Kelsey Cody is a friend I met by way of Instagram. She cooked every. single. recipe. from What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking book number one in the span of seven months. She’s a professional photographer and took pictures of every meal. She’s also the mom of two girls, who were both under 2 years old when she challenged herself to cook her way through the whole cookbook!
I got to meet her last week on the Make It Fast tour. She drove an hour to be there and I asked her to come backstage to give me a hug as soon as she arrived.
I am 1) so honored that she chose my book to cook through, and 2) so impressed!!! That is a LOT of home cooking. Kelsey has shared some fun and inspiring takeaways from her experience with me, and, today, we’re passing them along to you, too!
We actually have three options to choose from: one organized by mood, one organized by cook time, and one organized by protein. Pick whichever aligns best with how you decide what to cook for dinner, print it off, and keep track as you cook recipes from the book.
I’ve heard from some of you that you like to use your own color code as you check off the recipes. For example, you check it with green if it’s a meal your whole family loved, pink if it’s a dinner you’d cook again for just the grown ups, blue if you’d cook it for guests, etc. Brilliant!
If you cook your way through the whole thing like Kelsey did, please let me know!
quick ad break from a brand we love!
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KC: Hi! I’m Kels, a 36-year-old mom of two from Maple Valley, Washington (about an hour south of Seattle). I have two daughters, Quinn is 3 and Haven is 16 months old. My husband, Kyle, and I have been married for almost 13 years. I started my business in 2010 as a wedding and portrait photographer, but since having babies, I’ve transitioned to mainly photographing families.
I have a fear of undercooked chicken so my most used kitchen item is my meat thermometer. The first time I had tuna from a can (that I remember) was when I made Tuna Melts from WTC1. I’m a big reader, and audiobooks have changed my reading life since having kids. I would cook elaborate meals every day if I didn’t have to do dishes, but since I don’t live in a magical castle with singing dishes, I love a quick and easy recipe that doesn’t make my kitchen look like it exploded!
KC: I’m an only child and come from a family that loves food. Our house was always open for friends to come for dinner, and so I grew up watching my parents host and loving it myself. The Food Network was on all the time, and I even dressed up as Emeril for Halloween in the 4th grade. The only thing on my Christmas list when I was 10 was a Kitchen Aid Mixer. I LOVED cooking and thought I would one day be a chef. I might not be a chef, but my love for cooking started when I was young!
KC: I was three months postpartum with my second baby. I had two under 2 and was just a little… frazzled? I wanted to do something that made me feel like me. I had purchased the ingredients for the lamb & hummus bowls, and while I was thinking about dinner, I just decided that I’d cook through the book. It was a quick decision. I told my husband, posted it on Instagram, and the rest is history.
And yes! Julie & Julia is my comfort movie. When I’m not feeling well or am having a rough day, it’s the movie I put on. I have watched it over and over since it came out and had always wanted to cook through a cookbook. I actually did it once before in 2021, and had wanted to do it again for a while.
KC: Seven months! I started in July and finished with the last recipe on Valentine’s Day! I saved the shrimp tacos and lemon cake for a little family Valentine’s Day celebration. I gave myself the deadline to do it in a year, but once I started I didn’t want to stop — the recipes were too good!
KC: Definitely jumped around! I tried to choose recipes based on what was in season or if something sounded good. Also, if there were ingredients that were used in multiple recipes, I’d try to cook them in the same week to save on grocery cost.
KC: Yes! My husband and dad both cook incredible steaks, so that wasn’t something I had a lot of experience with myself. There are a few steak recipes in WTC and I was so intimidated to cook and serve them — the last thing I wanted to do was to overcook a ribeye. But I followed the directions and they were SO good.
KC: We found out quickly that my baby LOVES seafood and my toddler does not mind some heat/spice! The seared ahi was a favorite and I’ve made it multiple times since then — my whole family requests it! I don’t think there were any meals that they hated. They are pretty easy to please, and if something wasn’t their favorite, they will always inhale 18 pounds of berries from the fridge or some butter noodles.
KC: Oh my goodness, yes! Especially in the postpartum season I was in — I felt like so many things were out of my control and this was something that made me feel proud of myself. Also, it really is true that food is love. Cooking, spending time in the kitchen, creating something with my hands, and feeding my family were all things that brought me joy in a hard season.
KC: The main thing I love about cooking through a cookbook is that it challenges me to try things I normally wouldn’t — ingredients I’ve never used, preparations that might feel intimidating, flavor combos I’ve never tried. It’s incredible how many of our favorite recipes are things that I might not have chosen at first glance. I think my biggest takeaway is to not judge a recipe before I’ve tried it!
KC: So far I’ve cooked 17! They are rocking my world. I had been in a cooking rut for months… not anymore!
And if you haven’t already…
All the food photos above were taken by Kelsey!
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