Hi, I’m Dina Polyashov— the creator behind Simply Home Cooked (Est. 2013)
I’m a recipe developer, food blogger, and mom of four, passionate about creating reliable, family-friendly recipes that actually work in real life.
At Simply Home Cooked, my goal is simple: to help you make delicious, fail-proof meals your family will love—without stress or overwhelm.
My Story (and Why My Recipes Work)
My story begins before I ever stepped into the kitchen.
In 1994—the year I was born—my entire family immigrated to the United States from Ukraine as refugees in search of a better life. We came with very little, but we brought something incredibly meaningful with us: our food, our traditions, and our culture.
Starting life in America wasn’t easy. Finances were tight, and like many immigrant families, we had to make sacrifices. That’s why we all chose to live together—four separate families under one roof—not out of convenience, but out of necessity. It was survival. But what could have felt overwhelming became something incredibly special. I grew up in a home filled with:
- My parents and sister
- My grandparents
- My aunts, uncles, and cousins
- Extended family all sharing one space
And at the center of it all… was food. There was always something cooking. Not just one style—but a blend of:
- Ukrainian
- Russian
- Bulgarian
- Moldovan
- American
At any given time, there were multiple women in the kitchen preparing different meals—each bringing their own techniques, flavors, and traditions. Even though I wasn’t cooking much myself back then, I was constantly:
- Watching
- Tasting
- Absorbing
That environment gave me something you can’t learn from a cookbook—a deep, lived understanding of food, flavor, and tradition. It shaped how I cook, how I develop recipes, and why I care so much about creating meals that truly bring people together.
(pictured above is my extended family from my mother’s side, whom I grew up with + a few new additions who were married into the family later).
How I Became a Recipe Developer
My interest in cooking really started in high school culinary classes, but everything changed after I got married in the summer of 2012. With time to focus on cooking, I:
- Studied cookbooks
- Practiced daily
- Tested recipes over and over
Before long, I was creating my own recipes, and friends kept asking for them. After writing recipes down countless times, someone finally said: “You need a website.” So in 2013, I started Simply Home Cooked. Back then, blogging resources were limited, and most people didn’t even know what a food blog was. It took years of:
- Trial and error
- Research
- Persistence
to build what it is today.
My Cooking Philosophy
Every recipe I share is built around 3 things:
- Tested & Reliable– I develop and test my recipes to make sure they actually work—so you don’t waste time or ingredients.
- Simple & Approachable– You don’t need to be a professional chef. My recipes are designed for real home cooks.
- Family-Approved– Feeding a family of six (including picky eaters!) means every recipe has to pass the ultimate test.
Real Life Matters
As a mom of four, I know firsthand how overwhelming daily life can feel. Between:
- Kids
- Homework
- Cleaning
- Busy schedules
Cooking can easily become stressful. That’s exactly why I create recipes that are:
- Straightforward
- Efficient
- Practical for busy families (like my 30-minute meals)
Because dinner shouldn’t feel like a burden.
Why Food Matters to Me
Some of my most meaningful memories are tied to food. A single dish can:
- Bring people together
- Create lasting memories
- Connect cultures and generations
That’s what I hope my recipes do for you.
What You’ll Find Here
On Simply Home Cooked, you’ll find:
- Easy weeknight dinners
- Comfort food favorites
- Slavic-inspired recipes
- Family-friendly meals
- Step-by-step instructions you can trust
Whether you’re just starting out or already love cooking, I’m here to help you feel confident in the kitchen.
A Little More About Me
At the heart of everything I do is my FAITH and my FAMILY.
My relationship with God has been a guiding foundation in my life, shaping the way I approach my home, my work, and the way I serve others through what I create.
I’m also incredibly close with my mom—she has been one of the biggest influences in my life, especially when it comes to food, hospitality, and caring for others. So much of what I share today is rooted in what I learned from her. These values—faith, family, and togetherness—are woven into everything you’ll find here.
A Few Things to Know
- I’m not a professionally trained chef. I’m a self-taught home cook with years of hands-on experience developing and testing recipes for my family and readers.
- Nutritional information provided on this site is an estimate and can vary based on ingredients, brands, and portion sizes. It should be used as a general guideline, not a substitute for professional nutritional advice.
- This website may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through those links—at no additional cost to you. I only share products I genuinely use and love.
- All content and images on this site are protected. Please do not use or republish my photos or recipes without permission.
Ana Oliveira says
Meu nome é Ana e sou do Brasil. Amei ler um pouco da sua história. Eu também concordo com você, pra mim Deus acima de tudo e a minha família é um presente de Deus na minha vida! Amo suas receitas! São maravilhosas! Deus continue te abençoando hoje e sempre!
Dina says
Muito obrigado Ana. Isso significa muito para mim. Que Deus abençoe você e sua família também!
Carol Simpson says
Love your recipes and how you present them. By chance do you have a cookbook ?
Dina says
Thank you, Carol! No, I don’t have a cookbook. Maybe one day I will look into having one 🙂
Marty says
Recipe doesn’t say how much chicken in weight. Just says 3 boneless chicken breasts… 1 pound? 1.5 pounds? 2 pounds??
Dina says
Hi Marty 🙂 Thank you for your question. This is actually on my about page so I don’t know which recipe you are talking about. If you could please leave a comment on the actual recipe post then I can help you. Thanks 🙂
beverly says
Dina, How do I share a recipe on here to my friends of fb?
Dina says
Hi Beverly, If you copy the link of the recipe URL, you can paste it on Facebook when adding a status update/sharing anything. I hope this helps 🙂
Anthonia says
Hello I have been watching your cooking from Facebook I love the way you cook and bake I would love to learn more from you if you will teach me thanks so much for all that I learn from you God bless your family
Dina says
Thank you so much for your kind words Anthonia 🙂 I hope you learn more as you follow along with my older and newer recipes!
Rose says
Can you use canned salmon for salmon wellington ?
Dina says
Hi Rose 🙂 I would not recommend using canned salmon for the salmon Wellington recipe. I hope you get a chance to try that recipe!
Anthonia says
Hi good morning from Africa Nigeria hi my name is Antonio
Dina says
Hi Anthonia, welcome to my little corner of the internet. I hope you find something you enjoy here 🙂
Sam Cooke says
Thanks for the wonderful recipes! But this site is now like every other recipe site with too many ads and pop ups resulting in a very poor user experience . I understand the need to monetize but not at the expense of usability. Shame to lose such great content to poor web design choice.
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Sam 🙂 I am very happy to hear you love my recipes 🙂 There shouldn’t be any email pop-ups on my site. I removed them for my viewers. I truly care about my viewers and want them to have a great experience on my food blog! However, when it comes to ads it really does come down to providing for my family. This is my full-time job. I create recipes and provide them for free to the public. With that, I have to pay my bills and provide for my family and ads are how I do that. I hope you can understand that and continue to support my blog! Thank you 🙂
Tricia B. says
Hi Dina. I found your site while on my other “favorite” blog I frequent a lot!! I must admit I freaked out when I saw a recipe from you on my “frequent” blog… had to ask if I’d made a mistake & was explained that you help out once a month with recipes on her blog/site. And so upon checking your blog out you, too, are bookmarked as my other favorite site I will be frequently visiting for recipes.
Also, I had to laugh when I saw your input on #2 under “A few infesting facts about me:” ‘”I’m an absolute perfectionist and neat freak. After I vacuum, I try to avoid walking on the carpet just so I don’t leave my footprints behind. And I don’t just “vacuum”, I make sure ALL the vacuum lines line up perfectly. After having two children I’ve learned to tone it down a little though. Because let’s be real, trying to clean the house with kids is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos.”‘ It brought back memories of when my children were young & vacuuming the same as you! Funny… I also remember I had to lighten up on my ways of “perfection” to that degree anyway.
I really look forward to making some of your recipes. Love your site…! God Bless you your beautiful family Dina.
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Tricia 🙂 Happy to hear that my page is under your favorites! I hope you find many delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Kids definitely change how some things are done around the house lol.
Thank you Tricia and God bless you as well!
naomi says
Hi Dina !
my dad and i love your show and we always watch it! i was just wondering how old you are ? thank you 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Naomi 🙂 So happy that you and your dad love my food blog! Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it 🙂 I am 26 years old 🙂
Di says
Hi Dina,
Greetings from Australia. (surprise? :-))
I occasionally found your videos from Youtube and am now addicted to your recipes!
My whole family are so happy with the Bangbang Prawn, the Tuscan Chicken Pasta…..and I cooked burritos and brioche burger for my friends. Now they all love to come over for a brunch.
I printed out the recipes from your website and now I have more choices for my fussy children~! I’m feeling so grateful!
God bless you and your family!
simplyhomecooked says
Greetings!! Happy to hear people from Australia are enjoying my recipes 🙂 You just made my day! It makes me so happy when people love my recipes and continue to make them for friends and family 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind review and God bless you and your family as well 🙂
P.S. If you ever make recipes in the future I would greatly appreciate your review and star rating on those recipes. It really helps me a lot! It also shows other people that this recipe has been made many times and never disappoints 🙂 Thank you so much and I hope you continue to find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Minnie says
love your
3 Ingredient homemade Strawberry Jam (no pectin)
have you got any ideas on how to fix fresh strawberries with out having a lot of sugar or sweetener and no pectin
got diabetic’s in the home
got like 8 pounds of fresh strawberries not sure how to fix them no freezer space
thank you for your time and help
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you, Minnie! If you prefer to make it diabetic-friendly, you can totally swap the granulated sugar for Swerve, erythritol, or monk fruit sweetener 🙂
Michelle Weiss says
Hey Dina On your donuts in the air fryer, can you make them gluten free? I would love to make these for my son who has celiac disease. Thanks for your youtube channel. Lots of great ideas!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Michelle, a few of my viewers used almond flour, and some used all-purpose gluten-free flour and both said they had wonderful results. I hope you love this recipe!
Gani Alfred says
Hi Dina, you probably don’t know this but I’ve been inspired by you especially by your love for God and family ❤
Thanks for the beautiful recipes you share, they make such delicious delicacies. I try to use them to make delicacies when I have the chance to. But some (or many) of the ingredients on your recipes are almost impossible to fi. nd around here (Lagos, Nigeria). But I try to improvise as much as I possibly can. 😄😄😄 Lol
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Gani, thank you so much for following along with my blog. It truly means so much to me! I am so glad that my blog has inspired you spiritually and in the kitchen! I know my blog is more food-centered and not so much my faith, But I try my best to show my faith through my works. I believe that acting humbly speaks a lot louder than preaching how to be humble. And yes, my family is everything to me! I have been blessed with a mother who loves her children unconditionally. She has a heart of gold and really is the glue that holds us all together. She knows us better than we know ourselves. She can tell I am worried or struggling with something the moment I walk through her door. She will stay up all night just to make sure things are ok and straightened out. I pray that I can be at least have as good of a woman that she is. I thank the Lord for her every day!
Andrea says
I made these this evening, haven’t tried them yet as they are part of tomorrow’s dinner. The smell is great but they feel very hard. I reviewed the recipe and followed all steps but noticed that the video says to bake it 15-20min while the actual recipe says 25-30. Which one is accurate?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Andrea, thanks for your question. I will happily help answer any questions you may have. I see you commented on the ‘about’ page on my blog. If you could comment on the recipe itself so I may know which recipe you are referring to. Thanks 🙂
Jason Dodson says
Hi Dina, I have recently discovered you through our lockdown in England. I made your Tuscan Chicken today for my family and it was fantastic, thanks for sharing.
Stay safe and well.
Jason
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Jason! I am so glad you stumbled upon my little corner of the internet 🙂 I am thrilled that you enjoyed the Tuscan chicken recipe 🙂 I hope you find many more recipes that you enjoy from my blog! Stay safe and well.
Julie K Cusano says
Just made your air fried doughnut recipe with caputo fiorglut gluten free flour. Came out really good!! My son that has celiac said these are amazing!!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much Julie! I am thrilled to hear that they turned out well. Thank you for taking the time ti wrote your kind feedback 🙂
Alisha Tuttle says
We live in Tbilisi, and I’m excited to find your blog!
Alisha ❤️
simplyhomecooked says
Very happy that you found my blog Alisha! I hope you find many delicious recipes here 🙂
Karen Shoults says
Recently we committed an extreme shopping NO NO. My husband and I went to COSTCO and he was hungry. Everything he sampled was the best thing on earth and we wound up with 3 pounds of Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese. I love cheese but every recipe I have tried using this cheese completely overtakes the flavor of the dish. Do you know any recipes in which I could incorporate this cheese and still have the flavor of the dish?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Karen, I know what you mean. I’ve gone grocery shopping on an empty stomach… terrible idea! In regards to your cheese question. I would try using medium cheddar instead of sharp. It still tastes delicious but not as pungent.
Abi says
I’ve never ever commented on a blog before. But I loved reading about you above, and checking out your cucumber/cabbage salad 🙂
You definitely have a passion for food, people, and God especially! I’m a Christian too, so I love and appreciate that. I pray that God continues to bless you, your family, and your blog. May He continue to use you to bless more and more people 🙂
simplyhomecooked says
Abby thank you so much for your kind words. You totally made my day! 🙂 God bless your beautiful heart.
Alice says
I echo Abi’s sentiments. May God abundantly bless you and your family. I am going to try your Lacey (Florentine) Cookie recipe tomorrow.
Dina says
Thank you, Alice. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Jakub says
Hope to find some good Slavic recipes here. Thanks for posting
simplyhomecooked says
I hope you find something you like Jakub 🙂