Hi, I’m Jen and I live in Carlsbad, California (north San Diego), with my husband, Patrick, and my furry, four legged daughter, Kiwi, and together we WELCOME YOU to Carlsbad Cravings!!! I’m a cystic fibrosis survivor, lung & kidney transplant recipient, LOVER of life and FOOD!
At Carlsbad Cravings (est. 2014), you will find only my tried and true daringly delicious recipes with big, BOLD flavors – or what I like to describe as extraordinary flavors out of everyday ingredients. My #1 goal is to create the best version of every recipe (in my opinion), whether it’s Mexican, Italian, Asian or Greek. And if it’s not the best, then it doesn’t get shared! So, you can cook with confidence from my website, and hopefully you’ll think each recipe is “the best” too and discover many new favorites!
How it began
Some people escape in dreams of sandy beaches and sunny skies, I escape in dreams of mangos, chipotle peppers and bacon. My creativity as a former interior designer flourishes in the kitchen as I find something so satisfying in creating delicious, flavorful (spices are my forte!), fresh food…and then eating it!
As Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:
“Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. …” or something delicious!
I have been cooking and creating new recipes almost every day of the week since I got married in 2006 (see our love story here) and even created my own binder long before Carlsbad Cravings was born (see recipe binder below). When I was in desperate need of a kidney transplant and would come home from work exhausted with legs and feet so swollen I could only wear sandals and skirts (none of my shoes or pants would fit!), all l wanted to do was cook. Cooking and creating reinvigorated my exhausted self by feeding my mind, body and soul.
After I was blessed with new-found energy from my kidney transplant in October 2013 thanks to my doner sister (my lung transplant was in 1999), my doctor cautioned me about going back to work when I was so immune-suppressed. At that point, I was wondering what to do when my sister-in-law suggested I start a food blog. The words pierced my soul and I knew that was what I was supposed to do. I researched how to start a cooking site, how to turn it into a living and then I jumped in and never looked back!
Since launching Carlsbad Cravings in February 2014, I have shared over a thousand recipes that have reached over 140 million readers. I am honored every day to be invited into your homes. Thank you for making my recipes, trusting my recipes, leaving comments and for following along! You are the reason I’m allowed to do what I do! xo
Getting started – What seasonings to stock
To make every recipe the best version of itself, I rely heavily on seasonings. Seasonings MAKE a recipe! To that end, many of my recipes look like they have many ingredients, but often most of them are just dump-in spices, so please don’t be intimidated. I cook with the same spices all of the time, so once you purchase them, you’ll have everything you’ll need! Here are the pantry spices I recommend (you can purchase them little by little):
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- dried basil
- dried parsley
- dried oregano
- dried thyme
- chili powder
- chipotle chile pepper
- ground cumin
- smoked paprika
- cayenne pepper
- ground ginger
- chicken bouillon
- beef bouillon
jump to recipe button
To help readers succeed and eliminate any guesswork, I include detailed tips and tricks in every recipe post. If you just want the recipe, you can use the “jump to recipe” button located at the top of every post to skip directly to the recipe. With that, everyone wins! Now, I hope you enjoy exploring my site and hopefully will create your own recipe binder full of Carlsbad Cravings favorites!
Want to Know More?
If you are curious about my journey with cystic fibrosis, my lung transplant, kidney transplant, love story
and more of my life, click on the links below:
Do You Love to Cook?
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Louise L says
Hi Jen,
Your story is touching and your recipes are amazing and I have shared your Carlsbad Recipe site with many of my friends here in Montreal (Canada). & with my friends abroad. Everyone loves it ❣️
I am hoping that one day your hard cover cook book will be available in Canada.
These are lovely gifts to make to friends and family.
In the meantime you are on my desk top and love to review weekly your emails collection of recipes.
Thanks for sharing
Louise (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
Jen says
Hello Louise! Thank you so much for your sweet note! That warms my heart that you are loving my recipes! We are working hard to make my cookbook available to as many people as possible! It’s definitely a process! Thank you for sharing the love! Hope you are well!
Polly says
Hello. Can the Hearty Chicken Stew be made in a slow cooker? If so, when would I add the rotisserie chicken?
Jen says
Hi Polly! I have not tried this particular stew in a crock pot but it should work great. Cook on low for 7–8 hours or on high for 3–4 hours. When making soup in a crockpot, you should add rotisserie chicken just before serving so it warms up without drying out! I hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out!
Donna Shaw says
As of this morning, all of your search bars are not working. I am not having this problem on other sites. Perhaps there is some fix on your site. I noticed that this morning the site opened to your cookbook.
I enjoy your recipes and have used many with successful results and hope this can be resolved. I’ll keep trying on my end.
Thank you for your consideration.
Donna
Jen says
Thanks so much for bringing that to my attention Donna! I have contacted my tech genius and hopefully it will be resolved today. Thanks for your patience!
Julia Bergstrom says
Sorry – not a review – just a comment — I just stumbled on your blog while looking for a couple of recipes for a food theme dinner party that we’re doing with our friends. I began scanning through your recipes which “speak to me”! I’ve printed off several for our next dinner party and can’t wait to try them. BTW – we are 28 year residents of Carlsbad, as well!! Maybe we’ve passed each other at Costco!
Keep up your terrific work – the world is tastier for it!
Julia
Jen says
Yay Julia! I am so glad that you found my site! What a small world! Carlsbad is so beautiful 🙂 I hope you love the recipes. Let me know how they turn out for your parties! Thank you for sharing the love <3
Sally Angus says
Your’s is an incredible life story Jen. So glad you’ve faired well with all you’ve been through.
Love from a North County neighbor (Cardiff).
Jen says
Wow thanks so much Sally! It’s such a small world!
Jennifer Van Horn says
Your recipes are always a hit with my family. I grew up in A house where everything was made from scratch. Your recipes remind of cooking with my mom. Thank you for all the amazing recipes. I’m so grateful you found your calling, you are a true blessing to all who stumble upon your site. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Jen says
Hi Jennifer! Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 How wonderful that you can have such good memories with your mom! I’m so glad that you’ve loved exploring my recipes. Hope your Thanksgiving created some more special memories for you! Hugs!
Jessica W says
I just want to say that I have been using your recipes for years now but have never commented! This is just my favorite go-to website, everything on it is so delicious. I find it easy to make substitutions and as an American living in Mexico for the last 20 years, your recipes feel like a beautiful mix of American and Mexican-inspired comfort food with some lovely international twists. Thank you for making this website, I have enjoyed it for so long!
Jen says
Yay Jessica! Thank you so much for taking the time to write – your kind words mean a lot! I’m so glad you found my website and love making my recipes! Mexican food is definitely delicious and very inspiring 🙂 I’ve spent some time in Mexico and it is beautiful there! I hope you continue to explore and enjoy my recipes!