Hi! I’m Ali, and I am so happy that you found your way here.
I created Gimme Some Oven to celebrate life around the table, with recipes that are simple, fresh, and full of flavor. With two littles underfoot these days, I know how relentless the dinner grind can feel. My hope is that this space can offer a bit of inspiration for everyone — and make everyday cooking feel a bit more fun.
So whether you’re throwing together a quick weeknight dinner, hosting a cozy brunch with friends, or just craving a warm batch of cookies, I hope you’ll find recipes here that feel doable and delicious.
Cheers!
About Ali
About Me
When I began Gimme Some Oven back in 2009, I was working full-time as a musician by day and spending my evenings cooking, photographing, and sharing recipes just for fun. Over time, that creative outlet grew into a full-time career — and for more than a decade now, I’ve had the absolute joy of writing and developing recipes here on Gimme Some Oven.
Even after all these years, it still feels like magic to create a recipe in my kitchen and see it come to life on tables all around the world! Your trust in my recipes means the world to me, and I work hard to make sure each one is thoughtfully developed, thoroughly tested, and truly worth making — the kind of recipe you’ll want to return to again and again.
Beyond the blog, my husband and I are now settling back into life in Kansas City with our two young boys after spending six wonderful years living in Barcelona. My favorite things include sunny days, an excellent plate of nachos, lingering around tables with good friends, and always dreaming up our next adventure. I occasionally share more about life behind the scenes here if you’d like to follow along.
About Gimme Some Oven
So what kinds of recipes will you find here?
Short answer: a bit of everything.
The recipes I share here are the ones we’re actually making and eating in our home. My husband is pescetarian, our boys are still a bit veggie-suspicious, and I enjoy a wide range of foods — so our meals reflect that mix. We do our best to cook seasonally, and most weeknights are all about quick, flavorful recipes that come together in 30 minutes or less. But I also love slowing down on the weekends with a cozy cup of coffee and baking our favorite 1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls, or inviting friends over for a big pot of chili with homemade guac and margaritas.
You’ll notice here that we’ve got a soft spot for Mexican food, big bowls of soup, noodles in all forms, and cookies of just about every variety. While most of my recipes lean fresh and lighter, you’ll also find your fair share of fun treats and comfort food favorites — we’re all about balance!
My hope is that you’ll find recipes here that work well for real life, whatever that looks like for you right now. And if there’s ever a recipe you’re craving, I’d love to hear from you!
My Favorite Recipes
FAQs
I can’t take the credit. 😉 The name actually came from my former bandmate, Jay, who tossed it out during a rehearsal years ago when I mentioned I was thinking about starting a food blog. It made us all laugh — and it stuck! Now it feels like a fun little reminder of my past life as a full-time musician.
You bet! Every single one of the 2000+ recipes on this site has been developed and tested in my own kitchen. I now have a team of recipe testers who join me each week to test old and new recipes to help ensure they are as clear, reliable, and delicious as possible. We want each recipe to be the best it can be when it reaches your table!
The best way to ask about substitutions is to leave a comment on that specific recipe post. That way, we’ll be sure to see it, and other readers can benefit from the answer too.
Yes! We’re constantly retesting, updating and rephotographing older recipes to make sure they’re as reliable and delicious as possible. Whenever we make a significant change, we do our best to note it clearly in the recipe notes so that you know what’s been updated.
No. We made the decision back in 2018 to stop publishing sponsored content on Gimme Some Oven. While we were grateful to partner with brands we genuinely loved in the past, it’s important to us that readers know all product mentions are now completely unpaid — just things we personally use and recommend.
This is probably the most-asked question we receive. Sorry, not yet! I keep putting it off, but someday I look forward to finally writing one. 💛
Giving Back
While we love creating and sharing recipes here, we also recognize what a profound privilege it is to have consistent access to fresh food, clean water, and a safe place to gather around the table. Not everyone has that — the statistics are sobering, and they remind us how important it is to keep working toward change.
That’s why we donate a portion of our profits to support three organizations working to fight food insecurity and expand access to nutritious food and clean water around the world. Every time you visit this site, your pageviews directly help support that work too, and we’re so grateful. We’d love for you to learn more about these incredible organizations and consider supporting them in whatever ways you can too.
It’s our hope that this space not only inspires delicious meals, but also plays a small part in supporting communities far beyond our own kitchens.
TWP is a community-led initiative in Mali focused on developing economic opportunities for women through organic food production, access to clean water, and a commitment to environmental stewardship.
Cultivate Kansas City is a locally-grown nonprofit working to grow food, farms, and community in support of an equitable, sustainable and healthy local food system for all.
World Central Kitchen is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises.
Try replacing corn with hominy, I think it gives Mexican flavored soups MORE of a Mexican flavo
Hey Ali! I’ve tried at least 10 of your dishes and they have all been DELISH! My family and friends have also become huge fans of my cooking, thanks to you :) Will definitely continue trying out your featured recipes!
Thank you so much, Antoinette — we’re so happy you’re enjoying the blog! :)
First of all congratulations on your upcoming wedding!! My daughters and I follow your blog and have made several of your recipes. We are big fans.
I’m a 55 year old mom to two daughters and one son. My 28 year old daughter and her husband are moving to Kansas City from San Antonio Texas this May. He got accepted to Nurse Anethesist School at the Truman Medical Center. I was hoping that you could suggest an area or areas one might find an Apt. within walking distance to restaurants and shops. There budget is @1,200.00. We would appreciate any advice you could give us. Thanks, Susie
Hi! Just wanted to let you know the jambalaya recepie is freakin amazing! Huge hit with my husband and perfect for Mardi Gras. Can’t wait to try more of your recipies!
Thank you for sharing, Angeline — we’re thrilled that you guys loved it! :D
Can the chicken enchilada casserole be made as a half recipe? Sounds so good but don’t want to have so much .
Thank you
Yes, we hope you enjoy!
I always make my own pie crusts ’cause my family loves them. They are flaky and yummy and not hard and tasting like cardboard like store-bought pies. You say you use pre-made pie crusts so what brand would you recommend? Once in a while it would be time-saving to use one. Thank you.
Hi Jane! We’ll actually make our own from scratch and keep them in the freezer, but if you want store-bought, we feel like Pillsbury works fine. We hope this helps!
Man you are so talented! I just found your blog by accident and I could not stop going clicking to the next page and the next page. Cant wait to try these recipes, they look so delicious!
Thanks for your sweet words, Karen — we’re so happy you enjoy the blog! :)
Why is it called oven co con vin when it is cooked on the stove?
Hi Fran! We think you may have meant to leave a comment on the Coq Au Vin recipe? Coq Au Vin translates to chicken cooked with wine.
Hi Ali, like many of us, we put our own spin on food though often they result in unintended consequences and we step on a culture’s toes, which I found in your enchilada recipe. I found your use of flour tortillas to be unauthentic. Corn tortillas are authentic to both enchiladas and tacos. Flour tortillas are used in burritos. Using flour tortillas in an enchilada recipe would result in a soggy mess. My Mexican grandmother and my mother would turn over in their graves if we didn’t speak up and to keep our culture’s food authentic..
Hi Olivia! We appreciate your feedback and we definitely recognize that flour tortillas for enchiladas are not authentic. We used them in the recipe because we prefer them to corn tortillas, but we encourage folks to use corn tortillas if they prefer! :)
Ali,
I visited your blog for the first time, was impressed by your recipe for fried rice, and though I’m not much of a chef, I easily followed your excellent instructions. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures, but I plan on making the rice again and will send photos at that time. I’m 84 and married, but I think I’m in love with you, or maybe it’s your cooking.
My wife has never been a fan of fried rice, but she had to admit that she really liked the rice.
My only complaint was that the recipe didn’t create as much fried rice as I wanted. Tomorrow I will double what is called for.
Keep up the good work.
Alan Marcus
Thanks for your sweet words, Alan — we’re so happy you enjoyed the fried rice! :)