Joanna, Ingredient

Pillsbury’s Lead Writer, Joanna, has been writing about food for national food and beverage companies for over 20 years. Her work pairs perfectly with her personal life—she cooks most nights of the week. “It’s important to me to cook something homemade for family dinner,” says Pillsbury’s Lead Writer. “That’s what my mom did for me and I want my family to feel the same love and togetherness I felt as a child.”

After college, Joanna experimented in the kitchen by cooking for herself. There was a lot of trial and error. After she married and had kids, cooking got more rewarding—and more complicated. “So much chaos!” she says. Dinnertime became about figuring out how to get a delicious, memorable meal on the table with a kiddo wrapped around each leg.

Today her children are teenagers and her challenges in the kitchen have evolved. “My kids’ after-school activities are all scheduled over the dinner hour, so I have to figure out how to feed people when I’m gone from 5 to 8 p.m.” she says. “I make a lot ahead of time in the slow cooker, and I'm always up for creative cooking hacks and shortcuts.”

Even with her busy schedule, the work she puts into making meals is worth it. “Whenever we can, we eat dinner together,” says Joanna. “And we talk around the dinner table! It’s the most wonderful thing.”