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How to make Momma 10- Bar's Chicken Casserole

2/25/2021

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"Nothing brings people together like Momma's cooking"- Unknown
picnic lunch with the girls
Nothing better than Momma 10-Bar's homemade picnic lunches

Momma 10-Bar's Chicken Casserole

Momma 10-Bar is known for her amazing dishes on the table, that fuel our bodies so  our family operation runs smoother. One of her staple meals is Chicken Casserole, adapted from a traditional Tuna Casserole to most of the world. Momma 10-Bar focuses on yummy meals that can be served right out of the oven or be frozen for a rainy day. Chicken Casserole brings elements fresh from the farm and combines them with your staple kitchen ingredients, creating a flavor explosion in your mouth. 

Enjoying a meal with the family is sometimes a rare occurrence during the week. With everyone's individual events, from rodeos, sports and even just feeding the animals it can be rough to find the time. Freezer meals have saved us during rodeo season. Having something from home to eat brings comfort and is a great way to calm the kids nerves. Chicken Casserole is delicious and easy; even tastes amazing after being frozen. Momma 10-Bar’s Chicken Casserole is a perfect staple food for western lifestyle. 

Step 1: Steam Carrots

vegetable preperation
chopped carrots
The first step to any good recipe is to make sure you have all your ingredients together, and then begin the prep work. First step Momma 10-Bar recommends is chop the carrots into small circles or chunks. After cutting the carrots steam them for 2-3 minutes until soft. ​

Step 2: Bring water to a boil and add noddles 

Egg Pasta noddles
Best casserole noodles

After you have got your carrots chopped and ready to go, in a large pot bring water to a boil. Once your water is boiling add your three cups of egg pasta noddles. Everyone is different when it comes to the tenderness of their noodles, boil your noodles for about 6 minutes a dente. Drain the noodles and add in your steamed carrots. 

Step 3: Drain chicken 

Shredded chicken
Shredded chicken ready to go
The original dish calls for tuna fish, however our family has always loved beef and chicken. You can use fish, canned chicken or cubbed chicken depending on your preference. Using your choice of meat, saute the meat and add it to your noddles and carrots.

Step 4: Cream Mixture

Cream mix
Sauce ingredients
Measure out the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, milk, mayo and lemon juice. Combine each of the wet ingredients in a bowl and mix  well. 
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Sauce Mix completed

Step 5: Add cheese to noodles 

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Cheese added to the noodle mix
If you haven’t already, drain your carrots and noodles. Combine and mix the noodles, carrots, chicken together, then add your shredded cheese in a large bowl. 

Step 6: Combine sauce and noodles

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After you have completed step 5, gently pour the cream mixture over the noodles, carrots, shredded chicken and cheese mixture. Mix the sauce in with the noodles to the consistency desired. 

Step 7: Crush Ritz cracker topping 

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In a ziplock bag crush one sleeve of ritz crackers. Feel free to add more crackers depending on your preference. Once ritz crackers are crushed add 1/2 cup grated cheese, salt and pepper and spices to taste and mix well in the zip lock bag.

Step 8: Spoon Casserole into Pan

Picture
Casserole ready for the oven
Spoon the casserole mix into a 9x13 pan and top with cracker/cheese mixture. At this step you can choose to freeze the casserole for a later day. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve hot and ready to your family. If you choose to freeze the casserole, cover it with tinfoil and place it in the freezer. When you are ready to eat it thaw in the fridge overnight then bake 350 for 45 min to 1 hour. ​

Ingredients

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Ingredients for Casserole topping
1 can cream of chicken soup 

½ c sour cream 

¾ c milk 

½ c mayo 

1 can shredded chicken (or meat of your choosing)

1 c cheddar cheese 

½ t salt and pepper

1 T lemon juice 

3 c cooked noodles 
​

Top with crushed ritz crackers and then bake
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Enjoy your meal from our home to yours
We are on a journey to bridge the gap between producer and consumer by sharing our dream, knowledge and experience with the world. Hold on tight the ride is only 8 seconds long. 
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10 Lessons of Ranch Life

2/18/2021

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I would rather be on my farm, than be emperor of the world." - George Washington 
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Ranch views

Ranch What?

Every day on the ranch is a new experience, and with experience comes wisdom. Some of the wisdom gained is learned through a period of trial and error. Choosing to live a country lifestyle teaches you lessons in many shapes, sizes and varieties. Some of these lessons are welcomed with open arms, others are great stories later on. We have learned so much from our farm, and want to share 10  quick lessons learned on the ranch. 
Girl with her black club bottle calf
Clara and her bottle calf

The 10 Lessons 

1: Put the light in the chicken coop before it freezes, or you'll have frozen eggs for breakfast 

This last year didn't get too cold at the ranch until late December. We had just upgraded our chicken coop and honestly didn't even think anything of the colder weather. One morning after it first snowed, Ellie (8) came in from collecting eggs. She wanted some eggs for breakfast, so she cracked on a freshly gathered egg to find it a little frozen. Needless to say if you don't have a heat light in your coop your eggs might freeze and breakfast takes twice as long.  
Farm fresh egg frozen
A look inside a frozen egg...

2: ​Don’t wait for the hose. Fill your buckets and carry them to water the horses. It makes strong muscles and good kids

Momma didn't raise no sissys. Being in a large family we all had animals to take care of and sometimes one hose wasn't enough. We kids got "farmer" strong from hauling water to different animals and getting our work done. 
Horse Riding through the Utah Mountains
Mountain ride flex

3: Always remember to chain the gate shut.—Otherwise mom gets to catch the horses all by herself while the kids are at school. 

How many times has this happened in your family? During the school year all the kids are at school and there have been multiple times horses, dogs, goats... you name it have gotten out. Luckily they are all pretty good to catch, but we always get an earful when we get home. :)
Mom with Blue Merle Aussie
BTS Family pictures 2020 Audra and Cassie

4: Play hard, work Hard! Go ahead and eat the dirt, the doctor says it keeps you healthy!

A couple years ago, Cam, told one of her friends the reason she wasn't allergic to anything was because she ate dirt as a kid. There is a lot of dirt involved in ranch life and a little dirt never hurt anyone. Whether it's working hard or playing hard dirt is always involved somehow, even if its a little mud wrestling. 
Little girl after playing in the farm mud
Ru, working hard or playing?

5: When dad says we have a half days work that means 12 hours, remember there are 24 hours in a day
​

It took us kids a little bit of time to figure this one out. When dad would say we only had a little bit of work the general assumption was we would be done by noon. The work is never done and even those 12 hours are not always enough. 
Dad working on a farm truck transmission with the boys
The boys working on the farm truck

6: Frank and Liz are the goats not the neighbors 
​

A year ago the kids got some goats to practice goat tying. The littles decided to name them Frank and Liz. A while later someone came to visit and we told them we needed to go get Frank and Liz so they could meet them. Imagine the surprise when she was greeted by two little goats instead of people. Never assume when hearing a name, especially on a farm. 
Little girl holding brown nubian goats
Ru with Frank and Liz

7: There is always time for a quick workout, it just may not be in a gym ​

When there is no time for the gym you get creative with your workouts. Like mentioned above, you can always haul water around. There is always some hay to move or a dog to carry. 
Moving straw into the barn
Hink moving some straw into the barn

8: If you can’t do farm chores in it, it isn’t worth owning 
​

Despite whether you like it or not chores have to be done everyday. Sometimes you have to run out to take care of something in whatever you have on. Even with the best planning, some days you gotta do what you gotta do. If you can't take care of a sick animal or feed in the outfit, it may not be worth owning. 
Girls in skirts and muck boots caring for animals
Who said we don't have style?

9: The quickest way to get the kids out of bed is to holler “cows/horses are out” 

There have been multiple mornings where we have been woken up at all hours of the night to help get cows back in. One morning we were in such a hurry to get saddled and find them that almost everyone just threw on some boots and left the house in there pajamas. One of the best memories we have together as siblings is that morning in our pjs, singing at the top of our lungs and moving cows. 
Girls in pjs with their horses
The girls coming home from rounding up cows

10: When your favorite critter dies, it's ok to cry 

Losing an animal is never easy. It is hard sometimes to understand why even after all your hard work they don't make it. No matter how hard you try to save them, there are times when they just don't make it. This is one of the hardest lessons to learn. We have lost sheep, horses, dogs and cows. With each one it never gets any easier. It's ok to cry and feel sad but then it’s time to buck up and know you did all you could. You learn from these moments and they make you better. 
Boy kneeling beside a newly dug dog grave
We are on a journey to bridge the gap between producer and consumer by sharing our dream, knowledge and experience with the world. Hold on tight the ride is only 8 seconds long. ​
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For the Love of a Horse

2/4/2021

2 Comments

 

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle - Winston Churchill

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The Girl at the Spanish Fork Arena

The Story of a Girl 

The oldest of the Morley girls, is a blonde haired, blue eyed wild haired spitfire. For Cam, the back of a horse was her favorite place to be. Her Dad used to take her for rides on their bay horse Poki growing up, where her peals of laughter could be heard all around. One afternoon as they were riding together, little Cam begged her dad to let her hold the reins and control the big ol’ bay. As they rode around, she guided the horse with the reins but the bay decided he wanted a snack and reached down to eat, pulling the reins from her hands. Rich, her dad got down from the saddle to retrieve the reins, and as he went to step into the stirrup Poki spooked and began to run. At first Cam was thrilled at going fast but quickly realized this was not the kind of ride she wanted. Rich shouted loudly for her to hold tight to the horn, but no sooner had the words left his lips then the big old bay turned the corner of the field sharply and little Cam came tumbling off. 
​

Cam was unharmed and quickly recovered, however that day a small fear was born. Cam loved horses, she talked of horses, she dreamed of horses, she even fed the family horses but she couldn’t get over the small nagging in her stomach. Anytime she thought about riding a horse her stomach would plummet. Cam loved to ride, she wanted to ride but she couldn’t seem to get over that fear. Rich and Audra  knew how much she wanted to ride and saw how hard she worked every summer to overcome her fear of riding to compete in 4-H. They put her in horse lessons where she would sometimes cry but always come home grateful she went. One winter Cam’s parents bought her a pony that was her responsibility to ride. The pony was a 4 year old black welsh quarter horse named Cracker Jack. Although he was gentle he still needed some work and Cam was terrified of going above a small little trot. 
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Peaches the Pony

As the Tables Turned

That Spring our family moved to Arizona. We came back up to visit extended family and Cam was about 12 at the time. Audra’s brother had a pony they called Peaches and he asked if Cam would be willing to give Peaches a tune up. Not wanting to disappoint her uncle and always doing better with a little audience, Cam agreed. The first day she worked with the pony she was terrified, but with a little pride she swallowed a gulp of fear and worked with the pony.  The next three weeks went by quickly and each day Cam pushed her confidence on the pony a little further. By the time our family returned home Cam was excitedly talking about all the things she wanted to do with the ponies Halley and Cracker Jack. That summer we noticed a change in Cam because  she realized she was better than her fear believed her to be. Cam began to ride faster than a trot, and got to the point where she would do just about anything on the ponies. Soon Cam wasn’t scared of the family horses either but the fear didn’t just disappear overnight. 

​Cam felt accomplished in riding the family’s horses but anytime she rode a new horse or even thought about riding a new horse her old friend feared coming running back. Cam loved horses so much that the fear was actually crippling and hard to deal with. As the years went on Cam learned how to cope with her fear and often had to “cowgirl up” as she called it to fulfill her dreams. As Cam grew older, so did her desire to help others who allowed their fear to stop them from riding.

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El learning how to pick out Supreme's feet

Confidence of a Queen

Cam began teaching horse lessons at the age of 14 for beginner riders, using the same ponies that had done so much for her confidence. You could often walk by a lesson and hear her telling bits of her story to her students, encouraging them to not give in to fear. However there was one fear that was keeping her from a desire she had always had. Cam had always wanted to be a rodeo queen, and advocate for the sport of rodeo. However, whenever the time came to try out she would find an excuse. 

​A couple years after High School and not having been able to ride a horse for almost two years Cam remembered all the progress she had made in her horse journey and decided to “cowgirl up.” Cam found a horse who could spin and stop, she signed all the local rodeo queen paperwork and she decided to give it her best shot. Cam had only rode her horse three times before the competition and was terrified of looking stupid. She was so nervous and she knew her horse could feel it. Cam didn’t win that year or the next year when she tried out, but she grew so much as a competitor. Cam had almost given up on her rodeo queen aspirations when a friend encouraged her to try one last time for her college rodeo queen competition. 
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Cam and the Draw Horse

Overcoming with a Win

The day of the competition Cam took a deep breath as her old friend of fear crept back into her mind. For this competition they did something called draw horses, where people from around the community brought horses for the contestants to ride. 

Cam looked at herself all dolled up in the mirror and said “you are a horsewomen, you speak with knowledge and grace, you ride tall in the saddle, you are not afraid to be you, you are better than you think you are.” With a smile on her face and a prayer in her heart Cam walked in already a queen. She rocked her interview. She danced her heart out, spoke with clarity during her speech and rode a horse she had never seen before with all the confidence in the world. You might ask yourself what changed? How did a scared little girl go from hardly touching a horse to riding a horse she had never seen before, in a competition and winning? Well, it was the love of a horse. ​
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Great American Queen 2019, Cam and her attendant

A Story for the Ages

My love of horses has been with me as long as I can remember. It was really hard growing up and being so scared of my greatest passion. I will probably deal with a little fear around horses the rest of my life but I choose to let my love of the ride win. My story has taught me a lot about life. Fear is very present in our everyday lives and can keep us from accomplishing some pretty amazing stuff if we let it. Ultimately it falls on us to decide if we are going to let fear win out or if you are going to pursue the scary. Always follow your dreams and don’t let fear keep you from riding your race. 
​- Cam 

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Cam and her boy Buck 2016
We are on a journey to bridge the gap between producer and consumer by sharing our dream, knowledge and experience with the world. Hold on tight the ride is only 8 seconds long. 
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    Sisters of the 10-Bar-Y Brand sharing stories and updates from the ranch. 

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