christmas gift in 2011 to remember our time in Australia. It's called Shearing of the Rams by Tom Roberts (1890) and he loves it so much that it's the only thing that stays up year-round. Also, the photo is not crooked, the frame hanging on the wall is and I didn't notice it until now. Don't judge.

We have the livestock decor taken care of but my weird completely normal facscination with meat has led me to pursue meat decor for the whole home, not just the kitchen. Waaay back in June or July, I created a Pinterest board titled "Beef, Pork and Meat Home Decor" and I've been meaning to blog about it ever since that time. Today is that time.

It only has about 10 pins but I am constantly searching for more. I cannot choose just one favorite but this one is in my top three:

Meat. Yes It's Meat. Dictionary Page from Whisker Prints on Etsy

I am hoping to keep finding awesome pieces of art like the porterhouse print and add them to our collection of meat and livestock stuff. Here is that pinterest board if you'd like to take a look - Beef, Pork and Meat Home Decor. Also, if you find any great stuff, let me know! I'm always open to new ideas!

Do you combine agriculture and decorating? How so - link up below and share your thoughts!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~