Hi there! I’m Andi, and I’m so glad you found me! If you like easy, no-fuss recipes you are definitely in the right place. You’ve probably already seen what my recipes are like, so do you want to know a little about me?
I learned everything I know in the kitchen from my mom, cooking shows, cookbooks, and trial and error. I married my high school sweetheart, Matt, when I was 20, and I’ve been cooking dinner almost every night for over 20 years. That’s a lot of practice!
I was born and raised in Mississippi. After finishing grad school, Matt and I moved to San Francisco. We didn’t know a soul there but were excited to become Californians. I changed careers a few times before we had our first baby boy in 2006. Then I became a full-time mom.
I launched The Weary Chef in January 2013, when our second son was almost two. This little recipe blog started as a hobby, but it quickly became an obsession and then a business. In 2017, we moved to Austin, TX, and I’m looking forward to bringing you more easy recipes from our new home!
10 Fun Facts About Andi Gleeson
- I met my husband for the first time when I was twelve! We went through high school, college, and a cross-country move together. We have been together f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We are still best friends.
- Before I started this blog, I had never used more than a point and shoot or phone camera. I still feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to photography.
- I rarely watch TV or movies. I would much rather be doing something interactive like playing a video game or browsing online. Sitting still and passively watching TV makes me very stir crazy!
- As of June 2014, I don’t (can’t) eat gluten anymore. I had been feeling sick for a while, and doctors couldn’t find anything wrong. I tried giving up wheat on a whim, and I started feeling much better! Giving up wheat is very not awesome, but not feeling sick all the time is.
- I prefer being indoors when possible. I can’t stand to be hot, and I’m not a fan of being cold either. I especially hate to be in the sun. I feel most comfortable at home or at Target where I’m protected from the elements ;)
- Speaking of being comfortable at home, I am a major homebody, especially at night. I have to drag myself out to evening events, which doesn’t happen often. Spending evenings and weekends at home is my very favorite thing.
- I had my first gray hairs in high school but really started going gray at 30. Coincidentally, this is also when I became a mother. My hair is on the fast track to going completely white like my aunt and cousins before me.
- I hate messy things like sand, mud, or anything sticky. I don’t do well with a lot of noise either. That makes raising two boys a real challenge for me, but I love the little buggers so much that it’s worth it.
- I love pink. Maybe it’s because I’m the only girl in a house with three boys, but I like to surround myself with as much pink and glitter as possible.
- I’m a cheapskate or frugal or whatever you want to call it. It kills me to spend a lot of money dining out or on other extravagances. I’m certain that if I was a millionaire, I would still want to drive a very sensible car and buy my clothes on sale at Target. Fancy things are not for me.
I’m so glad you are here. I hope you will stick around because I’m always cooking up something new for you! Don’t forget to sign up for my emails to stay in touch and never miss a recipe!
xo,
Andi, The Weary Chef
Thelma Zinker says
I discovered your recipes yesterday when I was browsing for a recipe for leftover pork. We had the pork pot pie for dinner last evening and it was delicious. Had many compliments. Now I am going to look for a recipe for chicken breast. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Breanna Leigh says
Hi! Im from Mississippi too! Nice to meet you :). Im a photographer and I really enjoy your recipes
Easy Kitchen Appliances says
Hi Andi, Love your blog! I want to let you know that we features one of your recipes on a post ours here.
http://easykitchenappliances.com/easy-waffle-dessert-recipes/
Eileen Goldberg says
I love your recipes. In the Buffalo chicken shepherds pie recipe is there a substitution that you could recommend for blue cheese. (It just isnt our favorite cheese). Thank you so much. Have a great day. Cant wait to make this.
Marilyn says
I’m so glad I found you. I raised 3 boys, hate messy and sticky things too, or when the boys got older, greasy spark plugs on the kitchen table! I live in Minnesota and also don’t like the heat. I too stay out (of the sun (because I’m allergic to it). I lived in California when I was young, but I’m a senior now (not meaning in high school!!) and have just started getting some gray hair too. I’m quite frugal and a homebody as well, so my goodness I just feel like I met my long lost little sister! Thanks for the blog. I know I will enjoy your recipes since we seem to have so much in common. I’m anxious to try some Mexican recipes since I will be having a Mexican themed Christmas. Don’t laugh that I’m Norwegian .
Andi Gleeson says
Marilyn, I think we ARE long lost sisters :) It’s nice your gray hair held off until you consider yourself a senior. I’m not quite 40 yet and very gray! Lucky me ;) A Mexican themed Christmas sounds so fun! Let me know how it turns out! I look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Jen says
Hi Andi!
I found your blog through Pinterest and I am head-over-heels in love with it!
DH and I are working hard to keep up with meal planning this year and stumbling upon your weekly meal plans has been a godsend on those lazy Sundays when we don’t feel like digging through mountains of cookbooks.
Thanks for all you do – we can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
– Jen
Andi says
Thank you so much, Jen! I’m so happy you found me and like my recipes :) I hope you find lots of dinner ideas you love, and I look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Ginger says
Hi there,
I found you and love your sight!
Quick, simple and time saving is a must in this house, and you are it!
Do you do any international recipes?
I am Polish and Russian and I am always looking for some tnteresting things to prepare.
Keep the recipes coming love them!
Ginger
Andi says
Thank you so much for this nice message, Ginger! I have several Asian and Mexican/Latin recipes but not anything Polish or Russian. I’m not very familiar with that style of cooking, but I’d love to learn more about it! Maybe I’ll try out some recipes after the holidays when things calm down a bit. Hope to hear from you again soon!
Ivy Sew says
Hi Andi,
How do you do?
I am so glad I chanced upon your blog, just like the other bloggers. You have a very informative and easy to follow posts in your blog. I know I am going to love it. You are great, Andi. May God bless you and your family.
Warmest regards and you stay happy always,
Ivy
Andi says
Hi, Ivy! It’s great to meet you, and thank you so much for your kind message! I hope you find some new recipes to love here, and I look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Shannon says
Andi, I don’t think you are dysfunctional for not having family dinner – because you are doing it in a way that works for your family right now. Our family dinner has evolved over the years because it had to. Our family kept changing, darn it! I think the important thing is to keep making the effort and to keep adjusting to the “new normal”. It seems to change every week at our house now.
My boys are much older than yours, 25, 18, 12 and 10 – YIKES! But we keep on having family dinner to the best of our ability. Don’t give up, you’re doing a great job.
Shannon :)
Andi says
Hi, Shannon! Thank you so much for this thoughtful message. I hope our evenings will evolve into a traditional family dinner in a couple years, but for now schedules and personalities and other challenges make this way work best for us.
What an age gap in your kids! That makes for such an interesting family, and I’m sure the kids can all learn a lot from each other since they are all in different stages of their lives. My boys are about four years apart, which can be hard or easy depending on the situation :)
Ginnie says
Hey, Andi! I’ve never read your “About Me” page before, and I just wanted to say that I love how you and your husband have a date night every night! That is so sweet:)
Andi says
Thank you, Ginnie! That makes me feel good because I always feel like we’re dysfunctional for not having family dinner. I think a lot of parents feel like they don’t have enough time together though, so at least we’re good in that department :)
Melanie says
Seriously. Your blog gets me out of my dinner slump every time. Your recipes are just my style. Thank you so, so much, and please never stop or my family will starve. ;)
Andi says
This made my week, Melanie! Any time I’m getting discouraged about the blogging life, I’ll come back and read this for encouragement :) Thank you!! xo
Christina Lakey | Food Apparel says
Hi Andi!
Did you just sign up with CCN? I’ve been there for just a couple of months and finally finding a little time to get to know everyone. Really liking your blog – I can totally understand the busy-ness factor with young children and some days dinnertime comes all too soon! Anyway, I’ll keep stopping by and hope to get to know you better.
Andi says
Hi, Christina! It’s great to meet you! Thanks so much for your note, and I’m so sorry it has taken me a couple days to get back to you. I signed up with CCN a couple months ago too. I can’t wait to get to know you and your blog as well.
Melanie @ Carmel Moments says
I can totally relate Andi. My husband is very rarely home for dinner so we don’t have that privilege either. My kids are older though so I usually eat with them at dinner time and sit with my husband around 9. It does get tiring but I’m blessed to be a stay at home mom.
Hope to keep connected! :-)
Andi says
Hi, Melanie! It’s hard to have to choose between eating with your kids or your husband! If my husband didn’t get home until 9, I would probably be eating with the kids too. For now, they are so picky and hardly eat much dinner anyway, so I’d rather wait and eat with my husband who actually likes my food ;) This schedule works for us now, but I’m sure it will evolve as the kids get older. I’m looking forward to keeping in touch with you!
Allison - Main St. Cuisine says
Hi Andi!
I really wanted to comment on your beautiful gnocchi post (I could totally indulge in a bowl right now), but I can’t reach the post to comment for some reason. Anyway, it looked SO good on IG. I was wondering what type of gnocchi they were. Lately, I’ve been making mine with ricotta.
Enjoy your week!
Allison
Andi says
Sorry you had trouble, Allison. Maybe there was a brief problem with my host or something, but the post seems OK if you want to come back to try again. I made that recipe with potato gnocchi. I need to try the ricotta kind because that sounds delicious too. Thanks so much for stopping by :)
Julianne Trimble says
Hi Andi,I just found your blog I sure enjoyed reading about your boys how old are they ? I think it’s great you and your husband sit down together for dinner ! How long have you been married? I have 4 children they are grown now but it only seems like yesterday that they were little ! Enjoy them because before long they will be grown and you will be wishing they were little again.your recipes look very good can not wait to try a few!
Andi says
Hi, Julianne! It’s nice to hear from you. My boys are 3 and 7 now, and my husband and I just had our 17th anniversary this month! Thank you for the reminder to enjoy my boys. They are so loud, busy, and wild, that a lot of time I feel like I’m doing more surviving than enjoying! I do look at my oldest sometimes and think that before I know it I’ll be looking at a teenager and not a little boy anymore, and when I look at my youngest, I wonder where my baby went! I often think about having a third, but I’m not sure if I really want a bigger family or just want a baby again ;)
I’m happy to hear that you found some recipes you like. I hope you get a chance to try one (or a few) soon. Please let me know how it goes! Take care.
Liz says
Hi Andi – I love your recipes and I’m glad I came across your blog. Thanks very much and take good care of yourself.
Andi says
Hi, Liz! Thank you so much for all your sweet comments today! I am very happy that you found so many recipes you like, and your comments really brightened my day :)
Molly says
Andi-I’ve never subscribed to a blog by email before, but the quick dinners you are offering are just what I’ve been looking for. I went back to work this week, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to do dinner and get an infant to bed. Thanks for this.
The Weary Chef says
Oh wow, I’m so flattered! Thank you! I’m looking forward to keeping up with Cheap Beets too. Keep those cute baby pictures coming ;)
Reynaul says
Found your site thru Dinners in the four one five, looks good, can’t wait to try some recipes!
The Weary Chef says
Thank you! Glad to have you here :)
Liz says
love your blog and its premise–cute graphics, too:-) Many thanks for stopping by foodforfun for the boozy marshmallows. I look forward to visiting your blog and will also hop over to your facebook. Us busy moms need to stick together, so will raise glass of red and salute you!
The Weary Chef says
Thanks! I just updated my blog with these graphics last night, so you came just at the right time! Looking forward to trying one of your recipes soon.
Petite Gourmande Anglaise says
Hello Andi! I have nominated you (pre and post new blog) for a Super Sweet Bloggers Award because of all the amazing sweet treats you post on your blog. http://petitegourmandeanglaise.com/2013/03/06/super-sweet-bloggers-award/
The Weary Chef says
Oh wow, thank you! Somehow I missed this yesterday because I was knee deep in CSS while transferring to WordPress.org. I’m so excited and really appreciate you thinking of me! I’ll write up my acceptance speech today.