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.
I am enjoying your blog and wonderful recipes. Would you mind sharing the name of the company that handled your apartment rental? I am moving to Barcelona in the Fall to teach for a semester and having some difficulty choosing an apartment. Also, I am trying to make some expat connections – do you have any groups that you would suggest joining? Thanks, Kathryn
I love your recipes! Does it matter the kind of rum (you prefer) in your Rum Cake from stratch. It’s probably isn’t important. Also, enjoy your travels!
Hi Ali. I just visited with your in-laws in Kansas City and they told us about your blog. I love it and will be following. I hope you all have a great reunion in Barcelona in a few weeks.
Every time I think I’ve found a fellow foodie things have a way turning around. You started out cooking for one. A philosophy I could embrace! Now you have married (a veggie person no less) and moved to Spain(dream come true)and are off on a new and exciting adventure. I have quite a few of your recipes pinned. I think I’ll stick around for a while and see where it leads. Just please don’t kale and coconut oil me to tears.You now live in Spain and endless food opportunities await you. The food history there has got to be an exciting experience for you! Best wishes and keep blogging for the 1’s, Ones, that are still here. (Sharing extra food in a Senior Complex is easy!) So bring on those recipes. We will all visit the flavors of Spain through you. Barb
I’m not sure how I found your blog, I was just wandering around the interwebs and fell into it. I’m now looking forward to exploring it more thoroughly. I was rather thrilled to see you’re originally from KC. I’m in St. Joseph. Howdy neighbor!
I’m so excited to have found your blog! I have a request, if I may be so bold. My grandmother used to make an Apple Pan Dowdy, which I can closely replicate, but she served it with a thick, warm lemon sauce that I cannot find anywhere! Do you perhaps have such a recipe in your treasure trove, and would you be without to share it?
Best Regards
Linda Brink
Hi Ali,
I’m so happy and thankful that I found your blog! I love your recipes and hope to one day find my niche too. I’m currently the Director of Food Services for a public school district. I came from a large corporation as a Catering Director. I have always loved food and people just like yourself! I agree that great food brings people together. I am currently encorporating my style and love for simple, clean and nutritious food in my cafeterias but I sometimes find it a challenge. My goal is to change school lunch and introduce my kind of eating such as kale salads, Asian, Latin. Dishes etc. Thank you so much for your inspirational blog!!
Hi Ali, For your 5 step baked chicken breast recipe (w/brine), do you cover the baking dish with aluminum foil while baking in the oven?
Hi Ali,
I’ve followed your blog for a couple years now and I absolutely love it. I’m reaching out to you because I’m meeting my sis-in-law in Kansas City in March for a girl’s weekend and I wanted to know what things are MUST SEES.
I want to stay in/close to the Plaza, we love to eat, walk and shop of course(currently I’m on a vegan diet due to health reasons…)
Thank you,
Debbie
New to the site but everything looks so good. I love the Pumpkin Roll!!!!!!!!