That isn't burnt, that’s flavor!
That isn't burnt, that’s flavor!
By Amy Haldorson
Last fall we had an insured stop in to make a claim. He looked a little different from the last time we saw him and I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I realized, he was missing eyebrows, eyelashes, and arm hair he pointed out. I knew immediately what the claim was going to be….he must have had a grill fire. We have seen a few insurance claims where people have had their grills blow up and cause all sorts of damage. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, about 5,7000 grill fires take place on residential property every year, most caused by malfunctioning gas grills. These fires cause an annual average of $37 million in damage, 100 injuries and 10 fatalities. Thankfully we haven't seen major injuries, but it can easily happen. During windy days or cold days, people like to grill in their garages. Unfortunately this is not ideal as it can cause damage to your property. That is what happened to our insured. He was grilling inside his garage and his grill exploded The entire garage was filled with smoke causing soot damage to the newly painted walls. No possessions caught fire, but a gust of wind could of changed that. In the instance of a grill fire, spreading to your property, your homeowners insurance provides financial protection, as fire is a covered peril. A standard policy covers:
· Damage to the house itself
· Damage to personal possessions, such as lawn furniture
· Damage to insured structures on your property, such as a shed
· Injuries to a guest, under the liability portion of the policy
There are some ways to prevent accidents from happening. Gas grills are generally safe if they are properly maintained and checked for leaks. Here are some safety tips when setting up for the grilling season:
· Check grill hoses for cracks or holes
· Check for blockages
· Adjust hoses away from hot area or where grease might drip on them
· Cover your grill when cooled
· Store propane tanks outside, away from your house
As for our insured, we helped him to make sure his claim went smoothly and recommended a big bottle of Rogaine!
Posted on July 9th, 2019
Recipe of the Month
Recipe of the Month
RHUBARB-RASPBERRY SLUSH (Adult Beverage 21+)
6 cups chopped rhubarb
6 cups water
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cups lemon juice
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until rhubarb is tender. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain mixture.
Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups vodka (for a rhubarb-vodka-slush) and 1 small package of raspberry jello.
Pour into an ice cream pail and freeze it. Scoop into glasses and add a little ginger-ale or 7-up.
*You can increase the fruit, or take away the sugar. Sour or sweet, adjust the ingredients accordingly. You can't "hurt" the outcome and you can adjust until you get it just right. You may discover a different kind of soda to add instead of the one suggested. It will be just as good as any other choice. Some slush recipes contain alcohol, some do not. Again, that is a personal preference. All you really have to do is freeze it.
Posted on June 19th, 2019
Recipe of the Month
Recipe of the Month
Shepherd's Pie
By Amy Haldorson
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 onion, diced
2 lbs. ground beef or lamb
1.3 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika
1/8 ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. ketchup
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cup water
1 pkg frozen peas
2 1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled and halved
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cream cheese
1/4 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place oil and butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in onion and meat. Brown meat. Stir in flour, then mix in salt, pepper, paprika, cinnamon, ketchup and garlic. Cook about 2 min. Stir in water. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer, cook until thick about 5-6 min. Remove meat mixture from heat and stir in peas. Spread meat mixture into the bottom of 9x13 in baking dish.
Place potatoes into a large pan of salted water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until tender. Drain and return potatoes to pan. Mash with butter, cayenne pepper, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Whisk together egg yolk and milk into a small bowl and stir into the potatoes. Top the meat mixture with mashed potatoes and spread evenly to cover. Bake in a preheated oven until the top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling up, about 25-30 min.
Posted on March 13th, 2019
Recipe of the month
Spaghetti Squash
By: Michelle Weinmann
I make this all the time and we have ended up liking this better than regular spaghetti.
First Bake the Squash:
Cut squash in half lengthwise and cut off stem. Scoop out seeds. Drizzle the inside flesh with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake on a sheet face down at 375 for about 40 min or until you can flake the insides with a fork.
Next, fill the Squash:
While the squash is cooking, brown up some hamburger or ground turkey. You can use 1/2 Italian sausage or whatever you like. I fry it with some onions or mushrooms/zucchini, or however you usually make your spaghetti meat. I put in my sauce, Italian seasonings as needed or grate in some Romano cheese. When the squash is done you will want to use a fork and stir around the inside of the squash so they look like noodles. Then I fill each squash half with the meat sauce or meatballs (or use just sauce if you don’t like meat). Then top each "spaghetti boat" with mozzarella and I like to sprinkle a little parmesan on top. Put it back in the oven (face up) until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with a little Italian parsley if you like. We eat it right out of the squash skins, or you can scoop it out onto a plate. This squash recipe is so versatile, yummy & healthy!
Posted on January 9th, 2019
NuLine’s Employee Spotlight
NuLine’s Employee Spotlight
It’s true what they say, timing is everything! NuLine is starting out the New Year with a new face in the office. Welcome Monica Mason! Monica is actually not-so-new around the office. She came to NuLine at the perfect time, right before Labor Day, when we needed someone to help handle our day to day while Michelle was out having her baby! Who better to fill in than an experienced, licensed agent like Monica. She came to us on a temporary basis and we liked her so much we decided to keep her around permanently! Monica will be working in both our Harvey and Maddock locations, which is perfect since she lives in Fessenden. Monica graduated from Carrington High School and has a strong farming background. Not only is Monica a Licensed Insurance Agent, she is currently working on her AINS designation (Associate in General Insurance). When Monica isn’t wearing her insurance hat, she is busy doing life - being a mom of 4 + 1 fur baby is another full time job! She has 2 girls (Jadyn 14 & Fiona 5), 2 boys (Gavin 12 & Owen 9) and an idiotic, but loveable French Bulldog named Gus. After work you can find her coaching volleyball, sitting at one of her school board meetings, volunteering around the community, teaching her little ones her fabulous cooking skills or taking the kids ice fishing—even if they just end up getting skunked and spending quality time in the ice castle. We are very excited to have Monica as a part of our team and hopefully she has just as much fun being a part of our crazy bunch. Welcome Monica!
Posted on January 2nd, 2019
Recipe of the Month
Triple Layer Fudgy Mint Oreo Brownies
Ingredients:
One 7oz jar marshmallow fluff
1/8 teaspoon mint extract
Green food coloring
1 box brownie mix
Frosting and Topping:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Splash of milk
3/4 white chocolate chips, melted
18 regular or mint Oreo cookies, crumbles
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray.
2. Filling-In medium bowl, stir together marshmallow flush, mint extract, about 4 drops of food coloring.
3. Stir together brownie mix and Oreos.
4. Drop about 1/2 cup green filling onto brownie batter and reserve the remainder. Gently pull a table knife through the batter in an S shape for a swirl design.
5. Bake 23-25 min. Cool completely.
6. Add melted white chocolate chips and frosting to reserved marshmallow mixture.
7. Stir in 4 drops food coloring and spread over cooled brownies
8. Sprinkle with Oreo cookies and chill
Posted on December 18th, 2018
Employee Spotlight
Employee Spotlight
Collin Mertz is the newest member to the NuLine team. He came to us in August as a business coop student. Collin is a senior at Harvey High School, where he is involved in many activities including FBLA, wrestling and football. He grew up on a farm near Harvey. Collin is the son of James and Jenn Mertz and he is one of four boys in his family. In his spare time, he can be found helping on the family farm. With farming as his passion, Collin plans to attend BSC in Bismarck next fall with a major in farm and ranch management. When he's not helping his family, he spends his free time lifting weights, hanging with friends or riding dirt bike. With Collins farming experience, he has been a big asset to our company, helping with our crop insurance. He has been helpful in other areas as well, such as data input, doing supply runs, filing and any other office duties we may need completed. Collin’s presence in our office has been very positive and we look forward to helping him grow his knowledge and experience with farming. Collin is doing a great job so far and we are appreciative of all the hard work. We are excited for the fun experience having him as our coop student this year!
Posted on November 8th, 2018
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
“As cooler weather approaches, I'm always looking for warm hearty comfort food, and this is it!"
Ingredients:
1 pound of penne pasta
6 strips of bacon diced
2 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 packet of ranch seasoning mix
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts-cut into pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions: Start by cooking your pasta, draining it, and setting it aside. While you are making your noodles, cook your bacon in a skillet. Drain the grease but keep 1 tbsp. of bacon drippings in the pan. Add a tbsp. of butter to the bacon drippings and toss in your chicken breast pieces. Cook until no longer pink. Pour the ranch dressing mix and flour over chicken then add 2 cups of milk. Stir until it is bubbly and thick. Add the cheese and half of your diced bacon. Stir until melted. Combine the sauce and noodles together and add salt and pepper. Top off with the extra bacon pieces and ENJOY!
Posted on October 10th, 2018
Adventures in an Uber!
Adventures in an Uber!
By Amy Haldorson
This day in age, ride sourcing has become the norm. Its rare to find a larger city that does not have Uber or Lyft. These ways of travel are convenient, most times inexpensive and also an excellent source of income.
Having used this form of transportation many times, I thought I was familiar with everything when it came to the process. Recently, I found myself in an uncomfortable Uber situation to say the least. I was in a large city a few weeks ago needing a ride. Everything went smoothly like always, until the driver pulled up to my destination. I quickly flung open my door and at that exact time another car came flying by crashing into my open door. I heard the sound of crunching and was almost too scared to look. The door hadn't completely come off, so I very carefully reached out and shut the door as best I could. I looked up at the Uber driver who was staring wide eyed at me. I'm pretty sure I had the same look on my face. I said, thank you for the ride sir, handed him a ten and got out of the car as fast as I could. I looked around for the other vehicle which was long gone, not stopping to survey the damage. I was at a loss when it came to knowing what to do in this situation. I felt bad for him, as I looked back seeing him looking at his vehicle and cringing. Somehow I don’t think the 5 star rating I gave him was going to be of any comfort.
My mind immediately went to insurance. Who was liable for the damage? Uber requires all of their drivers to have car insurance and provide supplemental insurance coverage, but only while the app is on. When the Uber app is off, a driver is covered by their own personal car insurance. In this situation, the Uber’s app will still on and so Uber’s insurance still covered the incident.
If you choose to become an Uber or Lyft driver yourself, your personal auto insurance will probably not be enough coverage while you are driving for the company. If you are considering doing this for a profession, it is always a good idea to first check with your insurance agent to make sure you have all the right coverages in place.
Posted on October 2nd, 2018
Driving Adventures With My Teenager
Driving Adventures With My Teenager
By Amy Haldorson
The day is finally here. I always knew it would come, but no one really prepared me for the most frightening, hair-raising, terrifying event in my life. That’s right people, you guessed it….my teen is now a driver. I had always imagined my little girl and I going for her first driving lesson. We would be laughing together, I’d help her with her first parallel park, she’d maybe even look over at me at some point and say, you know mom, I love us spending time together. My fantasy was soon crushed when we did in fact get my daughter behind the wheel for the first time. I watched as she adjusted her seat, mirrors, fixed her hair, and turned off my 90s hip hop, the usual. I tried giving her a little instruction as she backed up and was met with “omg mom, can you be more annoying". She’s right, this is her time to shift into adulthood. I sat back and smiled, she's got this, why am I worrying? Crunch! Yep, that just happened. She hit her father’s vehicle just backing out of the driveway. I very calmly told her to turn off the car and I walked back to my house. This concludes the driving lesson for today. We will try again tomorrow. Not all new driver situations are this scary. Some kids actually make it out of the driveway. Once your student has finally gotten their license, its time to think about insurance. Many people ask us, do I have to even let my insurance know if my teen only drives my vehicle, or will my insurance go up if my teen is listed on my policy. To answer these questions, if your child is licensed, yes, they need to be rated as a driver on your insurance plan and it will go up! Individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 are considered the most risky drivers to insure. Fun fact: the most expensive state to add a teen driver is Rhode Island. They have an average premium increase of 137%. North Dakota ranks 4th least expensive with an average increase of 61%! There are some ways, however, to offset the cost. Insurance companies offer a good student discount (B average or 3.0 GPA), which a lot of people don’t realize. We recently had a customer who added her teenage son. When, she did, the premium increased by $450/year. Thankfully when speaking to her, we were able to get her son’s grades into the company and they received a good student discount, which gave them a discount of $150/year, which every little bit helps! Also, something to consider when getting your child a their first vehicle, is the type of vehicle will affect the insurance. Different cars rate differently with insurance. A newer car will obviously make for a higher premium because of the vehicle symbol being higher and whether or not full coverage or liability only is needed. My parents did the smart thing with me even though at the time, I was sure my life was over. My first vehicle was an old ‘85 Buick. An older, less fancy car rates much lower, so I can appreciate them trying to save money. So, when they say, Oh Mom, c’mon that car is not good enough, just give us a call and we will run the numbers for you to show them the cost differences. And, remember—your kids are always watching what you do—drive with that in mind!
Posted on September 11th, 2018