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 love your recipes!! The slow cooker chicken teriyaki is so amazing, my friend even asked me to make it for him for his special birthday dinner last month, he likes it so much. I downloaded the slow cooker potato soup and crispy carnitas to try as well, can’t wait!! I look forward to your posts in my email box. Keep it up!!
Have a great day!
Laura Korhonen
reader from Vancouver, Canada. :)
Your recipes are amazing. They are all so appealing to all members of the family. Budget friendly, easy enough for those who can’t spend all day in the kitchen and have minimal skills. Having a child with dairy, egg and nut allergies I am constantly looking for healthy alternatives that don’t take all day or are too expensive. Your blog is entertaining and by far is one of my go-to sites. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your kind words, Karen — we’re so happy to know you and your family enjoy the blog! :)
Ali! I follow you on Instagram and LOVE your passion for life! I’m headed to the grocery now to pick up some ingredients for this fab dip. A food-loving girlfriend of mine turns 25 tomorrow and I can’t wait for her to try this …. okay and tell her about you, too!
Thanks, Peyton — we’re not sure which dip you’re referring to, but we hope you and your friend enjoy it!
Dear Ali
Made your chocolate chip skillet cookie recipe last night for my daughter’s 15th birthday, it was incredible, everyone enjoyed. So easy and quick.
Thank you for sharing.
Best,
Wendy
Hi Wendy! Thanks for your sweet words — we’re so happy to know this was a hit for your daughter’s party! :)
I do not typically send comments but I so needed to Thank you for you best ever fried rice recipe. I followed as many of your tips as possible, but didn’t have either the sesame oil or the oyster sauce, it was still so delicious. This is going into my top 10 recipes. It tasted as close to good restaurant fried rice as I ever tasted. 5 stars for sure.
Julie
We’re so happy you loved it, Julie! We appreciate you giving the recipe a try and we appreciate your sweet comment! :)
Ali—you are totally adorable! And, as I was perusing the Internet for a great chicken enchilada recipe , I found you and the greatest recipe ever! Never knew making the sauce was that easy. Thank you bunches for the great recipe. My new boyfriend will love it! Cheers and blessings upon you dear.
Thanks for your sweet words Doris! We hope your boyfriend loves the enchiladas! :)
Hey!
I was reading your jumbolaya recipe (which I’m eager to try but your website kept getting hijacked every couple of seconds. I kept getting redirected about 7 times. Not sure if this has to do with a bad ad but it made it hard to capture the recipe. Just wanted to let you know! Keep up the good work! :)
Hi Amanda! Oh goodness, we’re so sorry! We’ve let our advertising guy know and he’s looking into it, so we’re working on it. We’re sorry for the crazy redirects!
Hi Ali! I have a Frugalista Friday blog at the My Atlanta Moms Club site, and I would love to link to your great Aldi posts when I spotlight that store next week. I would also love to collaborate some time! I love your site!
Hey Megan! Sure thing, here’s a link to our content sharing guidelines — https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/content-sharing-policy/. So glad that you love ALDI too! :)
Ali your blog and recipe page aré awesome you’re awesome.❤️?????????
Most of your stir fry type recipes calls for oyster sauce but I can’t eat shell fish.
Is there something else I could use or could I leave it out without ruining the taste?
Thank you for responding. (I have found some great recipes from your site!)
Char in IL.
Hi Char! You could use soy sauce or hoisin sauce instead. We hope this helps! :)