Sara from “Our Best Bites” Cookbook

If you have not yet been blessing you and your family’s tummies with the yumminess from Our Best Bites cookbook, then today is a good day for you.

Looking for new family recipes?

Our Best Bites cookbook is, in my opinion, one of the best food blogs around and they just came out with their 2nd cookbook!

I always like to know some of the behind-the-scenes action – so here are a few questions answered by Sara … including some great recipes for you to make for General Conference!

1. Could you introduce us to you and Kate?

I am Sara Wells and I married to Eric and we have three boys. We live in Idaho, I graduated from the Y, and I served a mission in Brazil.

Kate Jones is married to Sam. They have one daughter and two sons. They live in Louisiana and she also graduated from the Y.

2. You guys have built something that has become huge!  How did this all get started?

Our blog started about 4 1/2 years ago as a simple hobby project.  Kate and I were both stay at home moms with young children and simply wanted a little project to work on.  Food blogs were just starting to become popular and since we both loved to cook, had similar tastes in food, and people were often asking us for recipes, we thought it would be fun to start one.  We really just did it for our family and friends and never, ever imagined it could become what it is today!

3. I saw that my mom just bought your cookbook and she was excited to start trying some of your recipes, her exact words were “I am for sure trying these”. What is the process of developing a recipe?

The process is different for every recipe, and probably for every cook too! Often, for me it starts with a little idea, either something I imagined in my head, or a flavor combination I was inspired by at a restaurant or in a magazine. I often spend days thinking about it, tweaking a recipe in my head until I feel like it would actually work in the kitchen. Then I start putting it together with real food; sometimes it’s a straight-up hit the first time I try it and other times I say, “Okay, this is good but it needs ____” and so I tweak it and try it again another day until it’s perfect.

4. Have you had any utter failures in your recipe developing?

Once I invited company over for dinner and wanted to impress them with a spectacular dessert.

I spent all day baking a homemade caramel layer cake with drippy salted caramel frosting to end our tropical-themed meal. I had the brilliant idea to add summer tropical flair to my cake by topping it with sweet grilled pineapple, so right before serving, I brushed my thick pineapple slices with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and tossed them on the grill. The pineapple turned deliciously caramelized and golden brown. I diced them up, tossed them in their own juices and then smothered it on the cake slices. My guests dug right in with wide eyes. Surely the wide eyes were from the awe of amazement over my spectacular cake. Or so I thought- until the moment I took my first bite and realized I didn’t scrape the grill grates very well after I cooked our dinner and my dessert actually tasted like salted caramel and teriyaki chicken. It lives on forever in our house as “The Caramel Chicken Cake.”

5. With General Conference coming shortly, do you have any “have around” recipes that would be great to make so that family has some good yummy food around while mom gets to enjoy conference?

In our house the tradition is to make overnight dishes like our Sausage and Egg Casserole,

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls,

or Lemon Stuffed Strawberry Croissant French Toast. Everyone digs in while we sit around the TV and watch Conference.

6. What advice would you give to anyone who has dreams to start a business, a website, etc. like you have done?

Stay true to your passion. Most business ventures are successful because the people starting it care more about the idea itself than ever making a profit from it. Also, don’t expect overnight success. Chances are, it’s going to take quite a bit of work before you start seeing the rewards!