Your go-to for Super Easy Recipes
Save time with clever recipe shortcuts making cooking more fun and easy. My recipes are all SIMPLE with minimal ingredients and simplified prep methods.
You'll find quick and easy dinner ideas as well as meal planning tools.
Dinner Menu Meal Plans
Check out my free printable, seasonal Meal Plan that integrates with Walmart grocery pickup/delivery to make shopping a breeze.
DIY Meal Planner
I also have a Weekly Meal Planner with grocery list, if you prefer to create your own meal plan. Choose from more than 200 dinner ideas to plan your week.
Both of these printable tools and are FREE when you sign up for my emails, so be sure to sign up here!
Apps, sides, desserts and more
I have a variety of easy recipes for others occasions, too. Browse all my recipes by category.
About Angela
You may be wondering, who's behind this website...
You may have stumbled here via Pinterest or got a link to one of my recipes from a friend or maybe I know you IRL — Thank you for supporting me if so!
Hi! I'm, Angela Gast, a busy mom of three and a work-from-home business owner who lives in Pennsylvania. I grew up in Maryland so you may notice I have a lot of crab recipes.
I used to stress about cooking. I wanted to be good at it, but it was a learning curve. However, over the years, I learned to cook one recipe at a time and now actually look forward to cooking dinner, bringing a side dish, or making a treat to celebrate special occasions.
This website is my full time job. Previously, I worked in marketing for a hospital and at various ad agencies early in my career.
Many Hands
I started "blogging" in 2009 on my own, but have have more recently expanded to working with cooks and food photographers all over the world to bring you fresh new recipes that are delicious and most importantly, super easy.
You will see different hands throughout the photos on my website. These are the hands of all the glorious people I have been blessed to work with over the years! These people have shared their talents with me in many ways from helping prepare dishes, helping me style food so it looks as appetizing as it tastes, to coming up with recipes and videoing the cooking process so you can see how the recipes are made.
Many hands makes light work but honestly, none of it is light. These are people who have put their heart and soul into what they do. I hope you will appreciate this collection of food and photos and all the hands that have helped bring these things to you.
It makes me feel good to know that I have been able to support many different creative people who have a desire to share their love of food and photography with the world. By visiting my website and trying my recipes, you are not only supporting me and my family, you are also supporting many creative souls!
All of my recipes are available to you for free since this website is supported by ads, sponsors and affiliates. So it's kind of a win-win. 🙂
Staying Connected
I have an excellent marketing team who ensures all my recipes appear on Pinterest so you can save them for when you're ready. Follow me on Pinterest!
You can also follow along if you like to share Reels on Instagram and Facebook. Mighty Mrs. is on TikTok and YouTube, too. I pop on these platforms myself, but I also have some folks who help me get my recipes out there too because I can't be everywhere at once.
My Story
Here's my personal story. This is how and why I got started and what keeps me going.
I believe in the power of family dinners.
After I got married I realized my chips-and-salsa-for-dinner days were numbered. I figured I better learn to cook a proper meal if I wanted to stay healthy and start a healthy family. It was a struggle to learn to cook. There were a lot of burnt things, terrible flavor combinations and stressful after-work situations.
But I'm glad I put in that time to learn because now, 15 years later, our family of four five (we added a third kid to the mix in 2021 when I was 40!) comes together around a healthy and balanced meal I proudly put on the table. I still do have chips and salsa for dinner though on occasion!
I cook to keep myself and my family healthy and happy... and because it's fun!
My mom only ever had healthy food around the house. So I've adopted that practice as well, and I try to avoid buying ingredients or packaged foods that contain a lot of sugar, fat or preservatives. Of course we indulge every now and then and we still eat fast food when we're in a hurry but we try to eat homemade as much as possible in order to cut out processed foods and all those weird ingredients.
Cooking is also a creative outlet for me so I really do enjoy the process from start to finish including photographing my recipes. (More on that below) I also look fun cookware! Check out my favorite kitchen tools in my shop.
I love food photography.
Over the course of nearly a decade now, I have made and photographed many of the recipes you'll find here. I enjoy the creative process of cooking as well as capturing pictures of my recipes.
I want the experience of visiting my website to feel like flipping through the pages of a magazine, inspiring you to create something delicious and satisfying!
If you're into food photography yourself, read more about how I photograph my recipes.
How I became a work-at-home mom.
So, here's my story in a nutshell: As far back as I can remember, I dreamt of running my own business. I got my degree because that's what you're "supposed" to do, I got a "good job" with a Fortune 500 company, got promoted, got married, bought a house, fixed it up, was living the dream... and then the company closed and the housing market tanked—when I was 8 months pregnant. Luckily we were able to pack up and move north and I found a new job exactly four days before my daughter was born.
Two years later, we welcomed my son to the world and I became the epitome of the "working mom." I quickly became burned out. We were away from home 12 hours a day. It was hard on everyone and I knew we needed a change. I left my job and took another job that offered better vacation options thinking that would allow me more time to de-stress and be available for my family. It was a "good job" in health care, the team was great, and I was starting to enjoy life again when I got called down to HR one day and was let go as a part of a corporate merger.
That was when I realized, it was time to pursue my dream of entrepreneurship. Luckily I had been working on this blog and my photography skills, and had some contacts I reached out to who offered me some freelance gigs. I was able to stitch together a full time income and have been on my own ever since.
My background is in graphic design.
I've worked in the advertising industry for more than 15 years now, producing graphics and other communications for all different industries.
I use these graphic design skills to create printables to make household management easier. Check out my Printables Shop for meal planning tools, a chore chart, holiday meal planners, a printable cooking camp for kids, and more.
Being a Woman, Specifically a Mom, in Business
Not going to sugar coat it. It's hard. I personally feel that I'm wired to want to nurture my family in the traditional sense by being present to kiss boo-boos, help with school projects, make meals, organize a full calendar of activities, shop for necessities — basically the majority of the day-to-day household management.
I'm also fully capable of maintaining a career and some semblance of a social life. But, it can all feel like so much at times and some days I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.
Other days though, I feel like a freaking super hero! Ultimately, it's all about establishing priorities, living out your commitment to those priorities and being okay with letting go of the things at the bottom of your list.
You can hear more about my thoughts on being a woman in business by listening to these interviews:
- Square One Show interview
- Learn Grow Earn podcast interview
- Women Really Mean Business interview
- CanvasRebel: Meet Angela Gast
How I "do it all"
I don't, actually. I turn down a lot of social invitations, side jobs, and my hair is usually a mess. I try to fill in my schedule based on my priorities. I've learned if want to be a good mom, raise a strong family and also have a career, you have to be selective about what you do and the people who you surround yourself with. It's a lot of game-time decision making that gets easier the more you say no. (but yep, it's a juggle)
For me, it takes faith to take the path less traveled.
The hardest but best part about the journey of entrepreneurship is the amount of faith that's required. I used to be a "realist" until I realized reality is whatever you can dream up and make happen.
You do have the power to change your own life and make it what you want. It happens slowly over time. With small risks and a lot of failure and some wins that keep you going.
Ever thought of owning your own business?
I love the flexibility of owning my own business. With two three kids and a husband who are involved in a lot of activities, being able to take time to be present for them, and then work at night or early in the morning if I need to, is invaluable. My best piece of advice for you if you've been considering starting a business is don't wait. Start NOW because good things take time.
If starting a business is something you've dreamed about or you find yourself wondering how people manage to work from home then I'd recommend you start researching how to make it happen!
If you've already got a business idea, a solid plan, and you're ready to get your website up and running, I have some tips for you based on my DIY experience. See my How to Build a Website for more about that.
Let's be sure to keep in touch!
My goal is to inspire you with meal planning, home management, entrepreneurship, and just share anything that's helped me along the way.
Social Media
I am always sharing new recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Sign up for my email newsletter to get my free printable dinner menu, seasonal recipe ideas, and my free printable meal planner.
Want to get in touch for partnership opportunities? Contact me here
Shop
Check out my shop to browse my favorite seasonal Amazon finds for kitchen organization, home decor and fall outfits.
Thanks for stopping by! Come back often to see what's new!