Eagan food blogger Jenna Gorman involves her children in the kitchen—and in giving back.
Eagan food blogger Jenna Gorman is the rare person who’s managed to combine several of her passions—food, teaching and family—into a successful career. Gorman’s blog, Land of 10,000 Recipes, pays homage to the traditional Upper Midwest dishes of her childhood, revamped with fresh flavors and packed with nutrition.
“I started my career as a food chemist at General Mills,” Gorman says, “but I wanted more people interaction, so I went back to school and got my master’s degree in education and my teaching license.” She taught high school chemistry for a few years, sharing her love of science with her students, and then became a full-time mom to sons Jack (11) and Will (8), and her husband, Matt, completed his rigorous physician residency. He grew up in Eagan, and the couple has called the community home for nine years.
As it happens for many parents, Gorman started to feel like her sense of self was being subsumed by the work of raising young children. “I lost my sense of my own identity,” she says. “I really wanted to get that back.” Matt suggested a food blog, where she could share her love of food and family—and her background in science and chemistry—with readers.
In a serendipitous moment, Gorman looked up the landof10000recipes.com web domain and was surprised to find it was available. “That was a great fit,” she says. “It just started as a fun little passion project.”
She launched the blog in 2019 and has been steadily growing her readership, along with thousands of social media followers. Some of her popular recipes include 30-minute Instant Pot soups, protein bowls with lots of veggie add-ins, homemade staples, like granola and chocolate chip cookies, and kiddo favorites, like pasta and muffins.
Gorman starts each blog post with a quick story about what her family’s been up to, whether it’s a trip to the cabin, a fun adventure or her boys’ sporting events. “I want this also to be something our family can look back on and have a little stamp of history,” Gorman says.
Will is a big foodie and has started offering his own critiques of recipes and suggestions for new developments. And Jack is the first official employee of Land of 10,000 Recipes. “He has a little notebook, so he can clock in and out,” Gorman says with a laugh. “He’s a big numbers guy, so he helps me calculate nutritional content and conversions.”
The blog also offers Gorman a chance to raise funds for a cause that’s close to her heart. For years now, she’s hosted virtual cooking classes where participants can make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “My little brother, Mikey, died from leukemia when he was 4, and I was 8,” Gorman says. Although Mikey wasn’t treated by St. Jude, “They’ve been directly responsible for improving the childhood leukemia survival rate from around 60 percent when he died to almost 95 percent today,” Gorman says.
As more local organizations found out about Gorman’s fundraisers for St. Jude, they wanted to get involved. In 2023, she hosted her first in-person Cooking for a Cause event at Holman’s Table in St. Paul. The restaurant donated food; Urban Growler donated beer. Soon, Gorman was invited to appear on FOX 9’s Good Day and KSTP’s Twin Cities Live, and she traveled to Memphis for a conference with other creators who partnered with St. Jude.
In April, her second Cooking for a Cause event added sponsors like Tattersall Distilling, which made a custom cocktail. “They’re donating $1 from every cocktail to my fundraiser,” Gorman says. “It’s so neat to have this tiny little idea, and it just keeps growing every year. That’s my proudest thing I’ve done because of my blog.”
Junior Chefs
Jenna Gorman shares her favorite tips for involving your little ones in preparing meals.
Keep your expectations low. Kids make messes and mistakes. Gorman says, “You have to let go of stressing about that.”
Set up for success. For example, Gorman puts out two small bowls during scrambled-egg prep: one for eggs, one for shells, making for easy cleanup. “Break the process down into small steps, so you can make adjustments along the way,” she says.
Involve kids from start to finish. “Real chefs make mistakes, but they also clean up,” Gorman says. “Cleanup is part of being a responsible chef.” She notes that picky eaters are also more likely to try new things when they’ve seen all of the details—and every interesting ingredient—of a recipe.
Eats from 10,000 Lakes
Two kid-approved recipes from Eagan mom and food blogger Jenna Gorman, perfect for back-to-school season.
Crockpot Cuban Sandwiches
“These sandwiches are a blog favorite and a family favorite,” Gorman says. “Slow-roasted pork is piled high on toasted hoagie rolls and is finished with mustard, mayo, Swiss cheese and pickles. They are, simply put, deliciously easy!”
For the pulled pork
- 2 lbs. pork shoulder, boneless
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- ½ Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 Tbsp. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¾ tsp. Pepper
Put the pork shoulder into the bottom of a crockpot. In a separate bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients and pour over the pork shoulder. Put the lid on top of the crockpot and cook on low for 4–5 hours or on high for 3–4 hours. Once the pork is cooked, remove it from the crockpot and shred. Once shredded, put the pork back into the crockpot.
For one Cuban sandwich
- 1 hoagie roll cut in half
- 1 Tbsp. stone ground mustard
- 1 Tbsp. light mayonnaise
- ½ cup crockpot pulled pork from recipe above
- 1 slice Swiss cheese
- 2 dill pickle sandwich slices
- 1 tsp. olive oil
Slice the hoagie roll in half and brush the outside of the roll with olive oil. Place the oiled sides of the hoagie roll face-down, and spread the stone ground mustard on one side of the hoagie and the mayo on the other side. Put the slice of Swiss cheese on one side of the bread and the pickle slices on the other side. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is mostly melted. Place the pork on top of the slice of cheese and put the two slices of bread together. Cut in half and enjoy!
Easy Sheet Pan Chicken & Sweet Potato Fall Salad Bowl
“I have found the best way to serve a meal that everyone will eat (and enjoy!) is to serve it deconstructed,” Gorman says. “With this recipe, you have all those cozy fall flavors, but everything is served in separate dishes so everyone can leave the table happy.”
For the salad
- 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 cup quinoa cooked
- 1 cup pecans
- lettuce
For the chicken marinade
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
For the apple cider vinaigrette
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Combine all ingredients for the chicken marinade. Add chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes. While the chicken is marinating, cook the quinoa according to the package directions and set aside. Drizzle the sweet potatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. After the chicken has marinated, place it on one side of the sheet pan and the sweet potatoes on the other side. Bake for 25–30 minutes (or until chicken is no longer pink). While the chicken and potatoes are roasting, combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette. Once cooked, let the chicken cool and then cube it. Assemble your salad with the chicken, sweet potatoes, quinoa and pecans. Top with the vinaigrette and enjoy!
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