SpeedyTasty by Lisa Hartwell

Heyyy there! I’m Lisa Hartwell, and welcome to SpeedyTasty.com, my lil corner of the internet where I basicly just share all the recipes that have saved my sanity over the years. If you’re looking for quick, delicious meals that actual humans with real lives can make… you’re in the right place!

So yeahhh I’m 47 (how did THAT happen???) and I escaped the corporate marketing world in 2018 after 22 years of spreadsheets and powerpoints that were slowly killing my soul. Now I create recipes full time and make wayyy less money but dont wake up with a knot in my stomach every monday so… #worthit

The SpeedyTasty Story ❤️

I started this blog sitting at my kitchen table at 3:14 am while having a midlife meltdown (I refuse to call it a crisis). I was staring at the ceiling, thinking “is this really all there is?” after getting passed over for a promotion Id worked 70-hour weeks for. So at 4am I bought this domain name and wrote my first post about how to make actually good 15-minute pasta because the recipe I’d found online took 45 minutes and tasted like cardboard.

Somehow people started reading?? And then some brands wanted to work together?? And then suddenly this hobby became my actual job which is WILD to me still.

Is it as profitable as corporate life? Lol nope. My former expense account for client dinners was bigger than my monthly blog income that first year. But now we do ok, and I haven’t had to wear pantyhose in 5 yearsss so who’s the real winner here?

My Recipe Philosophy

Listen, I cook for real people in a real kitchen with real time constraints:

• My husband James works long hours in healthcare admin and needs dinner that isn’t just takeout
• My two college kids (Emma and Ryan) come home randomly and expect meals like I’m still running a diner
• Our golden retriever Charlie tries to eat everything I make before it hits the table
• My slightly tempermental oven runs 15 degrees hot on the left side only
• Sometimes I forget I’m cooking because I got distracted watching true crime shows

So my recipes are TESTED. Not just once in ideal conditions, but multiple times while multitasking and dealing with real life interruptions. If I can make these recipes work in my chaotic kitchen, you absolutely can too!

What You’ll Find Here

• Actually doable weeknight meals that dont need 47 ingredients from specialty shops. Most are ready in 30 minutes or less because WHO HAS TIME?
• Meal prep ideas that dont taste sad by day 3 because I’ve eaten enough disappointing desk lunches in my corporate days to last a lifetime.
• Entertaining recipes that wont make you cry because nobody wants to be still cooking when guests arrive. Been there, done that, had a meltdown in my pantry.
• Family-friendly options that aren’t just chicken nuggets because I refuse to make separate meals but also dont want dinnertime battles.
• Healthy-ish recipes that actually taste good because life’s too short to eat things that taste like punishment.

I promise to always be honest about the disasters along with the wins. If a recipe fails, I’ll tell you. I’ve had more kitchen catastrophes than successes over the years (ask me sometime about the great thanksgiving gravy explosion of 2015).

My Culinary Background (or lack thereof)

I am NOT a trained chef. Not even close. I’m a home cook who learned through:

• Watching my grandmother Marie make pierogi from scratch while telling inappropriate stories about her youth
• Countless youtube videos at 1.5x speed
• Approximately 247 cookbook purchases (much to James’ dismay)
• Years of trial and error (emphasis on the error part)
• Calling my sister Kate in panic when things go wrong

I believe cooking should be fun and flexible. My recipes include suggestions like “add more garlic if your people arent monsters who hate flavor” and “this is where I usually spill something on the floor and curse.”

Random Food Facts About Me

Some weird stuff about me that explains my cooking style:

• I secretly put ketchup on my eggs but ONLY when nobody’s looking because James thinks its disgusting
• I cannot function without coffee by 7:32am EXACTLY
• I meal prep every Sunday while listening to true crime podcasts which James says explains why I sometimes hold kitchen knives “too enthusiastically”
• I’ve set off the smoke alarm so many times trying new recipes that we now refer to it as “Lisa’s cooking timer”
• I once made the same chocolate chip cookie recipe 14 times in one month trying to get it perfect
• I alphabetize my spice rack but the rest of my kitchen is complete chaos
• I absolutely refuse to hand-wash dishes. If it cant go in the dishwasher, I prolly dont need it
• I have strong opinions about cast iron pans and will lecture anyone who uses soap on theirs

Where I Shop for Ingredients

If your in Portland, you might spot me at:

• Riverside Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings where I always buy way more produce than we can possibly eat
• That discount grocery outlet where I stock up on weird specialty ingredients that would cost 3x more at regular stores
• The Asian market across town that has THE best prices on rice and noodles (worth the drive, trust me)
• My neighbor Elaine’s garden where I “borrow” herbs when I run out (she gets cookies in return)

Let’s Connect!

Send me an email at [email protected]! I try to answer everything within a week unless Charlie has destroyed something important or I’m having a technology crisis (which happens aproximately every 12 days).
Find me on Instagram @SpeedyTasty where I post way too many pics of food, my golden retriever sneaking food, and occasional behind-the-scenes kitchen disasters. My stories are literally just me talking while cooking and looking for ingredients I could swear I just had.
Thanks for stopping by my corner of the internet! Feel free to poke around, ignore any typos, and leave a comment saying hi!

xoxo,
Lisa