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.
Loved reading your brief but interesting bio!! Am new to this site but know there are “cooking things” for me to learn here!! Thank you…
Your enchilada sauce recipe is the best we’ve ever eaten. Even our most selective eater likes it. Thank you!!!
Hi Ali,
My husband and I love ALL of your recipes. The first recipe of yours that we tried were the scalloped potatoes. They were a hit with us and everyone that we have made them for loves them, too. Wondering if you have a paella recipe?
Hello Ali.
I was working on a project and while doing so, I had to find some of the best sites for recipes and specially in that specific time, Grilled Chicken Recipe(Kebab).
I found your site and it was (and is) great. First of all, thank you so much.
The reason I’m typing this right now is that My name is Ali too, but the point is, I’m a Man, living in Iran.
Actually I had no idea that Ali is also a girly name and that really shocked me so much, while being really cool.
BTW, thank you again for your beautiful site, delicious meals that I’ll have from now on and of course, the cool fact that you’re Ali too.
I just tried the baked chicken breast with the black pepper/ paprika seasoning. I did have to vary the ingredients a little but they are still scrumptious (guys, DO NOT skip the Brining Step!) I had tried a thigh recipe from this site before (I’m a novice cook, and it looked easy). They were fabulous. Bookmark this blog!
I’m recovering from. A Stroke and love to cook,so have been looking and reading cooking so when I can I’ll be ready. My right side and hand are right now are waisted. Hope not too away. I’m in NC and Tenn right now with my 2 kids they are doing great. I’m going to try making some cookies today. Keep me mind when you are writing.
Recipe book please?
Even if it’s just a download I can print myself & put inside a 3 ring binder… please! Love your recipes, hard for me to look at my iPad screen for too long.
Hi Ali,
I have today discovered your wonderful website when looking for a focaccia recipe. So many delicious recipes that are also healthy that I can’ t wait to try.
Hope you, hubby and dogs are keeping well in Barcelona.
It has been a long held dream to visit Barcelona and one day I will once I can again safely travel outside of Australia.
Keep the fab recipes coming :o)
Chicken enchiladas with the homemade sauce – fabulous!
thanks for the recipe, me and my family of eight children will love this!