The Grandmother Behind Grandma’s Cheap Recipes
If you’ve ever wondered who’s behind the down-to-earth, belly-warming meals on GrandmasCheapRecipes.com, then pull up a kitchen chair, pour yourself a mug of something hot, and let us introduce you to Evelyn Mae Carter — the voice, heart, and flour-dusted hands behind the stove.
She’s not a celebrity.
She’s never been on TV.
And the only time she ever got “published” was when her church newsletter printed her meatloaf recipe under the headline:
“Feeds a Family, Freezes Like a Dream!”
But Evelyn Mae Carter is the kind of cook who could turn pantry scraps into potluck legend, stretch a dollar like magic, and make every guest feel like family — even if you were just stopping by to return a casserole dish.
🌾 Humble Beginnings
Born in 1947 on the outskirts of a dusty little town in Missouri, Evelyn was the third of seven children. Her father was a tractor mechanic who fixed everything with duct tape and spit, and her mother — the true inspiration behind many of Evelyn’s now-famous recipes — ran the house with the grace of a general and the grit of a pioneer.
Their home was small. Money was tight. But meals were sacred.
Evelyn’s earliest memories are wrapped in the smell of hot biscuits and bacon grease, the creak of old kitchen drawers, and the warmth of an oven that never seemed to cool down. By the time she was seven, she could peel potatoes faster than her older brothers — and by nine, she was in charge of Tuesday night supper.
She didn’t learn to cook from a book. She learned by watching, listening, tasting — and helping. Flour got under her fingernails. Soup splashed onto her socks. And she never once asked how long something needed to cook, because her mama always said:
“You’ll know it’s done when it smells like it’s supposed to.”
🥘 Life, One Meal at a Time
Evelyn married young, at twenty, to Hank Carter — a quiet man with strong hands and a deep laugh. They bought a fixer-upper house on the edge of town and raised four children on Hank’s single income as a delivery truck driver.
That meant pinching pennies. Stretching roasts. Buying beans in bulk. Baking bread instead of buying it. Evelyn learned every trick in the book to make a little go a long way — and to make it delicious, too.
She reused coffee grounds (just once, but still). She stored bacon grease in an old jelly jar. She hand-wrote weekly menus on index cards and kept every receipt in a worn envelope labeled “Proof I Feed These People.”
And still, somehow, there was always enough. Enough food. Enough warmth. Enough room for one more plate.
Neighborhood kids knew Evelyn as “the snack mom.” Church folks knew her as “the lady with the peach cobbler.” Her kids knew that if you said “I’m hungry,” she’d feed you — even if she was dog tired and the pantry looked bare.
📜 From Shoebox to Screen
The idea for this blog? It didn’t come from Evelyn.
It came from her granddaughter, Maggie.
See, Evelyn kept all her recipes in a chaotic, wonderful system: napkins, stained envelopes, old notecards, and clippings from newspapers with her own scribbles in the margins. Some had ingredients crossed out and rewritten in ballpoint pen. Some just said things like:
“Cabbage Soup – add sugar if it’s bitter.”
When Maggie left for college, she called Evelyn weekly for “how do I make this again?” instructions. Eventually, she started typing the recipes into a digital file to avoid losing them.
Years later, after having her first child, Maggie looked around her own kitchen — messy, loud, half-organized — and realized she was now the one making the food. And that it was Evelyn’s recipes she kept returning to.
One rainy Sunday, she told her grandma, “I want to build you a website.”
Evelyn laughed out loud. “Honey, people don’t want to see my lumpy gravy online.”
But people did. They wanted her gravy. Her wisdom. Her ways. Her warmth.
🖋️ Her Cooking Philosophy
Evelyn doesn’t follow trends.
She doesn’t know what “gluten-free keto fusion” is.
She doesn’t measure garlic (it’s always “two good pinches”).
She believes food is better with butter — but also knows when a spoon of broth can work just as well.
She doesn’t preach.
She doesn’t waste.
And she doesn’t care if it’s pretty — so long as it tastes right.
Evelyn’s kitchen rules:
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (unless your grandkid is vegetarian now — then swap the sausage for beans).
- Canned goods are fine — just rinse ‘em.
- Don’t panic if you burn something. Add a fried egg and call it rustic.
- Nothing fancy on weeknights. Save the good china for Sunday.
- Always double the cornbread. Someone will want seconds.
✨ Why People Love Her
Visitors to GrandmasCheapRecipes.com often say the same thing:
“It feels like I’m back in my grandma’s kitchen.”
That’s the goal.
Evelyn’s voice — warm, honest, humorous, and practical — shines through in every recipe. She doesn’t talk down to you. She talks with you. Like you’re a neighbor borrowing sugar, or a niece calling from her first apartment asking, “How do I roast a chicken again?”
Her tips aren’t high-tech.
Her advice is tried, tested, and full of real-life wisdom.
People come here for recipes.
They stay for the company.
💬 A Few of Evelyn’s Favorite Sayings
- “Use what you have. Make it work. If it’s weird, add cheese.”
- “Cheap doesn’t mean bad. It means smart.”
- “The key to good stew? Don’t rush it. Same goes for life.”
- “If it sticks to your ribs and makes you smile, you’ve done just fine.”
🧼 Beyond Recipes
Evelyn also shares tips for saving money in the kitchen:
- How to stretch ground beef into three meals
- The cheapest homemade salad dressings (that actually taste good)
- What to freeze, what not to, and what surprises you
- How to clean cast iron — the real way
- Why you should always keep a jar of soup bones in the freezer
She’s even working with Maggie on a free printable eBook called “20 Meals for Under $4” — coming soon.
🌻 Who Is Evelyn Today?
She’s 78 years young.
She still bakes on Sundays.
She still handwrites grocery lists.
She watches her grandchildren via FaceTime, offers unsolicited slow cooker tips, and occasionally yells at her old laptop because it “eats her recipes.”
But her spirit? Stronger than ever.
Evelyn believes that sharing food is one of the last sacred things we do. That a hot meal can solve a cold day. That a full plate means someone loves you.
And now, through this site, she feeds the world — one old-fashioned, cost-conscious recipe at a time.
🌐 So… Why Grandmas Cheap Recipes?
Because this world is noisy, expensive, and fast.
Evelyn offers something else:
- Simplicity
- Warmth
- Tradition
- A little humor
- A lot of love
- And food that’s affordable, filling, and honestly… just good
🥣 Final Words (From Evelyn Herself)
“If you’ve got an onion, a can of beans, and a bit of time, you can make something beautiful.
It might not win a ribbon at the fair, but it’ll fill a belly — and that’s what matters.”
Welcome to Grandma’s kitchen.
Evelyn’s always here — apron on, stove warm, and a seat waiting at the table.