About Amanda's Cookin'

My name is Amanda Formaro. Mother to four wonderful children, married to my high school sweetheart, living in the midwest state of Wisconsin. I love to cook, bake and make crafts. I worked full time in finance until my third child was three months old. At that time I quit to stay home and raise my kids. As much as I loved being a mom, graham crackers and diapers just weren't enough and my creative mind was going stir crazy.

So, back in 1997, I got on the internet. A month later I created a website called FamilyCorner.com. I developed it over the years, teaching myself HTML, networking with other webmasters, and growing it into a profitable business. I sold that site in November of 2007, though I still work as their Chief Editor. I write newsletters for several websites owned by Internet Brands and I am also the webmaster for several sites owned by Moab Group.

I am the craft expert for Disney's Kaboose.com, and have been creating fun kid's crafts for them since 2005. I have been published by many online magazines, including SheKnows.com and Family.com. I also have a craft blog where I love to share my creations for kids and adults called Crafts by Amanda.

When I started this food blog in mid September of 2008, I was still using cake mixes and making the same dinners, week after week. I can't believe how much changed in that first year of food blogging. I am also amazed at how different the blogging world is from the webmaster world, it was an eye opener and I continue to learn each day.

I now bake everything from scratch and haven't bought a prepackaged cookie in a long time. I love trying new recipes and baking treats for my family. I give a lot of credit to the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group as well as to Dorie Greenspan herself. Participating in the group has brought me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to try new recipes, different methods, and even flavors I wasn't sure about. I enjoy it immensely!

My hope is that I am successful in sharing my love for food and its preparation through this blog. I will continue to strive for better photographs so that you, the reader, will want to make the meals and desserts I blog about. I love to hear from all of you and hope you will continue to comment on my posts and share your thoughts!

Contact me
Email - amanda [at] amandascookin [dot] com
Twitter - @amandascookin
Facebook - Amanda Formaro
Facebook - Amanda's Cookin' Fan Page
Facebook - Crafts by Amanda Fan Page

Media Inquiries
I do occasionally work with PR companies to promote their products. Because of my agreement with BlogHer, I run those product review on a separate ad-free blog called Amanda's Reviews. Please note that I write honest reviews. If I don't like something that is sent to me, I will contact the PR agent and give them my honest opinion. I cannot guarantee that I will post everything that is sent to me, but will make every effort to do so.

I hope you enjoy Amanda's Cookin' and will either follow the blog, or subscribe by email or in a reader. I would love to share with you what's cookin' at my house!