Entrepreneurial Teen Creates Chili Rolls

Entrepreneurial Teen Creates Chili Rolls FARM HOME Food When two foods taste good when eaten together why not just bake them together? That was Alexa Carter’s idea when brainstorming a new recipe for a competition with the Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium NYBLS Her chili roll recipe blended a favorite Nebraska combo of chili and a cinnamon roll It won her team first place and initiated a business for the 17-year-old Now 19 and a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL Carter makes chili rolls part-time for her business Rising Rolls Baking Company The name reflects what she makes and her hometown of Rising City Neb where Carter grew up on a farm with row crops and a cow/calf operation As a 4-Her she also owns a small herd of Simmental cows Carter credits one of the judges Tiffany Heng-Moss dean of UNL’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources with encouraging her by asking “How do I get this on campus?” after she proposed marketing the rolls as a concession during her presentation Carter connected with the school’s Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program which provides a support team and resources for using campus facilities such as the food laboratory in the Innovation Campus That’s where Carter makes chili rolls on most Fridays to fill orders and sell at personal and UNL-sponsored tailgate parties before football games “It’s very balanced The dough is neutral and the meat isn’t too spicy ” Carter says of her chili rolls She makes the dough using an old recipe from a family cookbook She rolls it out butters it and sprinkles it with brown sugar and cinnamon before adding the savory ingredients “The seasoning for the chili is the secret part I strain the meat well so I’m not adding excess liquid ” she says noting that she adds finely chopped and steamed onions and peppers to the ground beef mixture After the rolls are baked they are topped with a cream cheese frosting The savory/sweet rolls have been a hit with UNL students and others As a niche market Carter has sold them for $5 each but is working on pricing experimenting with making frozen rolls and learning other aspects of running a business She’s majoring in agriculture communications and minoring in the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program both of which will be useful in whatever entrepreneurial business she pursues “It’s been such a blessing to have everything on campus ” Carter says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rising Rolls Baking Company Rising City Neb ph 402-954-0702; risingrollsbakingco@gmail com; www risingrollsbakingco com; Facebook: Rising Rolls Baking Company

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