Welcome to Sava's Kitchen. I am Nataliia, the recipe creator and home cook with 23 years of experience in the kitchen.
I was born and raised in Ukraine and moved to the United States of America at age 21.
After getting pregnant with our son, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom.
But I had to stay creative and follow my dream of having a recipe website, where I can share my delicious family-friendly recipes. That's how Sava's Kitchen was born in 2021. The name Sava is a short version of my maiden last name.
I am the only person who works behind my site. I do recipe development, images, editing, and writing the posts. My goal is to share at least 2-3 recipes per week. My family and friends always test and approve every recipe I share here.
My whole family is in a good way picky about food, we just love delicious and high-quality meals.
I make about one thousand meals a year from scratch for my family. And you probably cook the same amount if you prefer homemade food.
One thousand meals a year seems like a lot, especially when you try to have a good variety.
Don't you have the same question every single day, what am I making my family for dinner tonight?
When I was single, I could just make something very simple, do a take-out or even skip dinner.
When you have a family to feed, it is so much different. You have to consider so many things and plan everything out. And it is my job to figure out the variety of meals, everyone's preferences, buying ingredients, and so on.
By doing it myself every single day, I have so much to share in hopes of helping you find new recipe ideas.
My goal is to provide you with family-friendly recipes that are easy to make, creative, and diverse.
My vision of preparing food is simple: when we go to the grocery store, most of the time we see and choose the same list of foods. It all depends on what is available. The list of ingredients may be limited, but we can use those same ingredients to create endless variety of meals. And that's what makes cooking fun. I love to get creative in the kitchen by using different cooking methods, techniques, adding different herbs, seasonings, or getting inspired by different cuisines.
How to use my recipe website
You can simply go the the recipe index and browse it by categories by clicking on breakfast, dinner, holiday recipes, desserts, and so on.
You can also subscribe to my newsletter and recipe my weekly email with new recipes straight into your inbox.
You can also use a search box above the menu and type in the ingredient or recipe you are looking for.
If you cannot find it, email me and I will be happy to work on your requested recipe.
What recipes you will find here
Here, you will find a lot of step-by-step family-friendly recipes made with simple ingredients.
You can find a large variety of my family's favorite recipes, but I can also define a few specific categories you can find:
- Diverse but simple ingredients: I love experimenting with ingredients and seeing how much potential they can have. Look how many things you can make with beets as a star ingredient: pasta sauce, waffles, pancakes, risotto, and much more.
- Ukrainian classics: Growing up in Ukraine, I learned the secrets of traditional Ukrainian cooking from my family, bringing an authentic touch to every recipe. I recommend starting with Ukrainian borscht or traditional cabbage rolls.
- Chicken recipes: I understand the diverse tastes within my family, with my boys enjoying meat at every meal. My chicken recipes are always flavorful, juicy, and satisfying, making them perfect for family dinners. Try our baked chicken wings, rissoles, Hungarian chicken paprikash. or crispy panko cutlets. Growing up, we had our chickens and the whole bird was cooked. So do not be surprised to see here a few chicken liver recipes.
- Kid-friendly recipes: As a parent, I know how hard it can be to come up with creative and delicious meals and snacks for kids. So I often share the recipes that my son loves and requests seconds of, such as pasta with lentils and veggies, chicken meatballs, or pasta e piselli. Hopefully, this way I am helping other parents to find a variety of delicious meal ideas for their children.
- Easy and quick family dinners: Even with all my love for cooking, I try to make my recipes approachable and easy to make. So if you need a homemade meal in no time - try out a no-boil lasagna recipe, chicken meatball soup, or easy chicken mince stir fry.
About Nataliia
I was born and raised in Ukraine. My mom was an amazing home cook. The kitchen was the place where we spent most of our time, cooking, singing, and even doing homework. I always helped and watched her make the most delicious meals. Even when some ingredients were hard to find, she would get creative to find the best substitutions to make that recipe she really wanted to try.
When I was only 13, my mom passed away, and I had to take over and start cooking a lot of meals by myself.
My father and older brother had a chance to taste all my cooking creations. I still remember how I made my first pizza from scratch. I used ketchup, mayo, and cottage cheese. The crust was the best part. We lived in a small Ukrainian village so it was hard to find certain ingredients and I had to improvise a lot (just like my mom did).
I have a master's degree in translation and linguistics and it for sure finds its place on my recipe blog. I have developed amazing research skills that help me find the best recipe and meal ideas through a variety of sources such as recommendations from people I know, culinary books, TV shows, and magazines. I approach each recipe with a lot of care and attention to detail, making sure it is understandable for even beginners and the instructions are easy to follow.
At the age of 21, after my dad passed away, I decided to leave home and move to the US. The plan was to be away only for one year, but I simply fell in love with living in the US.
In New York, I worked as a nanny and also as a waitress at a cozy family-style diner.
While living in New York City, I was lucky to eat in so many different places, try so many cuisines, and admittedly spend quite a bit on food — but it was absolutely worth it. I always wanted to try new restaurants. And even during my last week in NY, I was on a hunt for the best wings in the city.
I also have lived in Germany and Poland, and of course, I traveled a lot trying various cuisines.
While traveling a lot, I did not always have access to a fully equipped kitchen. But it didn't stop me from having home-cooked meals. I quickly adapted and learned how to make easy and delicious meals without the stove using just an instant pot, air fryer, electric tea kettle, and microwave.
I will be happy if you share my recipes with your family and friends.
If you have any questions about my recipes or myself, do not hesitate to ask me via email (see contact page) or in the specific recipe comments section.
Thank you for stopping by.
Best wishes,
Nataliia
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