About Me

My name is Nancy.  I'm a stay-at-home mom to two of the most amazing children.  My daughter, Abby, is almost 7 and my son, Connor, is 4 1/2.  I have a pretty amazing husband too! 

My love of cooking came from my parents.  My mom was always a recipe follower, making dishes from her recipe box that were passed down from her own mother.  My dad was always creating new dishes with whatever ingredients were in the house.  Both of my parents worked when I was growing up and around the time I was in high school my mother insituted a new rule that everyone had to cook dinner one night a week.  That "everyone" included my older sister, younger brother, and myself.  I honestly can't remember even one single dish that I made during that time.  I'm sure it was from one of the issues of Cooking Light that my mom subscribed to.  That is where I discovered the Cooking Light message boards and found the Supper Club that I joined soon after graduating from college.

The Supper Club slowly evolved from me and a bunch of other young women to now my husband and I and two other couples.  It's fun to get together each month with other people who love to cook and try new cuisines!

I subscribe to several cooking magazines and own a bunch of cookbooks (which I rarely use anymore!).  I also peruse tons of food blogs.  I have rarely, if ever made the same dish twice.  I may try different versions of a recipe like chicken cordon bleu or chicken marsala but rarely use the same exact recipe.  But yes, I do use recipes.  I am not very creative in the kitchen.  I leave that to my husband, who I've dubbed "The Weekend Chef" since I usually have him on cooking duty on the weekends. 

With two young kids who can be picky eaters menu planning can be challenging.  I try to stay away from dishes that are too spicy or use too many ingredients that I know they don't like (mushrooms for example).  I may adapt a dish that I make, like leave out the hot sauce in their portion, but I never make a different meal for them.  They eat whatever my husband and I eat.  With kids who have busier schedules than I do, I try to find quick and easy, but tasty recipes.  Being a stay-at-home mom now for almost two years now I do have the luxury of time, which I didn't have when I was a special education teacher.

I am working on my photography skills, so please bear with me!