About

If you want recipes that actually work in your kitchen, you’re in the right place. Beyond the Chicken Coop is a from-scratch cooking site created for home cooks who want recipes they can trust. I share family-tested meals, baked goods, and seasonal recipes that are made to work in real kitchens.

My cooking is inspired by life in rural Idaho and shaped by what we grow, raise, hunt, fish, and preserve. You’ll find practical recipes for busy weeknights, slower weekend cooking, and preserving food for later. Everything I share is straightforward and dependable, focused on good food made at home.

This blog is for home cooks who want reliable, doable recipes rooted in real ingredients and everyday life. The recipes are perfect for beginning to experienced cooks.

What you'll find on Beyond the Chicken Coop

This site is built around from-scratch cooking that works in real kitchens. I share family-tested recipes for meals, baking, and seasonal cooking, with a focus on clear instructions and practical tips.

You’ll see a mix of fully homemade recipes and dishes that use a few prepared ingredients when they help save time without sacrificing quality. I believe cooking from scratch is about understanding food and making choices that fit your life.

My goal is to help you cook with confidence and put good food on the table, whether it’s a busy weeknight or a slower weekend.

What cooking from scratch means to me

Cooking from scratch means starting with real ingredients and knowing what goes into the food you serve. Many of the recipes I share are made completely from scratch, especially baked goods, sauces, and everyday meals.

That said, I also believe there is a place for quality prepared foods. I might use store-bought spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, or frozen meatballs when it makes sense, especially on busy days. I also share how to make those same items from scratch, so you can choose what works best for your kitchen.

Cooking from scratch is about confidence and flexibility, not rules. You get to decide where to spend your time, and every recipe here is written with that in mind.

About Kathy

I’m a former elementary school principal and a mom to three grown kids, twin boys and a daughter.

My husband and I live in the country on our own small farm. We work to grow, raise, hunt, and preserve as much of our food as we can, while balancing busy lives and full schedules. Each year, we try to do a little more ourselves, and that approach shapes the way I cook and share recipes here.

Cooking and life experience

I’m a home-trained cook, always learning through trial, error, and lots of kitchen time. I’ve taken classes at King Arthur Baking School and learned classic techniques in Paris, and I’ve worked alongside chefs in restaurant kitchens who loved teaching their craft.

I also stay current on food-preserving practices through formal courses. Gardening, canning, beekeeping, and self-sufficiency have been part of my life for decades, influenced by growing up with a huge organic garden and plenty of canning with my mother and at my grandmother’s house.

While my last career was as an elementary school principal, my first career was in hotels and the food service industry. My bachelor's degree was in Business, Hotel, and Restaurant Management.

I later returned to school to earn my teaching degree and eventually received my master's degree in educational leadership, where I worked as an elementary school principal for several years.

I have always enjoyed cooking, and even when I was a teenager, I read cookbooks for enjoyment. I have a huge collection of cookbooks and cooking magazines, and I still enjoy reading through them again and again. I seem to find something new every time.

Fun facts about Kathy

• We live on the property that my grandfather purchased back in the early 1900s.
• My sister lives down the mountain from us in the house my grandparents built
• I have always dreamed of owning a cow to milk. We've raised goats for milk, but never a cow!
• My favorite food to bake is bread, preferably yeast bread, but I enjoy baking any type of bread and muffins.
• My favorite food is freshly picked raspberries that are warmed by the sun.
• I do not like peanut butter!
• I have 2 brothers and 3 sisters and although we may live in different states, we are all close.
• My husband and kids all enjoy hunting and keep our freezers stocked with game meat.
• My favorite books to read as a child were the Little House on the Prairie Books. If I could pick a time period to live in, it would be during that period.
• I have kissed a pig! It was a cute baby pig and it was a prize for my students for reaching a school-wide goal! We had a whole school assembly with our local media present to capture the entire event. There were plenty of squeals - both from the students and the pig!

Ready to cook something?

Start with some favorites:

• Try banana oatmeal muffins or beer-battered fish.
• Explore hearty weeknight dinners like crockpot spaghetti and meatballs.
• Learn preserving basics with canning tomatoes or homemade stock.

In the news

Many of my recipes have been featured in Parade, Feed Feed, MSN, Foodista, Woman's Day, Red Tricycle, Brit & Co. Yummly, Foodgawker, Buzzfeed, The Pioneer Woman, and more!

You'll also find a great article in Mashed where I've been quoted in an article about selecting and using fresh green beans. And in another article about how to make your fresh eggs last longer. Simply Recipes utilized me as a resource on how to fry eggs.

Check out my recipe for Barley Risotto on Idaho Preferred which features recipes utilizing food grown in Idaho.

Beyond the Chicken Coop® is a registered trademark.