Hi, I'm Macy Fisher the Mifflin County Dairy Princess. I would first like to apologize to everyone who reads my articles. Last week I was the State Dairy Princess Pageant, which I will talk about later in my article, but I completely forgot about my column while I was there. I have no excuses, no one to blame, I just simply forgot. So now this week you get to read an even longer column.
So like I said, I was at the State Dairy Princess Pageant from Sept. 22 to 24. While I was there I had to do multiple things in order to be in the running for a state title. I had to do a skit, hand in my scrapbook, make a poster, write and perform a radio spot, do a live interview, and present my speech.
Now, for my skit, it had to be three to five minutes long, contain one of the 10 key messages, and had to be for a certain age group. My skit was entitled "The Many Hats of a Dairy Farmer." I went through a farmer's day and each thing the farmer did had a different hat. My skit was keyed in on third through fifth graders and contained key message number one, which is about the nine essential nutrients.
My speech had to fit into a prompt that the state gave to us. There was a list of seven different topics that we could pick from. Mine was about why dairy should be a part of a student's diet at school. It also had to be between three and five minutes. I was really close to the five minute mark, but I didn't go over, which was good because for both the skits and the speeches, if you went over five minutes or under three, you were disqualified for an award.
My scrapbook was themed around butterflies. I knew that my scrapbook was going to be themed with butterflies since I was crowned Alternate Dairy Princess. I knew that I was going to be Dairy Princess at some point, so I was always thinking about what my theme would be, and then one day it hit me. I have had three stages to my dairy promoting life, just like a butterfly has three stages to its life. Every girl who was at pageant had to submit a scrapbook and mine was one of the six to win an award. My scrapbook received an honorable mention.
Those three contests everyone had to do, but we also had two optional contests; one was the poster display and the other was a radio spot. Our posters had to be something that we could potentially use on a promotion. Mine was themed around Scooby Doo. It was entitled "The Great Milk Mystery: What's in Your Milk?" It listed all nine essential nutrients that are found in milk.
Finally, I had to write an original public service announcement that had to be exactly 30 seconds long. Mine was about how October is cheese month and I also used this to play up tailgating. I was worried that I was not going to win an award with my radio spot because the first time I recorded it, it was only 29 seconds. So I thought, "Well, I can go one second slower." So I tried again and it ended up being 28 seconds. I went faster! I could have kicked myself but we only got two chances to record it. So when we went to the awards luncheon and they started to announce the winners, the girls who hit the 30-second mark were called as the honorable mentions and I thought, "Well, there's no way that I won then."
However, as they called first place I heard my name! I won the radio spot contest! I was so excited, until I remembered that I had to read it on stage later that night at the pageant. I wasn't worried about talking in front of everyone; I was worried because the only two copies of my PSA I turned in to the judges. I had to either think of it and rewrite it or ask Jessica, the state coordinator, if she had a copy of it. Thankfully, she did so everything was OK.
Pageant was very fun and very hard all at the same time. I was happy to see everyone again. I did not win a state title, but that's OK, that means that I get to do more here in the county with all of you.
This week the recipes are all about cheese for breakfast. I hope that you all will enjoy these breakfast dishes as much as I do.
Cheesy Chile and
Egg Bake
1 package (12 ounces) bulk pork sausage
1 bag (28 ounces) frozen potatoes O'Brien with onions and peppers, thawed and drained
1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese with Jalapeno peppers (8 ounces)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick mix
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup tortilla chips, crushed (1/2 cup)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage over medium high heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.
In ungreased 13x9-inch glass baking dish, mix sausage, uncooked potatoes, chilies and 1 cup of the cheese.
In a large bowl, beat Bisquick mix, salt, milk, sour cream and eggs with wire whisk or fork until blended. Pour over potato mixture.
Bake uncovered 35-45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with crushed chips and remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake about 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Scrambled Egg Biscuit Cups
2 cups Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk
8 eggs
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup 4-cheese pasta sauce
3 tablespoons real bacon bits (from 3-ounce package or jar)
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Additional real bacon bits, if desired
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray bottom only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix Bisquick mix, cheese and 1/2 cup milk until soft dough forms. Place dough on surface sprinkle with Bisquick mix. Shape into a ball, knead 4 or 5 times. Shape into 10-inch roll. Cut roll into 12 pieces. Press each piece in bottom and up side of each muffin cup, forming edge at rim. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. With back of spoon, press puffed crust in each cup to make indentation.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, remaining 1/4 cup milk and the pepper until well blended. In 10-in nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add egg mixture. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until firm but still moist. Fold in pasta sauce and bacon until blended. To remove biscuit cups from pan, run knife around edge of cups. Spoon egg mixture into biscuit cups. Sprinkle tops with chives and bacon.
