My name is Emily Carter, and I’m a 36-year-old mom of two living in a cozy suburb outside Portland, Oregon. Most days, my kitchen is a little loud, a little messy, and very real, school backpacks on chairs, homework spread across the table, and dinner simmering while I help with spelling words or referee sibling debates. I didn’t learn to cook from fancy classes or glossy cookbooks. I learned because my family needed to eat, time was short, and takeout couldn’t be the answer every night.

Before kids, I thought cooking was about following recipes exactly. After kids, I learned it’s about flexibility, patience, and knowing how to turn what’s already in the fridge into something everyone will actually eat. I’ve burned dinners, forgotten ingredients, and cried over meals that flopped after a long day, but I’ve also discovered that simple food, made with care, has a way of bringing calm to even the most chaotic evenings.

I cook for real life. That means easy steps, everyday ingredients, and recipes that don’t fall apart if you’re interrupted halfway through because someone needs a snack or can’t find their shoes. My philosophy is simple: cooking should support your life, not stress you out. You don’t need perfection, expensive tools, or rare ingredients to put a good meal on the table. You just need a little guidance and permission to keep things simple.

Mybestrecipes.net grew out of that belief. Every recipe you find here is something I’ve made for my own family, often more than once, sometimes with tweaks after honest feedback from two very opinionated kids. I share what works, what doesn’t, and how to adjust when life gets in the way. Some nights we sit down together, other nights we eat in shifts, but there’s always comfort in knowing dinner is handled.

I’m still learning every day, still experimenting, and still finding joy in small kitchen wins. If my recipes help you feel more confident, save you time, or make your evenings a little easier, then this space has done exactly what I hoped it would. I’m so glad you’re here, and I hope these recipes feel like they were written by someone who understands your life, because they were.