Normally I start Monday’s blog by bidding a fond farewell to
last week’s state, but it seems a little inappropriate this time since we’re
not actually leaving Michigan. Besides, after all the fun we had last week
who would really want to say good-bye?
Nonetheless, we’re going to move our celebration away from our home
state and move on the smack dab middle of the country (the city of Kearney is exactly halfway between
Boston and San Francisco) to The Cornhusker
State of Nebraska. I can’t say that
I was overly familiar with the offerings of Nebraska (other than it had a whole lotta corn) before I started my
research, but was pleasantly surprised by all I found when I started to dig in.
So if you have aspirations
of being rich, like making
drinks out of powder or have used a TV tray
for its intended purpose you’re going to want to stick around for Nebraska
week!
There’s no denying that agriculture plays a HUGE role in
Nebraska’s make-up as nearly 93% of its land is devoted to agricultural purposes
– the most of any state in the Union. It
ranks third in corn
production and corn is so important that The University
of Nebraska even adopted ‘The Cornhuskers’ as their nickname (complete with
mascots
Herbie Husker and Lil Red). What you
may not be as familiar with is with the part of Nebraska referred to as The Sandhills. Described sometimes as Nebraska’s Desert, the
Sand Hills (both versions are considered ‘proper’ spelling) is a region of mixed-grass prarie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska covering just over one quarter of the state. I will admit that I had never heard of this
before and was amazed with the pictures
as it was not what I pictured Nebraska looking like. I myself thought more along the lines of this
and was excited to share both of these extremely different aspects of the land
with the kiddos.
The kids on the other hand, have heard enough about corn and
farming after we’ve successfully navigated through nearly all the Midwest
now. But two words sold them on Nebraska
for the whole week (and me too honestly – I have such big plans!) – Kool Aid.
Invented by Edwin Perkins
in Hastings in
1927, it was preceded by Perkins liquid concentrate “Fruit Smack” until he discovered
a way to remove the liquid and leave only a powder, which he then named Kool
Aid. It’s even Nebraska’s official
state soft drink. Trust me when I
say there is going to be a whole lotta Kool Aid used in a whole lotta ways
around here this week. If that wasn’t a
big enough culinary contribution, Nebraska also lays claim to the first TV Dinner!
In 1954, Swanson employee Gerry
Thomas came up with an answer to the problem of what to do with all of the
Thanksgiving Turkey leftovers the company had.
“Thomas had just seen the airplane-friendly compartmentalized aluminum trays used by Pan American Airways
and introduced the idea to the Swanson brothers back home in Nebraska. They packaged
turkey, corn bread stuffing, peas and sweet potatoes and hung their advertising
campaign on the newest craze to hit the nation: TV. That year, Swanson sold
more than 25 million TV dinners to hungry Americans, at 98 cents per package.
TV dinners were a hit.” (http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/history-tv-dinner.htm)
. Have a feeling these may be making an
appearance as well…
Nebraska is
also known for taking care of its own.
In December of 1917, Catholic Priest Edward J. Flanagan borrowed $90 to pay the rent on a boarding house. Flanagan
welcomed all boys, regardless of their race or religion. By the spring, 100
boys were living at the Home. In 1921,
Father Flanagan purchased Overlook Farm on the outskirts of Omaha and moved his
Boys’ Home there where it eventually became known as “Boys
Town” The organization, which
promotes social preparedness as part of
its structure, has helped countless children and even spawned a major motion picture.
Just for my Dad, I made a point of telling the kids all
about Nebraska native Richard
N. Cabela, who turned to national
newspapers and magazines after an
ad he placed in a local newspaper for "12
hand tied flies for $1” failed to sell the items. The national exposure built a loyal customer
base, inspiring him to create a catalog that offered all types of fishing
gear. By 1961, the idea had taken off
with the end result being Cabela’s which
has a catalog business and stores with annual revenue of over $3 billion. I think it’s safe to say the Kosakowski’s are
responsible for at least some of this J
Another huge corporation
based in Nebraska is ConAgra Foods. The parent company for brands such as
Hunt’s, Reddi Whip, Peter Pan, Pam, Egg Beaters and Chef Boyardee (to just name
a few!) was formed in Grand Island, in 1919 under the name Nebraska Consolidated Mills. (The name changed to ConAgra – standing for
consolidated agriculture – in 1971)
After purchasing Ralcorp in 2013, ConAgra became the biggest private-label packaged food business in North America, with
sales of $18 billion annually.
Speaking of
billions… The man that claims the #4
spot on Forbes billionaire list hails from Omaha. Warren
Buffet whose nicknames
include “Wizard of Omaha",
"Oracle of Omaha" and the "Sage of Omaha” has spent his entire
life in Nebraska and is known for his
adherence to the value
investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth as well his passion
for philanthropy, most notably in his work through “The
Giving Pledge” with Bill
Gates. He is CEO for Berkshire
Hathaway (based in Omaha) which is
the fifth largest public company in the world.
Hmm, wonder if there’s something in the water in Nebraska that I need to
get my hands on for inspiration for my own big money maker. Living in Nebraska
even means you may become President – just ask Gerald Ford!
While it may not have
raked in billions, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which made its debut on May 19, 1883 in Omaha
definitely made an impact on the tourism budget in Nebraska during its
heyday. Creator William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) turned real life
adventure into the first and
greatest outdoor western show featuring reenactments of history combined with
displays of showmanship, sharp-shooting, hunts, racing, or rodeo style events.
Each show was 3–4 hours long and attracted crowds of thousands of people
daily. I have a feeling a few games of
“Cowboys and Indians” may take place this week when I share this with Noah.
And I have a feeling my own little female dare devil may be excited to
learn more about Annie Oakley and her role in the show.
And of course, I haven’t
forgotten about the food! After taking a
bit of a cooking hiatus the past couple of weeks while everyone was dispersed
and then with all of our business with Michigan, I was excited to get my hands
dirty in the kitchen again and I’ve found plenty of fun Nebraska stuff for us
to try out. I kicked it off tonight with
the one “must do” Nebraska dish, the runza. In
Nebraska, these little babies are so important they have their chain own restaurant that features them. Very similar to our pasties from last week,
they are a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, pork, cabbage or
sauerkraut, onions and other seasonings.
The Nebraska version is usually baked in a rectangular shape. I came across a TON of different recipes and
versions but used this
one tonight. They went great with
the Lemon
Glazed Corn on the Cob I also made (because you can’t do Nebraska without
corn, I figured). And for dessert, Kool
Aid Pie! I know, it sounds crazy,
but don’t knock it until you try it – so ridiculously easy and adaptable
considering how many different flavors
of Kool Aid there are out there!
So I’ve got the kids on
board (and my Dad for that matter) what about the rest of you, my faithful
readers? Have I convinced you we’re going
to have some fun with Nebraska this week?
I promise you’re going to want to stick around – I have some very
colorful and hair raising things planned.
(hehehe) So until then…
Nebraska Fun Fact of the
Day: Between Northport and Ogallala on Highway 26 there is a shoe fence. The
fence line, which runs for miles and miles, is adorned with mounted upside down
boots and shoes.
The kids are so excited about this
Lunch today (so not a staple around the Gatchel's, but when celebrating Nebraska and ConAgra...)
Speaking of not a staple... ;-) My kids are through the roof
Ready to make kool aid pie
Step One - Sweetened Condensed Milk
Step Two - Add and whisk in kool aid
Step 3 - Add cool whip
Step 4 - enjoy the leftovers
Thanks Miss Morgan - our last Michigan post card arrived today (Funny note - Morgan actually mailed this from Mackinac Island 3 weeks ago and it JUST arrived today)
My own personal cornhuskers!
They were excited to try this out
And I'll admit they did a pretty good job
Nebraska wall is up
This is the results of when I told them about The Wild West Show - cowboys, Indians, buffalo hunting (and at one point I believe there were aliens...)
Runzas!
Our kool aid pie
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