Hey, I'm Christina!
I wasn’t that interested in cooking growing up, and even into early adulthood. Cooking meals was a necessity growing up because I quite literally grew up in the middle of nowhere Minnesota - good luck finding it on Google Street View!
Eating at any kind of restaurant was a treat since it required a minimum 15-minute trip to a local diner, or 45 minutes to get to a Dairy Queen.
My Story
I knew how to cook my own meals because my Mom helped teach me as the primary cook in the home (and my Dad taught me a few signature dishes, like Creamed Weenies). I cooked for myself frequently as a young adult because it was what I knew - a good Midwesterner can’t go wrong with meat and potatoes after all!
It wasn’t until after moving to Minneapolis in 2009 that I started slowly falling in love with food, all kinds! There were so many kinds to try and so many wonderful chefs to cook them for me! But I especially loved Mexican. Mexican food has this coziness to it like Midwestern food does. It felt familiar, yet the flavor profiles were so different - it has HEAT. Spice. Bold flavors. Midwestern food often gets knocked for being bland, but here was this bold, oftentimes spicy food that was also comfort food central.
Being a comfort food-loving gal I immediately gravitated towards Mexican food, and it inspired me to get in the kitchen. I used it as inspiration to doctor up things like Tater Tot Hot Dish (because a casserole is just a hot dish with attitude), and create new recipes like Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas and Rotel Pasta. I love making Midwestern dishes and I love Mexican food and the result of experimenting with both in the kitchen is Midwexican.
Too Long, Didn't Read (TLDR)
I wasn't always passionate about cooking, but Mexican food inspired me to get into the kitchen. I've been creating recipes for years because I enjoy cooking and love experimenting with new flavors.
I'm also super passionate about writing :). Always have been, especially when writing about my favorite topic, food! (Check out my Work With Me page to see where I've been featured). I started my career as a Technical Writer in the technology industry in 2014. As a Technical Writer with 10 years of experience, technical writing has 100% impacted the way I create and write recipes. In my experience failing to execute a recipe almost always happens because the directions aren't written clearly or completely. I obsess over my recipe instructions because it's my priority to ensure you can replicate my recipes and enjoy the delicious results.
I’m Christina and I’d love it if you cooked along. Because I’m bringing the heat to Midwestern eats, served with a slice of Minnesota nice!
These are some of my favorite recipes and I hope you’ll enjoy them too.
What will you find on Midwexican?
Recipe hybrids that take inspiration from both Midwestern and Mexican food, like Pork Enchilada Hot Dish.
Comforting recipes ranging from cozy soups (like this Creamy Taco Soup) to homemade condiments (like Roasted Garlic Chimichurri) that take simple food from tasty to flat-out delicious.
Easily customizable recipes, along with suggestions on how to tweak them - because recipes are only guidelines!
And of course, you’ll find plenty of tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, and more, because those are some of my favorite dishes to make!
Oh, and I enjoy cooking with the Instant Pot and Air Fryer. I own the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker (8 quart) and the Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Smart XL Air Fry Oven. So you’ll find recipes that use those kitchen appliances as well.
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Midwexican FAQ
I took the “Mid” and the “w” from Midwest and the “exican” from Mexican, combined them, and the result was Midwexican. Plus it just sounds cozy right?
My Mom rarely ever followed recipes to the letter growing up, and that 100% rubbed off on me. Sometimes tweaking a recipe is done to better suit one's taste preferences, and sometimes out of necessity. Living 15 minutes from any grocery store growing up meant substitutions frequently occurred. I try to be mindful of what I refer to as "substitution necessity" when crafting recipes, offering variations that might work should you be missing an ingredient or two.
