Hi, Nice to meet you!

Welcome to Real Life Dinner! 

I started this blog in September of 2013 as a place to share fabulous, family-friendly recipes.  My love for cooking and eating has always been my biggest motivator in life and sharing recipes with others makes me happy happy happy!

When my husband and I were first married we were both attending University and doing our best to steer clear of student loans. We lived in a tiny 400 square foot basement apartment that we paid $195 a month for and had an $80.00 a month food budget. We loved having people over for dinner and didn’t let our small food budget stop us. Using coupons had never occurred to me, so needless to say, I had to get very creative. I learned to utilize seasonal ingredients, cook from scratch and became an expert at creating healthy meals with the most affordable ingredients possible.

I continue to incorporate these skills in my recipe development and cook this way for my family of seven. We now spend between $600.00 and $650.00 a month on groceries. And we still love to have people over for dinner.

Let my experience and expertise in this area help you save money and make great food your family and friends will RAVE about!

Family

My kids are my biggest fans and biggest critics. I know they love something when they say, “Put it on the blog Mom!”

Conner is our oldest and somehow managed to be born without a sweet tooth. That boy can actually turn down a candy bar or a treat…blows my mind. His very favorite meal I make is Chicken Chimichangas. Ramen Noodles are a close second (for shame). His favorite treats are Caramel Corn Puffs and these Chocolate Scotcharoo Rice Crispies.

Thatcher, #2, is his mothers child and LOVES food. He’s just like me and has to have a bite of everything. The whole, no sharing food at school during lunch rule, was probably made just for him. I can just picture him begging everyone for a taste of whatever is in their lunch box. His favorite meal I make is Hawaiian Haystacks. He also really loves Berry and Peach Crisp and Loaded Peanut Butter Reese’s Bars.

Charlotte, the lone girl in a sea of boys, is a frozen-pea addict. She’d eat an entire bag every day if I let her. Crazy girl! Her favorite meal I make is definitely Amazing Spaghetti Sauce over any kind of noodle. Her runner-up meals would probably be Taco’s or Quesadillas dipped in Homemade Re-fried beans. As far as sweets go, she LOVES Key Lime Pie and Merry Widow Caramels.

Trever, Trever, Trever, We call him Quatro. He may or may not be the most challenging child we are raising (as of today anyway). As far as food goes he’s always been picky but thankfully, as he has gotten older he will at least take a few bites of whatever we’re having. He has a few things he loves, including this Oven Baked Spanish Rice and this Shredded Pork he ate it like it was the best thing he’d ever had. That being said, he would live on Caramels and Cookies, if we would let him.

Cooper, #5, joined our family in 2018. At One, we are still trying to figure out what foods he likes. He has some tummy issues so we are worried he has an intolerance for dairy. Probiotics are helping and we are hoping it is something he can grow out of. Right now his favorite foods are eggs, freeze dried peaches and smoothies.

Sim, like any good husband, will eat whatever I put in front of him. Never complains…even though there have been some total flops over the years. He also supports my love of cooking by doing an unnerving amount of dishes on a pretty regular basis. He’s a keeper. I try to reward him by making his two favorite meals, Pork Adobo, and Sloppy Joes as often as possible. He is also famous for his Diner Style Pancakes and loves making and eating these Chewy Oatmeal Cookies.

If you made it through that, you’re a ROCK STAR! Thank you for being here. I sincerely hope you can find recipes that your whole family will love and that REAL LIFE DINNER can be a valuable resource to help you feed your family.

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You can also contact me with any questions or concerns at reallifedinner@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you, but be warned, any spammers will be flogged with dirty diapers.

Keep it real!

Maria