Thursday, February 19, 2026
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Taco Soup

By
Debbie Dance Uhrig
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Thought I would start this column with a culinary tip or two. The last time we put new silverware in our home we bought about 4 dozen place settings. For some folks that seems like overkill, but when you entertain a great deal, it’s wise. I also didn’t purchase my silverware from the normal place. Ours came from a large restaurant supplier. I purchased a heavy, good quality design that wouldn’t go out of style. However; there were two items not in my pattern, a soup spoon and ice tea spoons. Before Bed, Bath & Beyond went out of business I purchased at least 6-8 ice tea spoons that went nicely with my silverware set. I didn’t drop a great deal of money on them, back then they were around $2.00 per piece. I am getting to the ‘tip’ I promise. The thing about ice tea spoons is how handy they are for other things besides ice tea. One would be stirring up a glass of chocolate milk, but the biggest plus we have found is how wonderful they are in a jelly or jam jar. No more sticky spoon handles!! I know there’s a couple of other uses we have commented on, but at this very moment, I can’t remember them!

With the cold weather moving in this weekend, I thought a soup was in line for the column. This recipe has to be one of the easiest I’ve ever made and it is so so simple & delicious. It comes from my good friend, Tara. The recipe calls for a rotisserie chicken, but of course, you can easily change this out.

One of the must haves with taco soup are the toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced avocado and perhaps a few crumbled tortilla strips or chips. Personally, I would enjoy the soup with a piece of avocado toast. This would also be a good excuse for a pan of homemade cornbread.

In the winter months it is important to keep plenty of canned goods on hand. Soups and stews are easy to make on a cold day, but it’s no fun if you have to pull on the hat, boots, gloves and coat and head to the grocery store. Which could have been avoided had you kept the pantry well-stocked. Tip: This week chicken breasts were on sale, boneless/skinless, so off we went to get a couple of pkgs. for the freezer. If you can it’s also nice to cook 3-4 and vacuum seal them for recipes. Those of us who work, will enjoy having the meat already cooked when we walk in the door at 6pm, and need to start a fast meal.

From an instructions point of view this doesn’t get much easier. Sauté the onions and then put all the ingredients in the cookpot and heat! I just concurred with my spouse, Ervin, and he has agreed to pick up the ingredients tomorrow so I can make this the day after. (See, I wasn’t totally prepared either!)

The past weekend found me cleaning and sorting holiday/winter décor and getting everything to the basement, as I prepare for a BIG and I mean BIG clean-out. I was able to get to the 70% off sale at Martin’s in Springfield. This is a wonderful, wonderful floral store. Yep, I even got 2-3 Christmas presents for next year. Those I’m sealing in bags with a label. I love it when I can think ahead of the game. Sorta’ like the cloud biscuits I made for the freezer on Saturday.

OK gang, time to hang up my laundry and get this yummy column all set. Enjoy the week, it’s all up to you, to make it a good one!

Simple Taco Soup by Tara Jackson

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 rotisserie hen, picked into small pieces

4 cans mixed chili beans, undrained

2 cans corn, undrained

2 cans rotel, undrained

2 small cans tomato sauce

2 pkgs. Taco seasoning, (Tara likes Taco Bell)

3 cups water

Sauté onion in a tablespoon of olive oil, in large stockpot. Add all the remaining ingredients. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Top with shredded cheeses, sour cream, avocado and perhaps tortilla strips or chips. This usually serves 6-8 persons nicely.

You know what I’m thinking???? This soup would ‘can’ in the pressure cooker real nice, to put into quart jars etc. This would also make a good gift item!

Jake and the Bone Pile

By
Steve Gilliland
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It seems these days I do a lot of reminiscing about hunting and trapping adventures I’ve had over the years. Today, as I sat watching our two small pups napping on the couch, and contemplated a recent request I’d had to trap some problem beavers, stories of dogs I have known and beavers I have caught came flooding back. One story from years ago happened during trapping season and involved an old dog my sister had that was quite entertaining, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Call it a problem, or call it an inconvenience, but a challenge for all of us hunters, fishermen and trappers who don’t live in the country or who don’t own land, is finding a place to unload carcasses and those “parts and pieces” remaining after cleaning fish and game. A friend recently told me that this summer someone had cleaned a mess of frogs and deposited the remains on the back corner of their property without permission; not good, and NO it wasn’t me! Anyway, that reminded me of this “incident” some years back, involving the above-mentioned dog.

My sister had an old dog named Jake, a stray as I remember it. Jake was old and a little crippled and was kind of the color of light brown gravy. Jake often seemed dumber than a bag of hammers, but he knew no strangers. He was big and stocky and when his tail got to waggin’ his whole back-end wagged. His back half would fling from side-to-side so violently I often expected something from back there to come loose and fly across the yard! He always greeted visitors with something in his mouth, wanting to play fetch; trouble was, that “something” was always a 2×4 or a tree limb about 4 feet long, and once his body got to waggin’ with his chosen tree limb or 2×4 in his mouth, he could easily take you out with a whack across the legs. Ole’ Jake’s obsession took him far and wide over the farm to find just the right object to carry around in his position as head greeter there.

Every livestock farm, like it or not has occasional casualties from sickness or cold weather. And every livestock farm has a “bone pile,” a spot somewhere in the “back 40” where carcasses can be dumped in a ravine or a briar patch as a way to discreetly dispose of them while Mother Nature and the coyotes compost them. The first year I trapped beavers here in Kansas, I learned to take advantage of the bone pile on my sister’s farm, which was several hundred yards from the buildings, as a convenient way to dispose of beaver carcasses after I had removed their pelts. I had traps nearby, so every time I caught a beaver, I’d just carry the carcass with me the following morning and deposit it on the pile when I was in the neighborhood; very convenient for me.

One particularly cold morning I got a call from my sister; she sounded a little miffed, but I could tell she was on the verge of laughter even as we spoke. It seems she looked out into the yard this cold frozen morning to find Jake playing with his usual large prize, but something looked odd about that day’s trophy, so curiosity sent her into the yard to see just what he had found this time. As she approached, Jake’s back end began to wag feverishly, thinking someone was coming to play fetch with him and his prize, and he spun around joyfully and greeted her with a frozen beaver carcass from the bone pile clenched proudly in his big yap!

Yup, dogs are the epitome of unconditional love and acceptance. One minute they can seem dumber than a box of rocks, the next minute they curl up beside you in your old recliner and become your most

loyal friend, despite the names you have just called them for performing certain hygiene functions in the middle of the dining room. Everyone of working age in our society today could also learn from a dog’s exuberance to work and / or to please its master. Mutts, you gotta; love em’! Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].

New Year, New Us?

By
Dylan Yoder
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I’d like to start off by saying congratulations to everybody who made it into the new year! 2023 was rocky and let’s be honest, some moments were rather difficult, to say the least. Between the outbreak of war in the Middle East and the continuous struggle of Ukraine and Russia, there’s a lot that isn’t necessarily “ideal” about the world. But, like they say every year, New Year, new you. I know that’s cliche, but, it could also be true. As humans, we are always trying our best to grow and move past difficult things in our lives. While there are plenty of things we could be worrying about, there are more things we could be looking forward to. With that being said, let’s look at several things that 2024 is bringing to our doorstep. Things that we can be excited about.

First of all, starting off with the Olympics. Summer Olympics are set to kick off in Paris this year. So not only will there be plenty of tourism to that major city, but it will be paired with the greatest athletes of this day and age. Could you imagine a more packed place? Regardless, the Paris Olympics will be the 33rd iteration of the Summer Olympic Games and certainly an event to put on the activities calendar. After all, who doesn’t want to see Michael Phelps win approximately 13 more gold medals?

In other world news, we have the first American return to the Moon in a long while. Nasa’s Artemis II mission will bring american astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time since the end of the Apollo Missions in 1972 that’s 51 years ago in case you can’t count. A long time indeed. Additionally, the mission will bring the first African American and the first woman astronaut to the moon. The launch is set for November with intentions on looking into setting up a long term, human presence on the moon.

Another thing to look forward to in the realm of tech advancements is the development of ‘more useful’ AI systems. Artificial Intelligence has already taken huge strides forward in development throughout 2023, just imagine what could be possible in this next year. 2024 holds a whole world of possibility for application, development, and advancement of this new tool that humanity has to understand. Now, I can imagine there are a fair amount of you out there who are wary of the developments of robotic technology, and who’s to blame you for it. After all, we do have quite a lot of dystopian movies with humans vs robots as the tag. Not to worry though, American lawmakers are all over various regulations already. Besides, what good would worrying about something you can’t control bring?

With all these things being said, it’s important to note that this is not meant to be an outlook on 2024. Who know’s what the heck is bound to happen in this next year of chaos and adventure? We can already see about a million and a half movies and video games set to release. Not to mention the expanding job market and newer and newer art installations. Now of course, there will be bad things this year too, disease, war, and human strife is always rather sobering to the good in the world. But we must always remember that the best thing we can do about the future, is live in the present. We all know well enough that the only thing that is certain is who we are and where we’re going.

“Benefits of Pasteurization”

By
Guest Columnist
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My father-in-law is a farmer. He grew up on the family farm in southwest Minnesota, where his dad grew up, too. Blessed by fertile soil, the farm has provided for the family for several generations. It is invaluable for my children to experience the farm, see the crops grow, help with animals, and learn about the cycles of life on the farm.

The farm no longer has cows, but it did at one time. My father-in-law used to milk cows. He remembers they had a pasteurizer. His mother would pour in raw milk. The cream rose to the top, and the milk would have chunks of fat and protein in it, from curdling. He remembers thinking how lucky the townsfolk were, having cartons of smooth milk, without the chunks.

The process of pasteurizing milk was invented by Louis Pasteur over 150 years ago. One of the “fathers” of bacteriology, germ theory, and microbiology, he helped develop sterilization procedures to kill off bacteria. He disproved a common belief at the time in spontaneous generation, proving that living beings do not spontaneously arise out of nothing. He invented the process of treating milk to stop bacterial contamination, now known as pasteurization, named in his honor.

Rich in nutrients, milk is an excellent medium for growing bacteria. In pasteurization, milk is heated to destroy pathogens like bacteria and spoilage organisms like yeast and molds. This helps to extend the shelf life of milk. Very little nutrients are lost in the process, and often additional good nutrients are added like vitamin D and vitamin A.

Improperly handled raw milk is the leading cause of hospitalization for any food-borne disease source. Pasteurization can help prevent numerous diseases and kills the harmful bacteria Salmonella, Listeria, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli, among others.

As more and more people are further removed from farm life, some people do not know where or how their food is made. Some take for granted the work and steps in getting the food to the grocery store. It is the pasteurization of milk that allows it to be safely consumed by anyone, far from the farm. Without it, we could be at risk of getting sick from bad milk. Without it, we might not all be able to enjoy the nutritional benefits of milk, helpful for our bones and overall health.

Andrew Ellsworth, M.D. is part of The Prairie Doc® team of physicians and currently practices family medicine in Brookings, South Dakota. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org and on Facebook and instagram featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show celebrating its 22nd season of health information based on science, built on trust, live on Facebook most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.

Equine Assisted Programs For Veterans Mental Health

By
Frank Buchman
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Frank J Buchman
Frank Buchman

Dealing with post-traumatic stress and depression can be hard to combat, especially for those who have served our country.

A partnership with organizations aims to provide healing.

A 2022 report by the Department of Veterans Affairs revealed that an average of 16.8 veterans died by suicide each day in 2020.

Healing Strides is one of 12 programs nationwide partnering with Horses for Mental Health to provide well-being services for veterans and members of the Armed Forces, with funding from the VA Adaptive Sports Grant. The grant consists of mental health assistance through an equine-assisted learning curriculum.

“We’re going to be working on things like building resiliency, building trust back with self, which then allows us to build trust back with others, and the horses are wonderful for that because they really allow us to check in with ourselves and what we’re truly feeling inside that we try to hide sometimes, or we might not even understand what that is,” said Kassidy Earhart, equine specialist in mental health Learning.

Navy veteran John Igoe is looking to join the program. He said four years in the military came with challenges and stories that are hard to forget.

“I was on the honor guard and funeral detail, which was the highlight of my career, to be honest with you. When you’re burying people your age who have just come back from Vietnam, it gives you pause. And you see little children sitting in the front row; their dads are in that casket. That was very hard to do at times,” said Igoe.

Community Outreach Coordinator Deck Hardee said engaging with horses can create emotional safe spaces for veterans to work through those difficult life experiences.

“It breaks down those barriers and it is such a great non-traditional way of getting in. You start brushing the horse; the next thing know you start talking and it’s like, oh, I haven’t told that story in like 15 years, Oops. But then you feel better because you’ve told it and that’s the beauty of what we do,” said Hardee.

Stephen and Kasey Kelly are a military family who know first-hand what it’s like to struggle adjusting back to civilian life. Stephen was medically retired after 11 years in the Army but is finding healing through Healing Strides.

“I was very worried about losing the family and the brother and sister aspect of having someone always there, but we got here. It was nice because that’s when we kind of started building our community and understand this is where we can actually put down roots,” said Stephen Kelly.

“Having this opportunity and having a place where veterans can come and feel safe is super important to us as a family, it’s super important for our advocacy for veterans,” said Kasey Kelly.

The grant allows 18 veterans to be a part of this tw-hour-a-week, eight-week course. But Healing Strides said the goal is to expand the program.

Additional information can be found at healingstrideofva.org.

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