Backyard Farmgals

I am gonna let y'all in on a little secret, just for Thanksgiving.  I have this great and easy way of making green beans that will melt your pants off!  Did I say that out loud?  Wow!  These couldn't be more simple.  The recipe is more about taste than exact measurements (which is how I really cook all the time - recipes are just suggestions).  You've just gotta taste 'em and feel it out, see if it's just right.  I'll give you some guidelines and you go from there, deal? These have garlic, butter, dill and almonds.  Great flavors combined with really fresh and crunchy green beans equals delicious.  I made these in mass quantity for a teacher appreciation dinner for my son's school and they were a hit!  I snuck a scoop of them for my lunch, don't tell, they will take it off my required volunteer time.  But, they go great with turkey, or lasagna, or almost anything.  Just pile me up some on a plate... who needs a main c...

This is no ordinary mac and cheese, in fact it's down right sneaky!  Confession: I can't eat something that's just plain old unhealthy.  I have to spike it with veggies somehow to make myself feel less guilty.    My little farmhands wanted macaroni and cheese and this is what popped out of the oven.  Cheesy and creamy, with pumpkin and kale mixed in; we all loved it.  The kids had no idea that it was loaded with pumpkin, and they are used to me putting kale in just about everything they eat, and the hubby gobbled it!  I felt a little less guilty knowing that I was eating noodles spiked with a superfood!  Pumpkin has just about every nutrient under the sun in it, or so it seems: vitamins A and C, potassium, manganese, copper, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorous, vitamins E and B6, niacin, thiamin, and pantothenic acid.  Phew!  It has major amounts of micronutrients and it's super tasty. This fabulous mac and cheese has three chee...

I love throwing together something simple and light for lunch.  It's rejuvenating to eat something good for you in the middle of the day, it lifts your spirit and gives you just enough oomph to get to dinner.  This is my welcome to winter: citrus and pomegranates! This was quick, and easy, and the dressing was so simple and yummy.  I loved the flavors, the smooth thick avocado against the tart of the citrus, with the salt and creaminess of the blue cheese against sweet pomegranates that pop in your mouth.  You can add sliced almonds or a little quinoa easily to this, or switch up the oils in the dressing.  You could skip the blue cheese crumbles all together and go straight for the blue cheese dressing if you need to heft it up a bit.  This doubles easily for a bigger salad or for two hungry girls instead of just one.    Play with the flavors and textures and try this, you will love it! FARMGAL'S AVOCADO & CITRUS SALAD back...

We had a great Halloween, and hope the same for all of you out there.  We hope you found that Halloween spirit and ran with it, because we ran a Marathon with our Halloween spirit this week.  I love Halloween, and I have since I was a kid.  My mom always made it so much fun.  We had pizza parties at the Rancher's house next door and carved out our creations on pumpkins all night long, we won face painting contests, costume contests, pumpkin contests, you name it, we won it.  We had the most creative costumes... one year I was a mailbox with a mail door that opened to my face.  It was always the best holiday.  Now as a mom, I am trying to bring that same love to my children, and I hope that it rubs off!   This year, we did a lot of carving just as a family... no huge party (which was relaxing and easy...).  It was refreshing to spend time just the four of us carving away, just like how we used to before we had kids.  However, t...

Seriously... This is our FAVORITE holiday of the year.  We get a little nuts!!!  We had a mini carving party for the neighborhood kids on Saturday, decorated a pumpkin for a school contest, and got dressed up for the first time this weekend.  I had to give y'all a little sneak peek! I still have a 200 pound pumpkin to carve, and a few glitches to iron out on halloween costumes, and I am not revealing my costume until Halloween...  I'll give you a hint: yee-haw meets tiara!!! Just a few pictures... Enjoy!!! My minions... "Dave" and "Steve" "Steve"  looking really  green... Is that the evil eye I see???  Farmgal Julie looking her best... she makes a fabulous witch! "Dave" carving a chicken in a pumpkin...  Chicken in a pumpkin... What can I say? The "Back" in Backyard Farmgals gets into the fun! Helen, our blind chicken, even got into the party... Will's pumpkin for the school contes...

I had to do this for a fun little assignment for school and thought I would share with y'all.  This is super easy, really fun, and a great science experiment for kids to watch.  Plus, if you have some plants that you would like to propagate or save for next spring, this is an easy and cheap way to get them! Taking cuttings is fairly simple, but you will need a few things: A good sharp knife Transplanting pots (plastic cells with seed starting mix work well) Rooting hormone (available at good nurseries/garden stores) Plant labels (popsicle sticks and tongue depressors work well) Waterproof pen for labeling Pencil or screwdriver to make holes in the potting medium Drinking straws Clear plastic wrap or large clear plastic bags Rooting medium               - low in nutrients, well draining, water-retaining               - soilless is best               - c...