About

Hey! However you found this page (did my mom email you?) – I’m so grateful that you did. Whether you’re sneaking a break from work or scrolling your phone before bed, I just want to say welcome.

My name is Samantha and this is American Home Cook—a site dedicated to delicious weeknight recipes for people who like to cook. 

This site is for people who want to share what they make with family and friends and believe that good food is the best part of a long day.

Maybe you’re just beginning or want to become a better cook. Maybe you’re looking for an enjoyable, creative hobby to relieve stress after a long day.

You’d like to eat more healthful weeknight dinners that don’t taste like diets, and meals that inspire you to cook again tomorrow night. You want a tangible way to connect with other people, to love and feel loved through a shared appetite.

My Story

this recipe

Many years ago, I wanted all of that too. 

I realized that my knack for frozen pizza and my habit of elevating a box of Annie’s Mac and Cheese were skills that indicated an interest in something deeper. As a kid, I seemed to be more excited about an epic peanut butter (crunchy, obviously) sandwich on potato bread or a microwaved plate of nachos than a new toy. Frozen spinach and cheese ravioli dusted with shelf-stable parmesan cheese brought me more comfort than any stuffed animal.

I loved food. I loved flavor. And I loved figuring out how to make things taste better and better.

In my first years of college, I went to the cafeteria every night and learned about the power of food (even cafeteria food) to cultivate community and enrich even the most stressed-out lives.

Dinner with friends became a ritual I looked forward to at the end of each day.

Our Story

Sometimes it was just me and my roommates at the dinner table, sometimes it was 16 of our closest friends.

We sat in metal chairs around bright tables for at least an hour, eating, gossiping, sometimes silent. The stress of homework and exams evaporated into the steam of a less-than-average meal. 

It was perfect, and I consider those dinners some of the happiest moments of my college experience.

When we all got older and moved into our own kitchens, cooking became the 1 hour per day (or 1 minute it takes to microwave leftovers) where we could just focus on one task—and reap the delicious benefits.

Cooking gave us a creative outlet, a simple way to stay healthy, a chance to sit down and take time for ourselves on a Tuesday night.

Now, several years post-college, I am a proud resident of Queens, NY and live with my partner, Charlie. We have dinner together every night and I can honestly say I look forward to it every day. We talk about our days, we talk about what’s to come, we sit in silence and enjoy food, together.

So what now?

Embracing my love for cooking has made me the healthiest, happiest, and most confident I’ve ever felt (once you ace your first roast chicken, you’ll know what I mean). I made tons of mistakes at first, and still do, but now it’s the highlight of my day. 

The more you cook, the more you’ll play with flavors and discover new-to-you ingredients that taste better than you could have ever imagined.

The more you cook, the more you’ll learn how to love what you eat—not just rush through it to get to the next task.

You’ll become more mindful to the actual taste of your food, and you’ll learn how to make things taste better and better. 

Meals will become a joyful break in your day, a delicious pause button that forces you to (literally) savor the moment.

Most importantly, cooking is a skill you can share with others and use to enrich your relationships. 

American Home Cook

Let’s change what it means to be an American Home Cook. Let’s go beyond hot dogs and hamburgers (but totally still make those too) and learn to enjoy meal preparation and eating, embrace dinner as a time to be with loved ones, and slow down to eat with full pleasure.

If you’re inspired to cook any of these recipes (or recipes of your own!) don’t hesitate to share it with me via email (samantha@americanhomecook.com) or on Instagram. Cooking can feel like a chore but it’s so much easier when you have support. 

I’m excited to have you here and hope we can support each other on our journeys to happy, more fulfilling weekdays through cooking. Let’s eat!