Lisa Hitzeman is the creator of Lisa's Dinnertime Dish. It was created as a way to share her love of food with others.  Her goal is to create recipes that are affordable, easy and healthy, along with beautiful photos. 

She really want others to get into the kitchen and discover that cooking doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming.

1. Have you always enjoyed cooking? What made you fall in love with it?

I have loved food and cooking for as long as I can remember.  My Grandma was probably my biggest inspiration.  She was a great cook and baker and and made cooking seem effortless.  There were always baked goods in her freezer, ready for any unexpected guests and she could put together a meal in no time.  Watching her in the kitchen made me want to follow in her footsteps.  To this day I still enjoy making some of her recipes.

2. What is your favorite cuisine? What cuisine inspires you the most when it comes to cooking?

I enjoy almost all cuisines, but Italian is definitely my favorite, both for eating and cooking.  I love to research how classic Italian dishes are made and have found that some of the best recipes are actually very simple and basic.   Once I've done the research, I create my own versions of these recipes in my kitchen as authentically as I can.  Some of my favorites are spaghetti carbonara, fettucine bolognese and veal osso buco.

3. Can you walk us through a day in your life. What keeps you busy when you're not busy creating delicious recipes?

On any given day, my morning starts off with coffee, no exceptions.  Then, depending on the day of the week, I'll either spend some time editing photos and working on publishing a new post, connecting on social media or planning for future blog posts. Eventually, I will make it to the gym or out to the trails by my house for a workout.  I recently started biking, so heading out on the trails is something I especially like to do.
 
Then more often then not, I end up taking a trip to the grocery store.  I know a lot of people find grocery shopping to be a chore, but I actually enjoy wandering through the aisles looking for inspiration for new recipes or just for dinner that night.
 
Afternoon is when I typically work on recipe development and take photos.  That generally takes several hours, including lots of cleaning up and washing dishes (the not so fun part of blogging).  Once I'm finished with that I'm ready to be done working for the day.
 
If it's summertime, I love to spend the evening outside on my deck with my husband, grilling our dinner and relaxing or heading to one of our favorite restaurants and enjoying dinner out on their patio.

4. Name five surprising facts about you.

• I have a degree in music therapy.
• I've known my husband since we were both 13 and we've been married for almost 30 years.
• I can play 6 different instruments and I sing.
• I was a hair model for a segment in a local TV show.
• I love to travel and have been fortunate enough to visit 15 different countries.

5. Where do you get your inspiration for new recipes?

That's a good question.  I get my inspiration from a variety of things.  I have several magazines that I subscribe which often give me new ideas and I will also watch cooking shows for inspiration.  I also get inspiration from eating out, especially when I'm traveling.  When that happens, I will take a picture of the dish and make a note as to what I think went into the dish.  Then when I get home, I'll try to recreate that recipe, which is the case with my Jerk Chicken Caribbean Bowls.  My husband and I were in St. Maarten earlier this year and we had something very similar for lunch that day.  It was so good I just had to recreate it at home.

6. What are the three recipes that best represent your kitchen?

I'm crazy about soup and I make it often, no matter what the time of year is, so I have to include this Italian Mini Chicken Meatball Soup, which also represents my love of Italian food.  It's also simple to prepare, which makes it perfect for weeknight dinners.

Lamb is a favorite of mine and I'm always trying to find new and interesting, healthy ways to prepare it.  I love this Lamb, Sweet Potato and Mushroom Stew, it's total comfort food, yet it's actually a very healthy dish and full of so many different flavors.

I love to entertain, so I like to have some go-to appetizer recipes and these Pork Potstickers with Sesame Soy Dipping Sauce are one of my favorites.

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