Hi there, I'm Melinda! I'm a self-taught recipe developer and food blogger, influenced by a large and extended family of amazing cooks. My mom comes from a family of 10 siblings!
Here you'll find authentic, family-favorite recipes like Chicken Spaghetti and Old Fashioned Chocolate Pound Cake that are easy to make, taste delicious and use ingredients you will likely have in your kitchen.
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Melinda's Story
Cooking is my passion and I've been developing recipes for more than 30 years. As a teenager, I worked as a prep cook in a restaurant where I learned valuable cooking techniques that I still use today.
It was a lifelong dream come true when I launched this food blog in 2019!
I have a bachelor of arts in communications from Washington State University (Go Cougs!). Check out my recipe for Cougar Gold Quiche, made with the award-winning cheese from my alma mater.
Fun Fact: Over the years, I worked at several TV stations as a news anchor and reporter across the Great Northwest, with a stop in Spokane, Washington and finally back to Boise, Idaho where I started my career and where I currently live. I always loved it when I could share a recipe or a food-related story on the air. (See the photo below from a "celebrity" beef cookoff where I made Idaho Beef. I won!)
When my kids were still little, I left the crazy hours of the TV broadcasting industry and worked in public relations before settling into higher education marketing. Being home in time for dinner with my family was something I missed when I worked on TV.
What You'll Find on the Crinkled Cookbook
My goal is for you to enjoy making great meals at home. I share easy and delicious recipes that use common ingredients that are quick to find in any grocery store. (Or have on hand in your pantry!)
Sign up for my email newsletter. I'll send you easy and delicious new recipes perfect for whatever time of year it is, whether it's an upcoming holiday or an annual season.
Here you'll find recipes that are inspired or shared by great family cooks. My Auntie's Favorites category includes recipes that came from someone special and have been perfected by many years of cooking and baking, tasting - and lots of eating!
This is a personal website and every recipe is one I've made, tested and that my family enjoys. My kids will tell you that one of their favorite recipes on the food blog is Oven-Baked Beef Burritos.
More About Melinda & the Crinkled Cookbook
I work in higher education marketing so I have a busy, full-time day job. But my evenings and weekends are spent creating recipes, photographing the process and posting it all here on the Crinkled Cookbook.
Yes. No. Maybe? I'm having so much fun writing recipes for my food blog that I'm not sure I'd ever have the time to publish a cookbook. But we'll see. Stay tuned!
I have so many favorite recipes! It's always nice to serve guests something they might not have had before. Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese is always a winner and Twice-Baked Mashed Potatoes go great with countless main entrees. For dessert, Old Fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is easy to make, and is a wonderful follow-up to a great meal.
My kitchen, my head, my recipe cards, from friends, acquaintances and of course from my family. I will always let you know the origin of a recipe and will give credit where it's due if it isn't an original from my kitchen. Check out Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, it's a recipe I adapted by adjusting the cooking technique and adding a touch of lemon.
In the Media
I love talking about food and food blogging. I was thrilled to be a guest on the Eat Blog Talk podcast to share my insights on brand and marketing for a food blog.
I was also invited to contribute a blog post to the Tastemaker Conference website to discuss the process of building a brand for a food blog.
Fun Fact: In October of 2022, I was happy to donate 100% of my food blog's proceeds for the month to a non-profit called Stampede for the Cure, which helps make screening mammograms available for all women. I was a guest on KTVB's morning news broadcast to help spread the word about my campaign and I shared my No-Peel Apple Cake recipe.
My Family
I'm a proud wife, married 31 years, and mom to a 27-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son. Everyone is so grown up now! The photo above is from my daughter's college graduation a few years ago.
Fun Fact: In addition to being my number one group of taste-testers, my family also contributes to my food blog by volunteering copy-editing expertise, sometimes holding the camera for me in the kitchen when my hands are busy cooking and often giving me suggestions about which photo of a particular recipe, like Pinto Bean Chili looks best. Thanks family!
Favorite Recipes
It's hard to have a favorite recipe, but here are a few that I have made countless times and folks always love!
I'm so glad you are here. Stick around and click around my food blog, it's full of recipes inspired by those on the well-worn, "crinkled" pages of my family cookbooks.
Let's get baking, cooking and enjoying great meals at home!