Welcome to Butter & Baggage!
I’m Barbara, and I’m glad you’re here. I love creating delicious, high-quality recipes for people who enjoy cooking.
I believe good food makes people happy. And as a busy attorney, wife and mother I’ve learned preparing homemade meals doesn’t have to mean long hours in the kitchen. That’s why many of the recipes like queso chicken on this site can be on the table in 30 minutes with some homemade biscuits of course!
Transform your weeknight dinners into something special.
With hundreds of recipes to choose from including 88 scrumptious casseroles and 20 different types of Southern biscuits, I’ll help you prepare high-quality, simple meals that your whole family will love.
I started this blog after my oldest went off to college in 2014 and since then I have shared over 700 Southern recipes using fresh ingredients – no canned soup in my casseroles!
Thanks to all of you, I had over 3 million people visit my site this year. What a privilege it is for me to share what I love with each of you.
Here you’ll find
- Recipes with that “special something” to stand out from the crowd, like mini croque monsieurs
- Fresh, seasonal ingredients you’ll feel good about eating along with tips for keeping them fresh longer
- Comfort food with a Southern flair for people who enjoy quality food
- Restaurant-style meals you can make at home
- And of course, an abundance of butter!
Butter has been a passion of mine since I first started baking and cooking in high school. After my first failed banana pie recipe gleaned from Seventeen Magazine, my quest for buttery baking perfection was born.
In fact, I might be a bit of a butter snob! I used to get into fights with my grandfather about the merits of using oleo versus butter. It is the running joke in our house that the butter needs to be from ‘happy cows’ within 50 miles of where we are.
Here are a few of our buttery favorites: Homemade yeast rolls, cinnamon rolls, buttery Chex mix, buttery Dollywood bread and the best mashed potatoes.
Over the years my love of food has woven its way into my family’s culinary adventures. As luck would have it, I was blessed with a mother-in-law who loved cooking as much as I did and didn’t mind my sometimes-disastrous experiments in her kitchen.
As my skills improved, many of the meals I made became popular with my family and friends. I love gathering loved ones together around the table, sharing good food and creating memories.
How to Guides
You won’t have to make some of the mistakes I did with these helpful guides:
- How to reheat dinner rolls
- How to keep strawberries fresh
- How to ripen a peach
- How to roast chicken for some fabulous casseroles
My official taste testers are my husband, our two daughters, and our new son-in-law, who are in and out as young adult life dictates. I refer to them often, as they are my best critics and also the pickiest eaters I know. I am always amazed when I make something that all of them like.
We are a family that loves to travel. Many of the recipes here are influenced by our visits to some of my favorite places. I’m inspired by the use of fresh ingredients in French and Italian cooking and incorporate these techniques into many of the meals I create, like mini croque monsieurs and pasta alla vodka.
Thanks for stopping by!
I hope that these recipes become classics in your home and wherever you take them. I have always thought that whenever you pass along a recipe, a little piece of your love and soul goes with it. With this blog I pass on my love of baking, traveling, and butter to all of you.
Read more about Barbara here.
If you are interested in my editorial policies, I share what’s important to me and what goes into writing this blog.
Let’s Connect
I’d love to hear your comments and feedback as you share in my culinary adventures.
- Contact me at butterandbaggage@gmail.com
- Connect on Instagram
- Connect on Pinterest
- Connect on Facebook
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