This past week, something amazing and nearly unbelievable happened. Mary’s start-up recipe website, Make Your Meals, celebrated it’s 1,000,000th visitor to the site. In just 10 months!
To put that into perspective, it took Old World Garden Farms, over 24 months to accomplish the same feat back in the day. And we thought that was fast!
The Make Your Own Meals Website
But whether it’s her weekly Instant Pot Friday Recipe, or recipes for making everything from a traditional glazed ham to crispy air fryer wings – the easy to follow recipes have connected with people who want to make more of their meals at home.
We share some of the site’s favorite and most popular recipe’s later in the article, but first, the story of how it all started with a simple idea nearly a year ago.
A Recipe Website That Works – From Simple Ideas Come Great Things
When Mary told me in late 2017 she was thinking about creating a recipe-only site, I remember asking if she thought it could really work.
Homemade mashed potatoes and meatloaf!
For one, there are certainly no shortages of recipe sites out on the web. Secondly, I wondered how hard it would be to come up with new content that folks would really want to cook.
To this day, I still remember her simple answer that made so much sense, the recipe website couldn’t help but work.
She said “I think most of the recipe sites out there are too much. I can never just get simple instructions for the basics. I just want to create something that’s simple, easy to follow, and works for busy people.
It doesn’t need to be flashy or filled with all kinds of crazy videos that are hard to follow.
The best recipe ever I had a vote – air fryer chicken wings!
I really just want to create a recipe website that shows people how to make good food easily. Whether on the stove, in the oven – or using life-simplifying small appliances like the Instant Pot or Air Fryer.”
And if that wasn’t enough to get me on board, she finished with a final deal-sealing comment. ” And if you don’t mind – you can be my chief taste-tester.” And the website was born!
Making Cooking Easy, Fun and Healthier
All kidding aside, it was hard to argue with that logic. In fact, it made total sense.
With lifestyles that seem to get more complicated and hectic by the day, people want simplicity.
Homemade pork tenderloin. Delicious to eat, simple to make.
Like making meals in 20 to 30 minutes with an Instant Pot. Or making homemade breads that cut out preservatives.
Not only do people want to slow down their hectic lives, they also want to eat healthier. And, they want to know what’s in their food.
The only real way to accomplish that is to make more meals at home, and I really think that is where Mary’s Make Your Meals recipe website has found it’s niche.
I thought in honor of her big achievement this past week, I would share some of her top posts and categories from the site below. Here is to simple meals, simple cooking – and simple living!
Recipes That Work…
Mary creates a weekly Instant Pot recipe every Friday on the site that has really become a hit. You can see them all here : Instant Pot Recipes.
The one ingredient caramel sauce that still amazes me.
In addition, she has fallen in love with the air-fryer. And I have fallen in love with the most amazing, crispy wings that it makes! And because they are air-fried, they are a much healthier version.
Below are a few of my personal favorite recipes on the site:
My Top 3 Recipes
Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
This one pot dish has amazing flavor and is so simple to make. Comfort food is on the table in under an hour. Who can beat that!
Simply to die for! In about 20 minutes, you are left with the most delicious, crispy wings ever.
Who knew you could make your own caramel sauce/dip from one ingredient! I remember the first time I tasted it, I kept asking her what else was in it. Mary just kept telling me, there is only one ingredient. All I can say is that is amazing as a topping on everything!