You want to cook more, but…
You would love to sit down with your family and have a delicious home cooked meal every night.
You wish you had more time to spend with your kids without having to turn to the same old recipes, take out or frozen meals every night.
You dream of being able to make an extra special cake for your child's birthday. Or special cupcakes that will make everyone ooh and aah at the gathering. Or that decadent appetizer that people can’t stop eating on game day (hello there, life of the party!).
Cooking doesn’t have to be difficult.
Life gets crazy sometimes.
We’re all busy people just struggling to make it all work.
We’d give anything for more time with our family, but that shouldn't have to be at the expense of a delicious, home cooked meal.
Cooking should be enjoyable, not a hassle. It should be something you look forward to doing. It should be something you can share with your family.
Meals should be a time that everyone looks forward to sharing together.
Does this sound like you?
“There just aren’t enough hours in the day!"
“I want to be that mom who makes delicious meals but how will I find the time to cook along with everything else and still get quality time with my kids?”
“Some of those recipes out there are so difficult, where do I even begin?”
“I’m bored with the same seven recipes, I need new ideas to keep meals fresh and interesting.”
“I don’t have the space or money for crazy ingredients and contraptions that I’ll only use once.”
“I just can’t seem to find a way to balance it all.”
I totally get it and I’m here to help.
My friends, I really feel you on this. Sometimes it can be so difficult to balance all the aspects of your life, never mind adding cooking into the mix!
I’m certainly not perfect, but every single day I learn something new about cooking, parenting and life and I am here to share it all with you, one delicious dish and parenting anecdote at a time.
- Think about how great it would be to have several simple, easy-to-make and tasty recipes at your fingertips. Recipes for busy weeknights, holidays and special occasions.
- Imagine finding some balance in spending time with your family but still creating delicious meals, and more importantly, memories during these meals that will last a lifetime.
- Envision a group of people who are also right in the thick of it, and just trying to figure it all out (and supporting each other while we do!).
- Picture a place where we can also celebrate the beauty of this life we live in all aspects of food, parenting, travel and even some DIY- our successes and our failures!
Who am I and what is The Life Jolie?
Hi, I’m Jessy. Wife to Justin. Mommy to Alice (3) and Tessa (1) and our sweet dog Macie (7 or 49 in dog years). Financial professional by day. Fearless home cook and Chief Hand Model Extraordinaire for our digital media company.
Musical theatre geek. Avid reader. Wannabe-wino. Slightly sick sense of humor with a mouth that gets me in trouble here and there (I’m working on it). Fiercely independent. Deeply sarcastic. Chatty introvert. Savory tooth (unless there’s crème brûlée, then all bets are off!). Terrified of clowns. Lover of bad disaster movies. Slightly pessimistic (I’m also working on that). Hater of American cheese and pretension. Honest to a fault. A bit of a handful but my intentions are pure.
I’m a born and bred Western New York gal, outside of a few years in New York City and a short stint in Las Vegas. We have a house that we purchased in 2013. It’s not large or fancy, but it’s our home and we love it.
Contrary to what the name of this blog implies, my name is not Jolie and while many of the topics discussed here involve my life, this blog is not about my life.
Jolie means pretty in French. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 32 years, it's that even in all of life’s challenges it is damn pretty. And that’s what this is: a place to celebrate the pretty things in this life. Tasty food. A happy family. Laughter. And joy.
Too often we get wrapped up in all of life’s challenges that we fail to see the simple, beautiful things that are right there in front of us. My mission is to provide a place to help others to see the pretty things that are right there in front of them and to embrace those things. Whether it’s an easy and delicious meal or conquering the hills and valleys of parenting, this is that place.
Cooking is one of my favorite ways to show people how much I love them. One of the parts of my days that I most look forward to are meal times with my family. It makes my heart hurt to think that there are families out there who do not get to enjoy that special time due to being intimidated by the thought of cooking or not having the time to navigate a seemingly difficult recipe.
Preparing meals shouldn’t have to be a dreaded, difficult chore. In fact, it should be joyful.
Here’s what others are saying:
“DELICIOUS, I added a couple splashes of red wine vinegar for some zing, plus a squirt of mustard.. will make this again and again…cool and refreshing, thank you so much” - Carmen
“I love this article. Like you, I’m all for people making the choice they feel is best for their family, but I think it’s important to remember, like you said that it’s not a contest to see who can run themselves through the mud the hardest. Motherhood is hard, and it’s okay to give ourselves a break if needed to be the best moms we can be. Thanks for this perspective.” - Megan
“We make something very similar for the children on occasion and they clean their plates every time! What’s great is that this recipe is so versatile too and you can basically add any ingredients as toppings. We’ve tried it more recently with feta cheese, mushrooms and rocket salad which was also delicious!” - Holly
“Made this today for my fiancé. Was a little worried about the 8-10 hours cook time, but the chops were fall-off-the-bone. So good!! Excellent gravy, too! Thanks for the suggestion.” - Daniel
“I made this for a brunch for 10 people and it came out fantastic! Everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe!” -Alissa
I want to help you integrate cooking into your routine without completely disrupting your life.
The Life Jolie is a place where you will find simple family recipes and actionable tips to make cooking less of a chore and more of a joy. You will also find parenting anecdotes from a mom who is right in the thick of it as well as interesting and usable tid-bits on travel and DIY.
There are a few ways to join the party:
Join Family Meals Made Easy- The Life Jolie Community Group on Facebook
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Subscribe to the newsletter and gain access to a whole slew of freebies
...and of course browse this site to find all of my recipes, parenting anecdotes, DIY attempts and travel tidbit.
Not sure where to start?
Recipes
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