Club Roll-Ups — When the Week's Work Earns Something Simple

Hay cut. Hay raked. Hay baled. Three days of farrier work. Two ranches in the county. Eleven horses. The body is tired in the right way.

Patrick on the porch in the afternoon. Coffee in the good cup. The cottonwoods. Tuesday meeting in Roundup. Eight regulars. Three vets. I do not lead. I show up.

Beef burgers in the backyard. The standard. Eighty-twenty grind. Cheddar from the local creamery.

Tomorrow I move the herd to the upper pasture. That is the next thing.

Took a walk to the river before supper Tuesday. The cottonwoods were silver. The water was running. I did not think much. I just walked.

Hauled three bull calves to the auction yard Wednesday. Got a fair price. Came home. Counted the cash. Put it in the ranch account.

The wood pile is half what it was at Thanksgiving. I will split another cord on Saturday. The cord will be ready by next winter. The wood always is.

Mended the chute hinge Wednesday. Welder was finicky. Got it on the third try. Patrick used to do this. I do it now.

Hank, the dog, herded the chickens by accident. He apologized in the way dogs apologize — eyes down, tail low. The chickens were unimpressed.

A reader emailed about the elk chili recipe. Asked what beer to use if non-alcoholic was not available. I wrote back: any beer is wrong if you don't drink. Use stock.

The barn cats are doing their job. Down to one mouse this week, in the feed shed. The cats brought it to the porch as proof. They are professionals.

Drove to Billings for parts Friday. Stopped at the cemetery on the way home. Stood for ten minutes. Came home.

Three days of horses this week. The work is meditative. The horses know. The owners pay. The cycle holds.

The Tuesday Roundup AA meeting was eleven this week — three new guys from a referral. The room was full. The coffee was strong.

A neighbor's heifer was choking on a corn cob. I drove over with my emergency kit. Cleared the cob with a length of garden hose. The heifer recovered. The neighbor brought a pie the next day.

Listened to the cattle market report on AM radio while I worked the shop. Beef is up. Feed is up. The math is the math.

Worked on the truck Saturday afternoon. Plugs and wires. Two hours. Hands black with grease. Came in. Showered. Ate.

Drove the back fence line Saturday. Two posts down from elk. Replaced them in the morning. The fence held the rest of the week.

Wrote a blog post Friday night. The first one in two months. About making chili in a snowstorm. Short. Practical. Posted it. Forgot about it.

The Musselshell was clear Sunday. Could see trout in the deeper pools. Did not fish. Just watched.

Storm came through Friday night. Thunder. The dog hid under the bed. The kids slept through it. The cattle bunched up by the windbreak. Standard.

Truck started cold Tuesday. Twelve below. Battery is the original. I will replace it before next winter. I always say I will replace it before next winter. I never have.

Mr. Whelan from down the road came over Saturday with a story about a horse he sold in 1979. The story took an hour. I listened. He needed someone to tell it to.

The burgers got made Tuesday, but by Friday I wanted something I could put together without firing up the grill — hands still sore from the chute work, shop grease under the nails even after the shower. Club roll-ups are what I make when the day has already asked enough. Everything stacked, rolled, done. Cheddar’s in the fridge from the same creamery anyway.

Club Roll-Ups

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 6 oz deli turkey, thinly sliced
• 6 oz deli ham, thinly sliced
• 8 strips cooked bacon
• 4 slices cheddar cheese
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 cup romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Mix the spread. In a small bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard. Stir until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Spread the base. Lay a flour tortilla flat on a clean surface. Spread a generous layer of the cream cheese mixture across the entire surface, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges.
3. Layer the fillings. Lay down a slice each of cheddar and Swiss, then layer the turkey and ham evenly over the cheese. Add two strips of bacon across the center. Top with a portion of lettuce, two or three tomato slices, and a few rings of red onion.
4. Roll tight. Starting from the edge closest to you, roll the tortilla firmly and evenly, keeping the filling tucked in as you go. Roll all the way to the far edge and press gently to seal.
5. Slice and serve. Using a sharp knife, slice each roll-up in half on the diagonal, or cut into 1-inch pinwheels if serving as an appetizer. Serve immediately or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 1180mg