Growing up, I never quite appreciated home-cooked food. A large part of this sentiment arose from our family’s preference for cooking meals rather than going out to eat at restaurants, because, well, my mom is an excellent cook. 

I have recently had the fortune to be able to spend an extended period of time back home in the Midwest, and I got to say, there really is nothing like (good) home cooking! Below are representative images of some of the dishes my mom has made. I’m no foodie, so apologies for the lack of artistic framing and lighting, but I think the food speaks for itself.