Welcome to Messie Nessie’s Recipes. I’m Ness (or Vanessa), and I put the Nessie in “Messie Nessie.” I’m the voice behind the recipes here. I’m a professional food, lifestyle, and entertainment journalist, (*sometime) copywriter, and food blogger. I’m also an artist (*works available to view on Instagram and for sale on Red Bubble), a poet (my book of poetry is available for sale on Amazon), and a children’s book author (hard at work on a children’s series that will soon bring “Messie Nessie,” to life for kids.) I’m passionate about cooking and eating nutritious but absolutely delicious food without all the pomp and circumstance. And Messie Nessie believes that a family that cooks together —eats sooner! I fully advocate for moms and dads all over the planet to tap their families at mealtime and ask for their assistance. “Many hands make light work,” and it can be great fun cooking together and teaching your kids the joys of cooking. So when you see “we” written here on the site, I’m speaking in the collective of my family, because we do cook together!

A NOTE: If you’re looking for food snobbery or fancy sous vide or trendy diet focused stuff — Messie Nessie is NOT your girl. These recipes are for people who like food and want to be able to prepare something yummy for themselves or their friends and family without too much fuss and no care about the muss. That doesn’t mean we’re not food inclusive. We know people have food intolerances and food allergies, so where and when Messie Nessie can, she will note an adequate substitution in her recipes that might work if you’re vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free.

We’re not gatekeepers, finger waggers, or food shamers. If you like it— it’s on the menu and if Messie Nessie likes it, it will be on the site. Here we celebrate life, love, food, and friendship with a side of inclusion. We’re not into diet culture and we absolutely disdain “isms.” To quote Ferris Bueller, “Ism’s in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in themself [himself].” 

Because we’re a busy working family, the focus here is on balance — not perfection. Recipes here are those we can all actually live with in the REAL world. Not something you need four hours to make or that needs to sit overnight. There are plenty of sites with that content and I invite you to go visit them, when you’re in the mood for a whole day’s cooking adventure (I know I do!)

Most of the time though, we’re just looking to hit that sweet spot where we get to cook and eat tasty, nutritious food that we all love without sacrificing too much time with each other or ourselves (self-care is important, too!).  In the real world, we have to get things done and are often pressed for time, and if that means you grab food out, or reach for a bag of chicken tenders — then so be it. (*Messie Nessie will even give you a few tips on how to take those convenience foods next level). But most of the time, the recipes here will be quick, easy-to-assemble meals with plenty of pay-off and none of the perfect plating or magazine-style photos. Nessie is messy when she’s cooking something up in a flash. We reuse pans, repurpose leftovers, fry eggs in the bacon grease, make gravy and sauces from pan drippings, and use real butter. Best of all, we’ll show you how we do it with every licky, sticky, wordy spoonful.

Full Disclosure: Not everything on this site will be made from scratch but it will be made with love.
“So, stuff that in yer gob!“

About Me