11/4/2009 6:00:00 PM COOK/Veterinarian grew up on dairy farm
By LEAH TOLBERT Staff Reporter
While growing up on a dairy farm in Union, Dr. Stacy Turner fell in love with animals and knew she wanted to be a veterinarian.
After Turner graduated from Union High, she attended Mississippi State University in order to obtain a degree in veterinary medicine and fulfill her childhood dreams.
Being a vet is about more than working with animals for her. It's also about people, and she's met some fairly interesting ones along the way.
"In a lot of cases animals are like children, so in a way it's like practicing medicine," she said. "Pets are different than the larger animals, like cows and horses, because people can get very attached to them."
Her favorite parts of her job are seeing an animals healed after they been under treatments for a while and seeing newly born kittens and puppies coming in for their first checkups.
Turner's first job as a vet was at a clinic in Amite, La., a place that's surrounded by farms. For the most part her first patients were cattle and other large animals.
She was there three years before deciding to move back to Union and practice near family. She and her husband, Nick, who's from Louisville, packed up and moved into Turner's grandparents home that adjoins the farm on which she was raised.
Turner joined the Neshoba County Animal Clinic with Dr. D. G. May, who had worked with the animals on her parents' farm.
Thankfully, her husband was also able to obtain a job nearby teaching anatomy and physiology at a Meridian school.
She and her Nick personally own two cats, a Scottish fold and a yellow tabby, and a horse, Sissy. Even though, Turner's always been a dog person, between her and her husband marrying and settling into their new home, there was no way to bring a dog into their lives.
"I want a big dog, and my husband wants a small dog that we can walk but won't walk us," she said. "I think we may compromise and get a medium-sized dog."
Turner and her husband recently celebrated their one-year anniversary, so they traveled to Meridian, stayed at a bed and breakfast, watched "The Wizard of Oz", performed at Meridian Community College, and visited Dunn's Falls among other places.
She hopes to go to the mountains for the first time with her husband this Thanksgiving, but that will depend on their schedules.
In her spare time, she likes to read non-fiction animal related books, take walks with her husband and take photographs. At Enon Baptist Church in the Golden Grove community, she sings and plays the organ.
She also cooks when she able. For the most part, she said her husband is a great cook and usually has something prepared when she arrives home.
Her cook time is typically on the weekends, and her favorite recipes are fast and easy ones. She especially enjoys trying the Cook of the Week's recipes in the Democrat.
On Sundays, with either her parents or her husband's parents, Turner says she is never hungry.
Besides crediting her mom with teaching her to cook, she said her grandmother, whose home she currently resides in, left her some old cookbooks. Inside one of the books she found her favorite recipe with a little note that said, "I love you, Stacy".
"She passed away about four years ago, so that really meant so much to think that she knew I'd be looking through these books one day," she said.
Turner is the daughter of Donna and Louis Skinner of Union. Her husband's mother is Barbara Turner of Louisville. Her late grandmother is Anna "Tag" Brantley. Her two brothers are Matt and Joshua Skinner.
Broccoli Cheese Cornbread
1 (10 ounces) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
4 eggs
6 ounces sour cream
2 (8 1/2 ounces) pkgs. Jiffy cornbread mix
2 onions, chopped and sautéed
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 stick oleo, melted
Mix all ingredients except oleo. Add melted oleo. Mix well. Pour into a well-greased
9 x 13 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Memaw Claragean's Tomato Soup
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 tall 46 ounces can tomato juice
1 can corn
1 can English peas, drained
6 potatoes, peeled and cut up
1 bag baby carrots
1 tsp brown sugar
5 chicken breasts boiled, cut up
Mix tomato juice, peas, corn, ketchup, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, carrots, and potatoes in a crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Add chicken in last hour of cooking. Good served with cheese and crackers or cornbread.
Mamaw Tag's Cornflake Candy
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons margarine
2 cups Karo light corn syrup
Dash of salt
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
5 cups cornflakes
Bring to a rolling boil sugar, margarine, Karo, and salt, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter stirring well. Add cornflakes. Stir well. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto foil to set.
Mrs. Turner's Pineapple Casserole
28-30 ounces canned pineapple chunks, drained
4 eggs, well beaten
1 cup sugar
1 stick oleo, softened
4 slices bread, remove crust and cube
1 tsp vanilla
Beat oleo and sugar together. Add beaten eggs. Fold in pineapple, bread cubes, and vanilla. Bake in buttered casserole dish 50-60 minutes at 325 degrees. Can be mixed and refrigerated overnight for better flavor then bake the next day. Good side dish for pork.
Very Sweet Potato Pie
4 eggs
3 large sweet potatoes, baked, peeled, and mashed
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 cups sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 stick butter
2 pie crusts
Mix first six ingredients with an electric mixer. Pour into pie crusts (makes 2 pies). Bake at 300 degrees. Check at 40 minute intervals until pies are set.
Mama's Lasagna
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, browned and drained
1 can Hunts spaghetti sauce (26.5 ounces)
1 large carton cottage cheese
1 - 8 ounce block cheddar cheese
1 - 8 ounce block Mozarella cheese
1 box lasagna noodles, uncooked
Mix sauce with ground beef. In 9 x 13 dish, layer beef sauce mix on bottom (very thin layer), then lasagna noodles, then another layer of beef sauce mix, then cottage cheese, then another layer of noodles and another layer of beef sauce. Top with mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Take out of oven and let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
Cranberry-Mustard Pork Loin
1 boneless whole pork loin roast (2 lbs)
1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Place roast in a 3 quart slow cooker. Combine cranberry sauce, mustard, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 4 1/2 hours. Remove roast and keep warm. Strain cooking juices into 2 cup measuring cook. Add enough water to measure 2 cups. In a small sauce pan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir in cooking juices. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with pork loin.
