My Blog Turns 15!
Fifteen years ago, when I was young and full of hope, I started a recipe blog.
It was called mykitchencafe.blogspot.com
If you recognize the blogspot address or either one of these original logos below, it means you’ve been around a long time…and…you probably deserve an award.
A few years after I started My Kitchen Cafe, I swapped out the blogspot address for a real, live dot com and it has been Mel’s Kitchen Cafe ever since (with no shortage of logo changes until I finally hired a professional, ha).
It would be impossible to describe all the changes that have occurred over the last 15 years. Both personally and in the internet/blogging landscape.
When I first started my blog, life looked a bit like this:
Whereas now, “life” has increased in the number of humans…and in wrinkles. 😉
Some days, it’s hard to wrap my brain around the fact that I’ve been sharing recipes in this space for 15 years. THAT’S A LONG TIME!
My kids don’t really remember life before “mom had a blog.” Sometimes, neither do I!
Funny story: when my kids were little, little, I’d spend our days doing kid/mom things and making a concerted effort not to be on the computer. However, the minute my kids went to bed, I would rush to my computer and do all the blogging “stuff” on my to-do list. Inevitably, as kids do, mine would wander out of bed and into the office to find me and ask for a drink or want to tell me a random story to delay bedtime or just sit on my lap for a minute (you know, because I HADN’T JUST SPENT THE WHOLE ENTIRE DAY WITH THEM). 😉 During this time, a teacher at church told me that one of my kids had announced to his class: “my mom likes to play games on her computer every night after we go to bed.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or feel mortified (both!). Turns out, all that time, my kids thought I was hiding in the office to play games when they went to bed! We had a quick family discussion about how mom goes into her office at bedtime to work on her food blog…not to play solitaire until the wee hours of the morning. 😂 But honestly, I think they still told their friends and teachers and friends’ parents for years that I was a late-night internet gamer.
Photo Growth
My kids’ shoe sizes and the number of animals we have acquired over the years aren’t the only things that have changed either. HAVE YOU TAKEN A DIVE INTO THE ARCHIVES TO SEE SOME OF MY OLD PHOTOS?
I mean, my goodness. Talk about before and after growth. 🤣
Things Change but My Motives Haven’t
I could write an entire blog post about how, outside of family life, things in the blogging world have changed so drastically over the last 15 years.
Over the years, the online world of food blogging has become less simple and more strategic.
Less relatable and more robotic.
Less carefree and more calculated.
It’s not all bad. It’s just different.
I started my blog as a way to share recipes with my mom and sisters who didn’t live near me. I never had any intentions of becoming a “full-time” blogger.
In fact, I was completely freaked out when a few months after I started putting recipes up on my blog I received a comment from a stranger saying they had made a recipe and liked it. I thought for sure that person was an internet stalker coming after my children.
Turns out, that first blog reader was a perfectly nice, normal human being who still follows my blog after all these years (hi, Kim!). Millions of readers have followed!
Years ago, I did a blog post called “This is Why I Blog”, and I could honestly repost that word for word because I still adhere to the same philosophies I always have about blogging. If you haven’t read that post, please do. It might give you some insight into why I am the way I am and why I blog the way I blog.
While blogging has changed infinitely over the years, my motives have not. Just like when I started putting recipes up on the internet late in 2007, my reasons I still do so are the same: to share my favorite, tried-and-true recipes with the world.
My blog started out as a hobby.
Now it is equal parts hobby and full-time job!
I never would have thought 15 years ago that my readership of about five people would grow into millions! What a tremendous, awesome opportunity and blessing it has been for me.
Some Fun Stats
For those who like geeky number-type stats, I thought it would be fun to share a few details/facts/numbers that help give a big picture look at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe!
At the Beginning (from about 2007-2010):
- Revenue/Income: $0
- Blog Visits: 50-1,000 per month
- Additional Employees: 0
- My Time: 10-20 hours/week
The Middle Years (2014-ish):
- Revenue/Income: part-time
- Blog Visits: 750,000-1,000,000/month
- Additional Employees: 1 part-time virtual assistant (5-10 hours/week)
- My Time: 30-40 hours/week
Current Years (2022):
- Revenue/Income: full-time
- Blog Visits: 3,000,000-4,000,000/month
- Additional Employees: 1 part-time virtual assistant (10-20 hours/week) plus a few contracted employees to help with videos/projects
- My Time: 20-45 hours/week
A Note About Income and Revenue
Things can get kind of weird when people talk about money (and heaven knows, I don’t want things to get weird between us!), but lots of people have been curious over the years if my blog makes money.
It does! But it didn’t always.
For the first several years, I made approximately zero dollars.
Around 2010, I started putting display ads on my website (first just on my own with Google Adsense and then with a long since outdated company, Foodbuzz through Federated Media). I remember literally falling over with excitement when I got a check one particular month for $125. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid that much to talk about recipes I loved!
I later changed ad networks to AdThrive and then switched to Mediavine in 2016 and have been with them ever since.
A VERY simplistic description of how ad networks, like Mediavine, operate is that they work directly with ad exchanges and companies to service and display all the ads you see on my website (and they work on the ad technology and gaining new ad customers so I don’t have to!).
I am paid based on a revenue split – meaning, I don’t pay Mediavine directly for their work servicing ads, rather, Mediavine and I split the revenue that comes from the ads on my site.
I can choose which ads I want displayed. Although that system isn’t always perfect, which is why you may occasionally see a questionable ad, like an alcohol ad, even though I have alcohol ads disabled in my ad settings. Please feel free to always report those ads, by the way! You can do that by clicking on the Mediavine logo in the lower right hand side of the ad and selecting “report ad” (see screenshot below).
Over the years as I’ve worked hard and traffic has increased and my ad structure has changed, my blog has grown to provide a full-time income for me and my family.
My income comes from: the ads you see on the blog, Amazon affiliate links (and L’Chef affiliate links when Bosch mixers are on sale), and Prepear menu planning subscriptions. I know ads can be annoying – and because of that, I only run about half of the ads available to me through my ad network – but those ads serve a purpose to help pay the costs of running and hosting a website, pay my employee and contractors, and compensate me for my work on the blog.
My Virtual Assistant(s)
I’m blessed in that my sister, Emily, is my virtual assistant! She started working with me in 2013 and she is a lifesaver. She schedules posts to Facebook, answers emails, works on Prepear menus, does tons of behind the scenes work updating recipes and categories on the blog, and more.
Her help allows me to focus more on recipe testing, taking all the photos, writing the posts, answering comments, interacting on Instagram, occasionally taking a nap, and maintaining the authentic voice here on the blog.
And since I’m deep in the middle of this acceptance speech (?? kind of starting to sound like one! haha), I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shoutout to my faithful partner and best friend. He’s the unpaid assistant around here.
Brian has been my biggest champion since the beginning. And as the resident taste tester (all those pictures on my blog with one bite taken out?? Yeah, thank Brian for that effort), he offers the support, compassion, brain gasoline, and endlessly patient listening ears that keep me and this blog putting one foot in front of the other.
The Numbers Game + Blog Visitors
2020 was a huge year for internet traffic. Because of the pandemic shutdowns and increase of at-home cooking, my visits per month were at a record high that year – nearly 10 million per month! But things have gradually slowed down and my traffic is actually less than it was a few years ago.
The thing is, I rarely check my stats. I can’t really tell you month-to-month how many visitors I’m getting or if it is waxing or waning.
The numbers game can be debilitating (both in traffic and with social media), and I’ve just chosen not to play it so that I stay better focused on my overall intentions. I monitor and check things out now and then, but I don’t dwell on it.
However, I did do a fun little check for this post to see where my visitors are checking in from!
United States: 81.38%, Canada: 8.35%, United Kingdom: 2.53%, Australia: 1.35%, South Africa: .56%, New Zealand: .36%, Philippines: .35%, India: .33%, Germany: .29%
The Right Way to Blog…Or Not
Many bloggers in this food space are intensely savvy. They do keyword research and create their recipe posts strictly around what Google wants (with the goal to get high up in search results). They network with companies (and each other) and grow virtual empires. They publish books and videos and create products.
It’s amazing to watch and see. I love it!
My strategy, which should come as no surprise, is more of the homebody, naturalistic, girl-next-door approach. Meaning: I don’t network all that much, I don’t do keyword research, I don’t do sponsored posts.
I make a recipe. I squeal in delight. I force my family to taste it and review it. I make it again. And likely, again. And then I post it for you, because if I don’t, I want be able to sleep at night.
That’s not to say I don’t work hard at this gig. I do! Blogging is a ton of work (certainly more than just taking a pretty picture of food and slapping it up online!).
I set priorities for certain projects (like email growth, etc), and I’ve always put high emphasis on staying up to date with SEO principles and technology updates, but at the end of the day, I’m still an old school blogger who just wants a space to share my favorite recipes with the world.
Which means sometimes I turn a blind eye to “best practices” and do my own thing. I don’t do this to be ignorant – it’s really just a survival skill to preserve my mental health and ensure I continue to keep blogging.
For me, this space, is about so much more than numbers and stats and money and notoriety. It’s truly about human connection and sharing good things with you.
A Day in the Life
My schedule has shifted and changed over the years. Now that all of my kids are in school full-time (and one has graduated high school), I try to get all my blogging work (particularly) computer work done during the day instead of staying up super late to tackle my to-do list.
I don’t set specific “work hours” but it naturally ends up that about two days a week are spent on the computer side of blogging. Writing and publishing blog posts, answering comments and emails, coordinating projects with my sister-VA, and working on other techy-stuff.
Once I get my kids off to school, I feed farm animals, do scripture study, write in my journal, exercise, and (sometimes) shower, before diving in to blog work from about 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with laundry and other household/farm chores scattered in there.
Additionally, I end up spending another day or two a week bustling around the kitchen to test and photograph recipes (I use natural light, so right now during the winter, I have to get that done before 4 p.m.).
I usually make about 5-6 new recipes a week. Sometimes just for fun. Sometimes to test them (again) and/or take photos. I know, I need to get a life and/or diverse hobbies, but I can’t help it! I love food and making new recipes.
My kids always have Fridays off school, so I try to fit the blogging work in Monday through Thursday; however, inevitably there’s an evening or two that it spills over and I work in my office from 8 – 11-ish p.m.
I don’t shy away from saying I work from home or that I have a full-time job. But I do consider it a serious blessing that my job is this blog and that even though it requires hours and effort, I’m able to set my own hours and schedule.
And doing so allows me the flexibility to volunteer in my daughter’s class, do church and community service (right now I’m helping at a refugee organization, and it is life-alteringly rewarding), run errands when I need to, take a break from everything and help one of my kids or work on a house project, or just aimlessly waste time on the internet searching for watermelon carving knives.
To Sum it All Up
While my focus is mostly on really good recipes, over the years, I’ve also shared gift guides and Friday Thoughts (used to be Snapshot Saturdays!) and glimpses of real life.
At the end of the day, I’m a very average, real human who has a lot of highs and a lot of lows. And I don’t do a great job of pretending like those things don’t exist. Normalize real life. That’s my motto. 🙂
I have no idea how long I’ll continue to blog. If asked, some days my answer would be “forever” and other days the answer is more like “um, ask me tomorrow – I may have pulled the plug on the blog by then.”
The truth is, even with my laid back style, it’s hard work. Something is always going on (or breaking!) behind the scenes and there is a lot of management that blogging requires besides the delicious pictures of food and brand, new recipes.
I get tired and burned out.
But the reason I always, always end up sitting at my computer at midnight NOT playing solitaire 😉 is because of you guys.
Seriously.
It’s Because of You
If it weren’t for the real human connections I’ve made with you over the years, for the comments you leave and the stories and experiences you share, for the notes that tell me how a recipe has impacted your family or changed someone’s life for the better, for the hilarious anecdotes and the heartbreaking life experiences…if it weren’t for that, I’d be long gone.
I tell my family all the time that it’s ok I never leave my house because I have millions of friends online.
And, ok, I know that sounds completely weird, and if my kids said that back to me, I’d definitely get them professional help.
But.
It’s also true. Thank you for sticking around. For being my virtual friends. For making this a space that I want to come back to day after day.
Love your guts. 😘
Also, a special shoutout thank you to all of you who leave comments/ratings/reviews on recipes after you’ve made them. This makes such a huge difference! For me, and for those who scroll through comments to get ideas/variations/suggestions when they are planning to make the recipe. Thank you for taking the time to leave comments and reviews and ratings!!
What’s to Come
Well, first of all, count on the best of the best new recipes to continue popping up here! I have some exciting new recipes coming your way. My goal is to get you 4-5 well-tested, fantastic recipes each month in 2023.
Additionally, I’m planning:
- lots of updates to many of the recipes that have been on here for over a decade (not changing the recipe, per se, just updating photos and recipe notes, etc).
- some additional content projects that will likely involve hiring another assistant to help with marketing and development
- site updates and changes to make the website sleek, savvy, and even more SEO-friendly
- continuing with Friday Thoughts posts now and then
- and a few other things swirling around in my brain
I get asked all the time if I’m planning to do a cookbook. I have a cookbook started on my computer – some content, lots of ideas, etc. But every time I get close to signing a publishing contract or going the self-publishing (or hybrid) route, I can’t ultimately commit. It feels stressful and wrong. I think my biggest hangup is that my first priority is to continue to publish a wide range of amazing content on my blog, and I don’t think I can manage a cookbook and the blog. Additionally, I’m not sure I really have anything to offer the cookbook world that hasn’t already been done. So. We’ll see! Never say never!
Anything you are dying to see on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe? Let me know below in the comments! I love getting suggestions from you!
The End, Finally
And herein lies another extensive novel-like post about nothing all that important, which will surely garner some hate mail from those that “just want the freaking recipe already so stop blabbering,” but hey, 15 years in, it’s hard to change these long-winded stripes.
OK, BYYEEEE. 😘 Here’s to the next 15 years!
If you have any other questions about blogging or Mel’s Kitchen Cafe or just want to tell me about YOURSELF (yes! that’s a good plan!), leave me a comment below!
In case you didn’t clearly hear me earlier in the post: I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU!
The Comments
Thank you for all of your heartfelt comments. They’ve made me laugh and cry. I’m just so grateful for each of you. For the good humans you are. The efforts you make in your own lives. The affirmations you’ve allowed me to feel that this blog is “more than just a blog.” I’m just very grateful to be here with all of you.
Thank you for all of your suggestions, as well! I keep a running list of things you would like to see on the blog, and I’ve taken note of all of them!
To answer a few questions coming through in the comments:
- Where do you get ideas for new recipes? I have so many recipe ideas swirling around in my head, it’s a miracle I ever get to sleep! I’m so anxious to share all of them with you! I find inspiration from recipes you share with me (I LOVE GETTING NEW RECIPES FROM YOU SO MUCH – thanks for sending them to me!). I also get inspiration from a few recipe magazines and social media. But a lot of my recipe inspiration just comes from me thinking about food nonstop and figuring out recipe mashups I want to make.
- How many times do you make a new recipe before posting it? At least twice, but for baking recipes, usually an average of 3-4 times (with some recipes taking a few more testing sessions).
- How many of your recipes are original or modified from other sources? There are a lot of both! Although I would submit that there’s probably no such thing as a truly original recipe anymore since there are so many recipes “out there” already. I always cite a recipe source if I’ve used a recipe as inspiration or modified it. But there are some recipes I’ve come up with on my own from all those ideas swirling around my head (and many other recipes from my childhood)!
- How adventurous are your kids when it comes to eating? My kids eat everything I make. They don’t always love, love certain ingredients (I have a tomato hater and a mushroom hater and a bean hater; they power through it), but they’ll eat it. I have two kids that love to try new things and will eat anything. They’re the ones at restaurants that order something unusual and fun and will dig into sushi with me and Brian. The other three go straight for the mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. 🙂
A huge thank you from a UK reader. I found your blog when my son was a toddler as I needed more family friendly meals I could prepare in advance He’s now 13 & our weekly rotation of meals includes many Mel’s Meals. Favourites include your paprika chicken stroganoff, spaghetti sauce & not forgetting the soft & chewy choc chip cookies.
THANK YOU for time you’ve invested in your content and recipe experiments over the years! My friend told me about you and I’ve followed ever since!! I live overseas most of the time and have to cook everything from scratch. Your recipes have given my inspiration and ideas when I get stuck in a rut…which is often! Your peanut butter chocolate cheesecake a HUGE favorite for our family
Thank you for so sharing so much of your time and your heart!! I love your recipes, games, thoughts, jokes and farm. I love that you post recipes that you really love instead of what’s trending. I love that you keep ads to a minimum. I love how you are authentic which makes using your recipes feel like they came from a trusted friend. You’ve been in my kitchen more times than I can count and my whole family knows and loves so many of your recipes. Wishing you all your best with your blog and in life – you absolutely deserve it!!!
This was great reading!! Have been following you for years, I think you lived in Minnesota when I started. Love your recipes. Looking forward to 2023 with you.
Sheila
Mel,
So most people come here purely for the recipes, that are, might I add, SO delicious!! My girls will try anything if I tell them it’s from Mel!! I honestly just sometimes come here for a pick-me-up!! I know if I read something of yours, I’m going to smile, laugh, and cry all at the same time!! I feel like we are the best of friends living next door to each other loving life one day at a time!! Thanks for being you, authentic real you!! It’s so refreshing in this digital world of facades!! I hope you keep keeping on for years to come!! Much love to you my friend!! 🙂
Mel, I first started following your blog in the wee days of my marriage. (We’ve been married 11 years this past summer.) I was a fresh 24 years old and we had just moved to New Zealand from Arkansas where I had been a Pediatric ICU nurse. We were there for a year on my husband’s work visa and I did not have a job, so I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. To pass time, I made my way through your blog, making everything that looked good (so basically everything). I even had to special order a turkey for Thanksgiving. I painstakingly ordered all the ingredients, even getting some things mailed from family in the US. After all that, the turkey in its brining container was so big the fridge door would not shut. My husband saved the day and his teary wife, by using the TV to hold the door shut. I have learned so much through your posts on your blog. Everything I have ever made from your recipes has been good. You have my and my husband’s complete trust in all things food haha! Needless to say, you are a household name. My kids’ recent favorite are the Cowboy Cookies (who at first wouldn’t even try them because they have “stuff” in them). I told them to have faith and trust in Mel (insert laughing emoji here)!
Mel, I found your blog 13 years ago when I got married and have come to you first for EVERYTHING!! If you don’t have it, I’ve found it’s not usually worth making yet . Thank you for saving me and my family, and have delicious recipes that children will eat and that don’t feel overwhelming. When we get to heaven, I’ll be in line waiting to hug you and say thanks in person! For now, thank you!!
Thank you for all these years of amazing food! Your recipes have been served countless times at our table and not once have we tried something of yours we haven’t liked… they really are tried and true! We are all so thankful for this amazing place and all your hours that go into it.
Loved reading through this post. I’ve been following along for about 6 years. I turn to your website first and it is hands down the most user friendly food blog…you’re the best! It’s easy to search for recipes and I love how you have it organized. If you post it on fb or IG, then I know I can easily find it. And I love your novel-like posts!!
Mel, just so you know. You are a household name among my family and extended family. If a recipe is good my 6 year old asks, “is this from Mel?” When my sisters and I get together very frequently we talk about the recipes we’ve recently tried from “Mel.” We feel like you really are part of the family and we really appreciate the consistently delicious food we are able to make with help from your blog. Thanks from all of us!
I appreciate how you show your beliefs in how you live, not through a lot of talk. There have been times it seems like you have gotten reader flack, and I admire how you quietly carry on. Also, I have found your updates on sunscreens and skin health very helpful. Hope you are doing well in that area.
Congratulations! It was fun to read your post. I can still relate to a lot of what you have been through. Thanks for taking the time to test and retest your recipes. I can always count on your recipes being good ones.
Goodness this was such a lovely read! Happy to say I’ve been around for half of those years and that your blog is one of my top five. One of the select blogs where I go straight to the website a couple times a week to see what’s new, where I search your site first before doing a general google for a recipe, and where my husband knows you by name. Thank you for all your hard work over the years and I can’t wait to see what’s to come!
For the record, my favorite Mel recipes are: Monterey Chicken, Spinach Stuffed Shells, Broiled Parmesan and Lemon Chicken, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones, and Dulce de Leche Twix Bars. Honorable mention to the Homemade Stovetop Stuffing that I’m pretty positive is going to be on that list after another few years of Thanksgivings!
Mel, I just love you so stinking much!! I can’t believe I’ve been the recipient of your amazing recipes for most of your blogging time, and that half way through your blogging life you just happened to move in next door to me. I couldn’t be more grateful.
Your blog is what it is because you are who you are. I appreciate you on so many levels.
Thanks for putting the best food blog out there in the virtual world. You never ever cease to amaze me on all levels. You are an amazing human and I love you so stinking much!
I feel honored to be one of those who followed your blog from way back when! I always recommend your site because even if I don’t ‘love’ every single recipe I’ve made from your site (I do mostly, but..) I’ve never made a bad recipe from your site. Thank you, thank you for sharing your recipes with the world!
Loved this post Mel! Thanks for sharing all this fun and interesting info! Please don’t ever stop blogging! I don’t know what my family would eat without you! Love your recipes, love your blabbering and love you!
Mel, Wow, congratulations to you. I have been a long time follower and simply live your food blog. Thank you so much for your recipes, sharing your special moments and thoughts with us. Also, and may I say, you and your lovely family feel like home to me.
Congratulations on 15 years of hard work and love through your blog. Any time I want a recipe I know will turn out I come here. They are the best recipes. It’s so nice to come to a blog that is genuine and pure. It’s hard to find anymore. We love you Mel!!!
Hey Mel! I’ve been following your blog for over 10 years and have told COUNTLESS people about it. And everyone I refer to your blog, loves it as well. Your blog is the first one I go to when I need a recipe (Sallys Baking Addiction being my second). I love how the recipe index is organized and all the other features you have on your blog. Thank you for all your hard work! Keep the recipes coming.
Came for the Chicken Pot Pie Crumble and Sweet and Sour Chicken, stayed for…well, everything else! 🙂 Tried and true, that’s for sure. You’ve been my go to for 7 or 8 years now! I think you’re simply the best!
I’m proud to say say I remember one of those earlier “My Kitchen Cafe” looks! I’ve been married 14 years in May and can honestly say I’m pretty sure we’d still be eating the same 5 meal rotation we started with if it weren’t for you expanding our horizons!
I always recommend your website and always tell people you are like my second mom in the kitchen! Thank you for giving me real, no fuss recipes to try with my family. You’ve been there through newlywed kitchen experiments and 3 babies… you’ve given me meal planning and lunch packing tips… you’ve been my go-to when I needed both a stellar recipe and a pick-me-up! Thank you for sharing the ups and downs of life; you keeping it real helps me know I’m not alone!
Thanks for being you and continuing to do what brings you joy!
I recognize both of those old logos! 15 years, that is a huge accomplishment, Mel! Thanks for making my life easier and more delicious for so long. Your hard work and willingness to be vulnerable and real mean so much to me. I’ll be here as long as you decide to keep posting!
Thank you Mel! I’ve been a quiet follower for at least 10 years! I have 4 kids and your site is my number one source to go to for recipes. I don’t know if I’ve ever commented but just know your recipes are loved by my children and family. Thank you for lowering the stress of finding delicious but healthy foods! I have so much gratitude for you and your work. Congratulations on 15 years!
Thank you so much for all the years of wonderful recipes and insights into your life! Yours is the only food blog I read, and I check it every week when planning my meals and grocery list. My kids know that all my recipes and pretty much everything I cook comes from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. Congratulations on 15 years and the growth of your blog and income during that time! You earned it!
Hey Mel. Where have the years gone? I’ve been a fan for 10-plus years, raised my kids on your recipes. Keep up the good work, kiddo.
Gord
Oh Mel! I just love you! I have been using recipes of yours for YEARS and am never disappointed. It’s so nice to know that if I’m looking for a good recipe, I know for sure that one from your website will be delicious. I discovered your basil chicken curry recipe when I lived in China and had to figure out how to cook with different ingredients than I had been used to, and I was learning how to tweak recipes to the things that I had available to me… and it’s still a go-to favorite. Thank you for your real-ness and sense of humor and down-to-earth style. I love what you do and what you’re putting out into the world. Thank you so much! (and we have a mutual friend, so I’m hoping someday I get to meet you in person — I’m pretty sure we’d be great friends 😉
I’ve been following your blog for 14 years. Back then I started a blog for the same reason to share recipes with family and friends because they were always asking for the recipe. That died a long time ago. Your blog is the only one I still use from so long ago because of your goals with it and it’s stayed true to what it was. I love that you aren’t trying to sell stuff or yourself. Your recipes are amazing and my personal recipe binders are 75% your recipes. Your blog is the one I always share with people when they ask for cooking ideas. Reading this post I felt guilty that I rarely rate recipes I make. I’ll try to do better. Keep up the good work. I’m sure you are told this all the time but you feel like an old friend to me. And you clearly have a lot of friends with the comments you make about friends that you do something for or they brought you something etc.
15 years!! Wow! What a fascinating post to read all about your blogging journey. I am a long time follower, since 2009-2010 and you literally have been my go-to since then. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made something and get asked for the recipe and it’s 9/10 times from you! You’ve made me look like a rock star multiple times over, helped me take in dozens of meals to neighbors and friends who were in need, fed my family a gazillion times, and like you, I am always wanting to try new things, and you always have something new and fun to try out! Here’s to another fabulous 15 years
Congratulations on 15 years! I think I’ve been following you for about ten!
We love your recipes and I’ve learned so much about the art of cooking from you. I especially love that your blog encouraged me to run a half marathon and then I got to meet you afterwards! I’ve loved your Friday thoughts and many of the fun games in our home are here because of your recommendations. When I needed to learn more about skin cancer I went back to your reassuring and honest posts. Thanks for taking the time to write! You’ve had a big impact on my family and on me.
We love you Mel! I have honestly used you, and basically only you, for recipes since 2015. You are authentic, real, fun, and a true keeper. Oh, and your recipes are always amazing. 😉 I’m grateful for you.
It was really fun to read this post and to see how the blog has changed over the years. Cheers to many more years to come! (And really, that’s more of a beg-plead. I would be lost at dinner time without you).
Thanks for all you do. – Kelsie
I’ve made lots of your recipes. The Sour Cream Pancakes have made me a rockstar with my 12 grandchildren! And the Life Changing Instant Pot mashed potatoes are a close second. Thanks for sharing all your talent and great recipes. Keep going!
I’ve been following you for about 10 years now. Your blog is by far my most used and most trusted recipe source.
One of the things I really appreciate is the lack of sponsored posts. I like knowing you are sharing a recipe because you really like it, not because you’re getting paid to.
Thanks!
Very interesting blog post about your past 15 years! I loved reading it. I love your recipes and your blog is my go-to place when I need to make my weekly dinner menu.
Hi Mel — I just want to thank you for everything about your blog — but especially for the “realness” of your life, posts and photos. Sometimes I come here just for relaxation, also for fun and funny stories, gift ideas through the years and for how you have shared your heartaches and family challenges. It is inspiring that you learn new life lessons and share it all with kindness and grace. Did I forget to mention the recipes? Those have been great too, but it is the depth of your spirit that shines through here and that has been the important thing that I love to come back to for my own deeper refreshment. Thank you so much.
Dont stretch yourself too thin. We love you and will be here whether or not you post once a week or once a month. Just take care of yourself 🙂
Congratulations on a successful 15 years! I found you when you were a BlogSpot (as I was). I was a young, married, and had a couple of kids. When I was younger, I loved baking! The only thing I made when I was young was chocolate chip cookies, but I made them well. My family, neighbors, and friends had told me how good they were/are. When I got married, we were young and poor (as most young marrieds are). I had never really cooked anything that wasn’t baked, but I could follow a recipe. I would watch The Food Network and try to come up with ideas (the internet was just taking off). I always felt a little overwhelmed by the pro chefs. Some of what they were making wasn’t relatable and some ingredients were a bit out of my already low budget. A friend of mine had started a food blog and from then on, I scoured the food blogs and found yours (the first recipe I made of yours was THE Cornbread, that my 6-year-old calls “corn cake” because it tastes like cake). I have been hooked ever since.
Every week, I sit down and do a food prep, grocery, dinner list. My first stop is always your page to see what’s new and go over recipes that I have wanted to try. I realize (as having a blog in the past) that this is a lot of work. Your work is much appreciated for those, like me, that are not super creative, but can follow directions well…and love good food without breaking my bank.
Thank you for your honesty and openness into your life and helping me out all these years…here’s to 15 more?!
I have been reading for probably close to 12 years! My kids who have grown up with your recipes know you by name. Since I started reading your blog and making your recipes I have been diagnosed with celiac disease. I have started making my favorite recipes gluten free. Thanks for teaching me how to be a great cook!
I always tell people you taught me to cook. You’re a household name. Where’s you get this recipe? Mel. Oh Mel, she never fails us. Thanks for what you do.
Oh how I love you and your website. I found you when I was newly married about 12 years ago and approximately 97.4% of all of the recipes I currently make are from you. 🙂 Those who frequently eat what I cook don’t have to ask anymore where the recipe came from. I have gained so much confidence in the kitchen by following your lead and I so appreciate it! But more than that, I have been so blessed to know that there is a real life human behind the scenes who is so relatable in all things woman, motherhood, marriage, disciple of Christ, etc etc. I feel like I’m getting recipes from a friend. Thank you for sticking around all of these years (and for the foreseeable future.) We all love you at our house!! ❤️
Mel, I’m a long time reader but first time commenter. I should probably chime in more often because you are my absolute favorite. I found you about 10 years ago. I had just had my 4th baby and wanted to level up my cooking skills to meet the challenge of getting dinner on the table every day, for lots of littles, without loosing my mind. Now I have six, and yours is the only food blog I still read regularly. Probably 2/3-3/4 of everything I make comes straight from you. In my humble opinion you strike the perfect balance between delicious and doable. 🙂 I love your food and I also love your gear recommendations, your thoughts on life, and your authentic voice. Thank you for everything, congratulations on 15 years, and I hope you are around for many more!
Mel, you have made me a rockstar in my own kitchen! Wouldn’t know what or how to cook without you. You are also the only recipe website I use that I read your entire post before the recipe. And sometimes without even making the recipe! I love your realism and humor. Keep up the amazing work!
Mel, I can’t tell you how much I love you! I love that I was there from the beginning with MelsKitchenCafe.Blogspot. I love that your site is the first only place I go to when I want to make a new treat or need a side to share at an event. I love that I got the best potty training advice from you. I love that I tell everyone you’re “kinda” my cousin. I love that you’re so loved, and it’s so well deserved. Thanks for being so awesome and sharing your beautiful talents, family, pigs and food with us.
I’ve been following your blog since 2009 (when it was MyKitchenCafe) and it’s ALWAYS the first place I look when I think, “I want to make… [cupcakes, cookies, enchiladas, etc]”. Now my kids know to go to your site first, too. 🙂
Two of the main recipes we’ve made on repeat over the years is HLCE (Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas) and Beef Stroganoff. I HATED stroganoff as a kid but have always loved yours!
Thank you for all of your work over the years. I’ve been so impressed with your dedication. It’s a LONG time to stick to something like food blogging! But I – and my family – have definitely benefitted from your efforts. It’s very much appreciated!
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting your beautiful family (including hubby). You have a very, very full life. I am 80 years old and know I’d get dizzy just watching you each day. You do have a lovely family and are very blessed with a great husband. Keep your faith and also keep doing what it is that you do every day and everything will be wonderful from here on. Thank you for sharing your life. You are a super Mom!
I echo so many of these comments… you’ve been with me for the past 14+ years and taught me everything I know about being a homemaker in the kitchen! I was a newlywed when I found you in 2008. My family, friends, kids, and neighbors know my source (I have no social media— you are the only site I check and they stop asking where I get recipes because they know it’s from here! )
Thank you for following the inspiration to do this blog. That would be a hard “calling”, but you are amazing and inspired and blessing the lives of so many people. I completely understand if there’s a shift in how the blog runs!
Also- some of my favorite posts have been about board games, running, faux farms, real life, etc. I like to think we are friends because we have much in common (husband in demanding calling and 5 kids, etc). Haha but I know the reality is we may never meet!
I would love a cookbook . . . But at the same time no cookbook in my life has transformed my cooking like you have done for me. (I’m looking at you bread video tutorials! ) I think there was some inspiration behind you not having a cookbook in the past. At least for me, I needed the transforming and consistently required to come back and check the blog each week rather than refer to a book on my shelf. (That doesn’t have weekly updates. . . No offense cookbooks!)
Congratulations on this 15 year milestone!
Thank you for keeping your blog down to earth and fun! I’m glad you have found a way to blog that still makes it enjoyable for you. I can still remember the first recipe (The best blueberry muffins) I made on your site and how amazed I felt that I had recreated a tasty muffin that I’d expect to find in a fancy cafe. Really, thank you for putting in all the work and allowing me to enjoy making delicious food for family and friends.
Congratulations! I have no idea how long we’ve been online friends, but it dates back to the My Kitchen Cafe years. I’m a big fan, even though I’m not a big or good commenter. I’ll try to work on that for you. You have been with me in Massachusetts, Indiana, Utah, and Nevada. You’ve even travelled with me camping in Canada! Your bits of life sharing has helped me with my boychild raising. Your game recommendations are on our shelves and on our game table.
I love knowing that if it’s on your site, it’ll be fine to make the first time, even if I’m taking it somewhere else. I often say a recipe came from Mel. My child asked when he was going to Mel’s house one day, because he was sure I was going when he wasn’t around to get recipes! I also love that if I’m buying a special ingredient, it’s because it’s essential to the recipe, like the tapioca flour for Pao de Queijo. (https://www.melskitchencafe.com/easy-brazilian-cheese-bread-pao-de-queijo/) It’s not just to be fancy.
I wish you luck as you keep blogging and making food. I’m very grateful that you have stayed with us. And I love the girl next door neighbor feel to your blog.
I think my only request (and I may have missed it if it’s already available in the links!) is a link to your equipment reviews/recommendations. I need new dry measuring cups, and I’m always looking for good mixing bowls. I’d love to see what tried and tested ones work in your kitchen over the years. And which ones fail. Like the dry cups I bought that are not accurate at all.
You’re the best!
There are so few BLOG spots in the electrical universe where the author (dare I say author? Who isn’t a figment of some groups imagination) Who is a real live person who wears her heart on her shoulder and a cross on her chest.
Thank You for being here for us.
I have many recipes that say “mykitchencafe” on the bottom because I joined you in 2009 and I just physically print all the recipes. I LOVE the way you blog! I want to apply to work for you too, by the way, so take this as my application 🙂 But seriously, I really do want to work for you. You are amazing! Such a rock star! Thanks for what you do and looking forward to 15 more years!