Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Growing up, I use to loathe pumpkin. Like, seriously hated it! At any family Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, I was the kid eating apple pie (that I specially requested) all by myself while the rest of the family enjoyed pumpkin pie with a tall dollop of whipped cream. For some weird reason, I can't explain it.....everything changed and now I really enjoy pumpkin. I'm not pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice obsessed like a lot of people during the fall/winter seasons, but I have really come to enjoy it over the years. My favorite new fall treat since joining Weight Watchers.....pumpkin pie smoothies!

 

Chocolate Banana Nut Smoothie

Remember back in April when I was bragging about how my son wasn't a picky eater???? (Throws head back a laughs) Apparently I spoke waaaay too soon because my child has become the pickiest eater on the Hi-Line! If it's not Eggos, chicken nuggets, carbs or cheese, he ain't having it. When it comes to fruits and veggies, I still rely on food pouches or he will eat apple slices, but other than that....nope, nope and nope! Oh the joys of parenting! As a food blogger and lover of food, it hurts my soul when my little one refuses to eat the deliciousness I have prepared for him. Please tell me this is a phase?!?!

 

I love making smoothies for breakfast and I've found out that my picky eater enjoys smoothies as well! They are quick to whip up, not much clean up and so versatile. Smoothies also provide me with a sneaky portal to adding fruits, veggies, dairy and protein in my sons diet without him realizing it. I love it! Hehehe! 

Toffee Cracker Crack

I'm not even kidding in the title when I say this stuff is "crack." This treat is highly addicting and freakishly easy to throw together in a moments notice. Who doesn't have saltines, brown sugar, butter, chocolate chips and pecans in their pantry!?!? I know I always have these 5 ingredients stocked in my pantry. This is now become a problem because of my addiction to crack!

 



Egg White Breakfast Sandwich

One of the most difficult parts about working nights is finding a way to balance my natural internal clock. After sleeping from 7am to 12pm, I find it confusing to my system to whether or not I should have breakfast since I just woke up, or go ahead and have lunch? I usually make something that is a mixture of both (avocado egg toast, quinoa breakfast toast, smoothie, etc.). One of my favorite breakfast meals that travels well and keeps fresh all night at work are my egg white breakfast sandwiches. It takes all of 5 minutes (or less) to whip up and tastes great when reheated in the microwave. You can even make a huge batch of them and freeze for later! From personal experience I can to tell you they taste exceptionally great at 4:00 am! ;)

 

Buffalo Chicken Bite Skewers with Blue Cheese Yogurt Dip

We are Montana Griz and Dallas Cowboys fans in this household. The Grizzlies because Dusty and I went to the University of Montana (it's where we met!) and Cowboys, because I married into it. I didn't ask to be a Cowboy, but it happened anyways. All in all,  I really could care less about the game itself when it comes right down to it (don't tell my husband!). I'm only at the tailgates and parties for the food.

What is winning this football season are these spicy buffalo chicken skewers served with this cool creamy dipping sauce! When I think football, I automatically think buffalo wings. These skewers are a less messy but equally flavorful tailgate snack.

Weight Watchin'

Hey Everyone! How was everyone's summer?

Fun? Relaxing? I hope so!

Can you believe we are almost through September? Crazy! Today is the first day of Fall by the way and I've jumped on the pumpkin spice train hardcore this year. Lord help me!

What have I been up to, you ask??? Harvest is over and seeding is nearly over (yay!). Basically I've been working nights at the hospital, playing with my 18 month old and spending the past couple of months improving my nutrition, diet and overall health.

Greek Cucumber Sauce

....Also known as Tzatziki sauce. Although when I order my favorite "grilled chicken pita with tzatziki sauce" the high school kids at the local drive-in look at me like, huh? Tat-zi, what?!?

Then when I say, the cucumber sauce, all makes sense in the world! I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in town who orders their grilled chicken pita this way too. Whenever I ordered it, my mother-in-law (who works there) will look at the food order ticket and then look out the window to say hi because she knows it's me! Then she will write my name on my food bag with hearts on it, which is my favorite :)

I love this sauce on chicken and salmon. It's also great for dipping veggies. It's super fresh and tastes similar to the cucumber sauce I order with my pita at the local drive-in. It's perfect for those nights I feel like making my own grilled chicken pita at home!

Crock-Pot BBQ Spare Ribs

It's funny how major holidays and events revolve around large quantities of meat. Thanksgiving has turkey. Christmas has prime rib. Easter has ham. Every holiday has a specific meat that is the centerpiece to the holiday feast. In the world of farming, the end of harvest and seeding deserves a huge celebration. Our choice of meat is barbequed pork.  

 



Overnight Huckleberry Oatmeal

 

Overnight oats are a quick, hearty and simple breakfast. Combine all the ingredients into a jar, shake, refrigerate and forget about it until the next morning. As a busy mom by day and nurse by night, this is my type of breakfast food.

Fresh Horseradish Cream Sauce

One thing that has been on Dusty and my "to-do" list for the longest time is to make homemade horseradish. What sparked our interest was a  year or so ago we watched an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown made a horseradish cream sauce to accompany an oyster dish he was featuring. Forget the oysters! After drooling through the entire episode, we both agreed that we needed some fresh horseradish in our lives. The only problem was that we have been unable to find fresh horseradish up here at any of our grocery stores since watching that Good Eats episode. Therefore, our dream of many freshly grated horseradish and creamy horseradish faded away to the back burner.
 

Crushed-Tomato Pizza Sauce

Growing up, Friday night was always pizza night. This meant my mom could always be found Friday nights in the kitchen making her homemade pizza with her dough and sauce from scratch. To this day, I still prefer my pizza to be homemade rather than store bought or from a restaurant. I blame my mom and her excellent pizza making skills!

Garlic Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Quinoa

One thing I love about my husband is that he is just as adventurous as me when it comes to food. We love almost everything and anything, except one thing....squash. 

 

 

Strawberry-Mango Coconut Chia Pudding

Move over Tapioca! Chia seed has come to town and has taken over our home for good. My son loves it, I love it. It is seriously good and good for you! Pudding that is healthy? How does that work? I'm not going to question it, I'm just going to spoon those healthy omega-3's into my mouth and enjoy the benefits.

Apple Sunrise Slaw

 

 

Coleslaw is one of my all time favorite BBQ side dishes. The crunchy veggies with the cool creamy dressing pair so wonderfully with the savory and saucy meat. Besides eating the slaw as a side dish, it makes the perfect condiment to pulled-pork sandwiches. Yum!  

Chive-Mustard Vinaigrette

Chives are so wonderful and definitely underused in my kitchen. They have such delicate flavors that add the perfect touch of garlicky onion to any dish. Usually when I make a vinaigrette, I make my go-to Creamy Basil recipe, but after my mother-in-law gave me some leftover minced chives from our Easter supper, I had to put them to good use!

 

Breakfast Sausage Loco Moco

Any time it starts snowing or raining, I instantly want to jump on a plane to Hawaii. Snow cones, fresh sushi and pineapple call my name. Then I snap back into reality and remember that I have an 1 year old, and 6 hours straight on a plane with my little guy would be pure torture. Therefore, whenever I'm missing the island sun, I make one of my most favorite Hawaiian meals....the Loco Moco!

 

 

Traditionally a Loco Moco is served with rice, a big ol' beef patty, fried egg and brown gravy. I've even had a different version that included Mahi Mahi fish (delicious!) at Ken's House of Pancakes in Hilo on the Big Island. They even had loco mocos that included spam, sausage links, chili and corned beef. Basically any protein will do! 

Homemade Cheese Crackers

My son is a lover of cheese....just like his mom! ;)  His favorites in particular are mozzarella string cheese and he especially loves himself some shredded cheddar cheese. It's one of his favorite snacks besides bananas and frozen peas/carrots. A little while back I made him a big batch of homemade graham crackers and he gobbled them up. These cheddar crackers are a combination of his two favorite things - crackers and cheese!

Farm Lunches

During this harvest and seeding season, I have become the jedi-master of harvest lunches. I've even got a system down so that I prepare the next days meal the night before. Silly me thought there would be enough time in the mornings to prepare lunch and breakfast for my farmer, as well as feed and take care of my baby in the morning. All of this before my husband darts out the door to start a full day out in the field. Ha! Yeah right!

By doing the work the night before, I get to stay in bed with my baby and cuddle, all while my hubby gets up at the crack of dawn with breakfast and lunch ready to go. He gets fed and I get to "sleep in" (7:30am). It's a win-win!

During harvest, my husband drives truck while his father works the combine. In this scenario, he gets to park the truck for a bit, which allows for different meals like salads, sandwiches and such. During seeding, he is manning the tractor, so everything has to be eaten on the go, using just one hand while driving the tractor with the other. Therefore sandwiches only!

Eating regular old turkey and ham sandwiches can get pretty boring. So my goal as farmwife is to provide some variety and excitement to my farmers lunches. The key to keeping them fresh and not soggy during the long days.....toast the bread! I swear it works! Try it!

Cucumber Melon Salad

A refreshing and crisp salad with hints of salty and sweet make this perfect for bridal showers, BBQ's and family gatherings.

Hello Fresh {Review}

After having such a great experience with Blue Apron, I have totally become sold on the concept of boxed meal delivery services. So when I found a coupon code for Hello Fresh giving me $30 off, I had to give that one a try too!

HINT: If you download their app on your phone, use the code FRESHAPP at checkout to get the $30 off!

It couldn't hurt to get 3 meals for 2 people for $39 instead of $69, right?!?! That's only $6.50 per serving! You can't even eat take-out for those costs. I know this because the other day I went to get take-out for lunch and a salad cost me $8!!! And it wasn't even a good salad. It was just an okay salad. So if I can have a healthy, fresh and fun dinner...then heck yes I'll try it!

Prior to the delivery arriving we were given five options of meals to chose from and got to pick three of those for the week. Dusty and I selected:

• Lemony Pan-Seared Chicken with Pesto Potato Salad and Peas
• Fiery Pork Fajitas with Blistered Peppers and Guacamole
• Jamie's Oozy Zucchini Risotto with Buffalo Mozzarella and Fresh Basil

There were two other options that week of: Salmon en Papillote and Lasagna Penne Bake. We chose the three recipes above because they sounded the most interesting and unique out of the group, plus I wanted to try the risotto since it was a Jamie Oliver recipe. He contributes one recipe each week and they all look fabulous and a notch above the rest!

Blue Apron {Review}

Is it just me or does it seem like groceries are costing more and more with each passing week? I remember when we lived in Billings a few years ago that we could get by on $80 a week for a weeks worth of groceries and have some really great meals. Then we moved up to the Hi-Line and it seems like our grocery bill doubled overnight. Besides inflation, it must have to be so ridiculously high due to the fact we are out in the middle of no-where. Grocery shopping use to be one of my favorite activities to do each week and now it has just become depressing. I walk out of the store each time irritated and frustrated that I've spent that much on food for a small family of three. The sad thing is, I'm not the only one...most people I talk to around this area say they spend anywhere for $150-200 a week at the grocery store....yikes!

Enter Blue Apron.

When I first read about Blue Apron, I initially thought it was a frivolous and luxury service. Three meals for two people costing $59 a week sounds like a lot of money. But the more I crunched the numbers and read reviews, I thought this could actually save us money as well as provide three extremely fresh and healthy dinners each week. So we gave it a try....

Forgive the pictures please....I used Snapchat for taking pics :/

Traditional Deviled Eggs

There are few things with my husband that we disagree upon. Should we watch football or Once Upon A Time on Sunday nights? Football always wins. Who gets to unload the dishwasher or do the laundry? I usually end up doing both. Bacon or Pork Sausage for breakfast? I'm on team bacon!

The one argument that still stands to this day since we started dating 9 years ago is whose deviled egg recipe is the best. He likes his eggs savory with taco seasoning and I like mine slightly sweet with pickle relish and dried minced onion. We usually can’t agree so we end up making both recipes most of the time and quickly gobble them up!  

Homemade Graham Crackers

Have you ever been so desperate for something sweet, you reached to the very back of your pantry for a box of expired graham crackers to snack on? No? Just me? Well, whatever you do.....do not eat expired Graham Crackers. No matter what. To make a long and painful story short, let's just say I ate some Graham Crackers that should have been thrown out two Christmas's ago. They tasted like paint thinner and rat poison which lead to a long night of "talking to Ralph on the big white telephone." It wasn't pretty. Don't do it!

Luckily, homemade Graham Crackers will not cause such horrible events to occur. In fact, they do the exact opposite! Everyone in my family adores these crackers and they are the perfect wholesome treat for my son.

Baby's Favorite Foods

Over the past few months it has been so much fun to watch Nolan’s ability to eat more solid and regular foods evolve. Some of his favorite foods today include: avocado, banana chunks, string/shredded cheese, pepperoni slices and basically anything involving pasta. The boy also loves himself some French toast, pancakes and waffles, which is total proof that he is my son.

 

I must admit that sometimes life can get too crazy to strictly make 100% of Nolan’s baby food, so I supplement and feed him store bought food when needed. For the most part, he gets a healthy balance of my home cooking, fresh produce and regular baby food. As a working mom, there is only so much you can do and that is just alright by me.

 

One of his favorite foods, which I was impressed and shocked to find, are peas and carrots. You know the frozen bag of pre-cut bite-size peas and carrots? He loves those! I usually take about 1/4 cup of frozen peas and carrots, defrost them in the microwave for 30 seconds with a bit of water, cool them with cold water and let him enjoy. He will go to town on his pile of peas and carrots and gobble them all up! How lucky am I that my son loves vegetables?!?! Hopefully this isn’t a phase and it will stick throughout his childhood. (fingers crossed!)

 

I’ve talked to a few parents and I must say that I’m pretty lucky. My son is not a picky eater (at this point in his life). Any combination of food I throw his way he eats without questioning. Lately our biggest hurdle is that he insists on feeding himself with a spoon or fork, and that gets messy!

 

Here are a few of Nolan’s favorite homemade baby food combinations…

Back To My Roots

If you didn't notice, I've been gone from The Girly Girl Cooks for almost a year. I thought I needed something new, so I started the blog, Hi-Line Healthy. After 11 months of working on Hi-Line Healthy I've come to realize it just isn't me.

I'm The Girly Girl Cooks. Always was, always will be.

Over the past year, I've shared some really great recipes on Hi-Line Healthy. Over the next few weeks I'll be bringing them over here and sharing them with all of you.

Meanwhile, let me update you on what has been happening the past year...