About

Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. Meals that use fresh ingredients, not boxed or frozen meals that don’t always have the healthiest ingredients in them. I’ve dedicated my time to transitioning from, let’s say, a box of brownie mix, to one from scratch, and believe me its harder than one may think! I have tried a lot of recipes, just to find the perfect one. This snowballed into finding and creating more recipes for other things I can do to live a healthier lifestyle. Do I make my own pasta, well no… not yet! Sometimes I do buy marinara sauce or pesto, but I make the better choice and buy organic or all natural etc. Bottom line is I do my best with what I can find and afford, and with that said, not only do I feel that food tastes better when it is from scratch, but sometimes its a lot cheaper too! It might take extra in time, but it is worth it!!

The idea of blogging came to me when I found The Pioneer Woman website, and thought to myself : “Hey I want to do that!” I love to cook and when I would attempt something ultra fun. I would take step-by-step pictures. The first was when I made a coconut-lime cake for my best friends birthday, then it was a venison roast and so on. Now I had to come up with a clever niche.. and then my a-ha moment happened. I was sitting at my mother-in-laws counter telling her about my ideas, and it just stumbled out of my mouth. She helped me set up my blog and got me started.

I feel that some of America has forgotten the importance and of cooking from scratch. The chemicals, preservatives and artificial coloring and sweeteners they put in foods now is astounding, and it’s all for a quicker fix or longer shelf life…WHAT? I would rather make it all myself and know what I am putting in my family’s mouth. Not to mention the satisfaction I personally get when someone says “from scratch… really”? or “Oh this is really good!”

For example baby food. Yes, baby food. I was 20 years old when my first baby was born. My husband and I had no clue on what the heck we were doing, luckily my oldest sister just had a baby 9 months prior and kind of held my hand and guided me through the first year. My mom made our baby food when we were kids, and then my sister Kelly, then me and just because I work full-time, and back then 5 days a week, that wasn’t going to stop me from trying! I still remember how excited I was to get a blender at my baby shower!! I made everything from avocado to sweet potato, even asparagus (you can guess how well that went over)! Hopefully as this blog moves along, I will show you just how easy and cost efficient it really is, wait, I am totally getting off track. So I guess what I want people to see or to start doing is going back to the scratch days, go back to making your own pancake mix, your own brownies and salad dressings!

It’s not as hard as it sounds, and if it doesn’t work out the first time…don’t be afraid to try it again. I must have made 10 different kinds of scratch mac and cheese before I found one that I liked. I watch tons of food network, and I have friends and family who love to cook and we will trade recipes and give tips. So over the past 10 years I have taken the time to teach myself how to cook. Baking always came kind of easy, but cooking a meal was what really took some time and patience. I have mastered homemade pizza dough, and a delicious chicken pot pie, including the pie crust… but I’m still learning and having fun as I go. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours!