Welcome to my little corner of the internet where flour flies, timers ding, and memories are made one recipe at a time. I’m so glad you found your way to Tara’s Treats!
The Woman Behind the Recipes
I’m Tara Hamrick – mom of two amazing (and incredibly energetic) kids, wife to my high school sweetheart Mark, recipe developer, enthusiastic taste-tester, and the woman behind the camera and kitchen counter you see here. Born and raised in the sun-soaked valleys of Northern California, I now live in a cozy home just outside of Denver, Colorado with our beautiful chaos – including our rescue dog, Pepper, who serves as our unofficial kitchen vacuum and most loyal taste-tester.
By day, I work as an elementary school teacher (third grade – the perfect age where kids are curious about everything, including food!). But my evenings and weekends? That’s when the real magic happens in my kitchen.
How It All Began
My love affair with cooking began at my grandmother’s kitchen table. I was barely tall enough to see over the countertop, standing on a worn wooden stool as she taught me how to feel the dough rather than just follow a recipe. My grandmother, Elizabeth (or “Nana Beth” as everyone called her), was the heart of our family gatherings. The woman could transform simple ingredients into meals that brought people together and created memories that lasted lifetimes.
“Cooking isn’t just about feeding bellies,” she’d tell me while rolling out pie crust, flour dusting her cheeks. “It’s about feeding souls.”
That philosophy stuck with me throughout my life. Through college (where I was known for hosting legendary potluck dinners in my tiny apartment), through my early teaching career, and especially when I became a mom and realized just how precious family mealtime really is.
From Kitchen Disasters to Blog Success
Let me tell you a secret – I wasn’t always good at this! My first solo attempt at Thanksgiving dinner in 2013 ended with firefighters in my kitchen (true story!), a permanently scarred roasting pan, and Chinese takeout for 12 very hungry family members. Mark still brings this up at every family gathering.
Then there was the time I decided to make homemade pasta with my then 3-year-old daughter Emma. We ended up with flour in places I’m still finding years later, pasta that more closely resembled abstract art than fettuccine, and a memory that makes me smile every time I think about it.
These kitchen adventures – both successful and hilariously unsuccessful – made me realize something important: perfection isn’t the goal. Connection is. Creating food that brings people together, that makes a busy Wednesday night feel special, that creates traditions your children will someday share with their own families – that’s what matters.
Why I Started Tara’s Treats
This blog was born in 2018 during one of those rare quiet moments when both kids were actually napping at the same time (parents, you know what a miracle that is!). I was scrolling through photos on my phone, realizing I had hundreds of pictures of recipes I’d created but nowhere to share them beyond my personal social media.
But more importantly, I kept hearing the same thing from fellow mom friends:
“I wish I had time to cook like you do.” “I don’t know how you manage to get dinner on the table every night.” “I want to make special meals but I’m just too exhausted.”
I get it. I really, really get it. The mental load of parenthood is overwhelming. Planning meals feels impossible when you’re juggling work deadlines, soccer practice, doctor appointments, and trying to remember if you’ve watered the one surviving house plant this month.
So I created this blog to share simple, heartfelt recipes that make family meals easy and special for busy moms like me.
Recipes that don’t require fancy equipment or obscure ingredients you’ll use once and then forget about until you find them two years later during a pantry clean-out. Recipes that can often be prepped during nap time or even the night before. Recipes that sometimes involve shortcuts (store-bought rotisserie chicken is MAGIC, people!) but never sacrifice on flavor.
What You’ll Find Here
At Tara’s Treats, you’ll discover:
- Family-Friendly Meals: Tested and approved by my own tiny food critics (who, yes, still occasionally declare dinner “yucky” despite my best efforts)
- Make-Ahead Magic: Recipes designed with busy schedules in mind
- Seasonal Specialties: Taking advantage of what’s fresh, affordable, and at peak flavor
- Heritage Recipes: Including treasured family recipes passed down through generations
- Kitchen Hacks: Little tricks that save big time
- Meal Prep Guides: Because Sunday prep can save your Tuesday sanity
- Special Occasion Recipes: Because sometimes you need something that feels a little fancy, even if it’s secretly simple
My Recipe Philosophy
I believe that good food doesn’t have to be complicated. Some of my most requested recipes have five ingredients or less. I believe that dinner can be ready in 30 minutes and still be something you’re proud to serve. And I firmly believe that the best conversations happen around the dinner table.
Every recipe on this site has been made multiple times in my actual kitchen with my actual kids running around and my actual limited time. If it works for me, it will work for you.
My Kitchen Confession
Here’s something I don’t share often: For years, I felt guilty about my passion for cooking. In a world where women are trying to break free from being defined by domestic roles, I sometimes worried that loving my time in the kitchen somehow made me less progressive.
But I’ve come to realize that cooking isn’t about gender roles – it’s about nurturing creativity and caring for the people you love. It’s about taking raw ingredients and creating something greater than the sum of its parts. There’s power in that transformation, and joy in that creation.
So now I embrace it fully. I cook because it grounds me. I cook because it’s creative. I cook because few things make me happier than watching someone I love take a bite of something I’ve made and close their eyes in appreciation.
Behind the Scenes
When I’m not in the kitchen or chasing kids, you might find me:
- Trail running in the beautiful Colorado mountains (where I do some of my best recipe brainstorming)
- Reading cookbooks like novels (my nightstand is perpetually toppling with them)
- Attempting to maintain a small vegetable garden (with varying degrees of success)
- Volunteering at my kids’ school (usually involving food, of course)
- Binge-watching cooking shows with Mark after the kids are in bed (with a glass of wine and usually some kind of cheese board)
My Biggest Kitchen Fail
I think it’s only fair to share one of my most spectacular kitchen disasters, just so you know I’m keeping it real around here. Picture this: It’s my husband’s birthday, and I’ve decided to make a three-layer chocolate cake with salted caramel filling and Swiss meringue buttercream. Ambitious? Yes. Beyond my skill level at the time? Absolutely.
The cake layers themselves turned out perfectly. The salted caramel was divine. But the Swiss meringue buttercream? It became my nemesis. I didn’t let the meringue cool enough before adding butter, and what should have been fluffy, silky frosting turned into a curdled, soupy mess. After three attempts and nearly crying on the kitchen floor, I threw in the towel and used canned frosting. And you know what? The cake was still delicious, and my husband still talks about how much he appreciated the effort.
The moral of the story: Sometimes good enough is perfect. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done – especially when people are hungry!
A Typical Day in My Life
My alarm goes off at 5:30 am (yes, really), giving me a precious hour of quiet before the house wakes up. This is often when I test recipes, take photos, or just enjoy a cup of coffee in blissful silence.
By 6:30, the kids are up and it’s the morning rush – breakfast, lunch packing, finding the forever-missing shoe, and getting everyone out the door. I head to school where I spend my day with 25 wonderful third graders.
After school, it’s activities, homework help, and then dinner prep. This is often when I do “double duty” cooking – making tonight’s dinner while prepping components for tomorrow’s meal. The kids love to help, which sometimes makes things take twice as long but creates twice the memories.
Evenings are for family time, blog work after bedtimes, and occasionally collapsing on the couch with Mark to watch something that doesn’t involve animation.
Weekends are for farmer’s market visits, bigger cooking projects, and recipe testing with my most honest critics.
Let’s Connect!
Nothing makes me happier than hearing that one of my recipes made your family dinner a little easier or a little more special. Drop me a comment on a recipe, send me an email, or tag me in your creations on social media. I read everything and respond to as much as humanly possible!
You can also find me on:
- Instagram: @tarastreats1
- Pinterest: @Taras_Treats
- Contact us directly
Thank You
Thank you for being here. Thank you for trusting me with your precious family mealtime. And thank you for joining me on this journey of creating food that nourishes both body and soul.
Now, let’s get cooking!
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Tara ❤️