By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–Helena resident and food lover Shea Goldstein enjoys being in the kitchen and coming up with an assortment of new food recipes, and recently one of Goldstein’s creations was featured on the Today Show.

In addition to being a mother of two and a registered nurse, Goldstein spends a good portion of her time as a food blogger on her blog Dixie Chik Cooks.

The blog is actually where the Today Show found Goldstein’s recipe for her mango jalapeno sloppy joe sliders.

“The Today Show has a brand new section on their website and as a food blogger we try to promote content to different avenues,” said Goldstein. “They just sent me an email and asked if I would share a few things.”

Today anchor Al Roker gave Goldstein a shout out on the television program during a Dec. 4 airing of the show, praising her mango jalapeno sloppy joe sliders.

This was not the first time Goldstein was recognized nationally for one of her recipes.

Since starting her blog in 2010, Goldstein has been interviewed by Food Network twice, NBC, received a writing job at Southern Holiday Life and has been featured in Cooking Light magazine.

When asked where her passion for cooking and trying new recipes started, Goldstein said it was while she was studying in nursing school.

“I was in nursing school in 2007 and always thought I had an affinity for cooking,” said Goldstein. “Nursing school is pretty stressful and I would cook a lot. After graduation, the nursing market became saturated. During the six months between graduation and trying to get hired I started the blog and have been doing it ever since.”

Goldstein now focuses on her blog and cooking full-time and last month she placed in the top 10 in the World Food Championships held in Kissimmee, Fla.

“Things just kind of come to me and I look up what ingredients I have and then all of a sudden it will click and I’ll try it,” Goldstein said about trying new recipes. “If it works and it clicks I will feature it on my blog. I don’t really have a specific method.”

Most of Goldstein’s food creations include recipes that are cheesy, salty and spicy as well as some sweet scattered recipes on her blog.

Goldstein said she and her family enjoy Helena and the hometown feel of the community and she is excited on where her blog might take her in the future.

“I really enjoy sharing my food with people,” said Goldstein. “What I’m doing right now I’m excited about where it could take me. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

To view the mango jalapeno sloppy joe slider recipe and Goldstein’s blog, visit Dixiechikcooks.com.