I am not a gourmet cook.  No official training.  No awards.  I am just an average cook with tips and recipes for everyday use.  I enjoy cooking and hope that I can inspire others as well.  The recipes you find here can be used in an RV as well as a ‘sticks and bricks’ home. Nothing fancy…just simple every day fare.

I am a retired Army wife of nearly 32 years with two grown, married sons, and five small grandchildren, ages 18 months to 6 years.

After my husband retired from the Army in 2012 we ‘hit the road’ in our 2011 41-foot Heartland Landmark fifth wheel and haven’t looked back.  I didn’t have to adapt my cooking style much as we eat the same types of meals we did when we lived in our ‘sticks and bricks’ home.  The biggest challenge was learning to use the convection oven that came in our home on wheels.

My father raised me and he was by no means a ‘cook’.  We ate a lot of TV dinners, hot dogs, mac & cheese, frozen pizza…you get the idea.  Needless to say, when I was married at 19 I didn’t know much about cooking but I was determined to learn!  Luckily, most everything turned out fine, with the exception of the ‘green stew’.  I was (and still am) fortunate to have a husband that ate just about anything put before him.

Cooking is a way for me to express my love for my family.  There is nothing like having all of my children around the table enjoying a meal and sharing the days events.  We have had discussions covering politics, religion, sex, school…you name it!  We have laughed and we have cried at the kitchen table.  We’ve played games, done crafts, homework, and used our laptops…all of us at once!

Twenty-four years ago I started working part time in the evenings and my husband was responsible to feed our then 4 and 6 year old sons.  Each night when I came home from work I’d ask what he fed them and his answer was almost always, ‘Pancakes’.  Well, for someone who prided herself on feeding her family a well-balanced meal (protein, veggie, starchy side) that just didn’t sit very well.  He’d tell me that he’d look in the pantry but just couldn’t come up with ‘a meal’…it was too overwhelming.  So I thought…’fine, I’ll put together ‘a menu’ and he can follow that’.  He was happy to have the help.  I have been making ‘a menu’ ever since.

When I first began I made a 2-week menu as we were paid every two weeks.  I now make a monthly menu (which hangs on the refrigerator just like it did back then) because I find it easier and I don’t have to do it nearly as often.

I was honored when my daughter-in-law started making menus a few years ago as their family grew.  She still makes a menu for her family of five.

My hope is to encourage others that are just learning their way around their kitchens, to provide useful tips regarding storage, recipes and menu making.