Welcome to SueBee Homemaker! I’m so glad you’re here. My name is Sue and I’m a passionate foodie, chef, baker, wife, sister, MuMu (aka grandmother) and mother. My goal is to help you try new recipes that both nourish and treat your family–all on a reasonable budget.

While I consider myself a “healthy’ish” cook when it comes to meals, I love the art of baking bread – especially sourdough, grilling with my husband, and I’ll never turn down dessert on special occasions. I love trying new recipes and try to cook with seasonal ingredients and with as much fresh produce as possible. 

When you try one of my recipes, I hope you can feel the love–from my kitchen to yours–put into every delicious bite! 

A photo of me juggling lemons.

My Inspiration

My mom is the inspiration for so much of my cooking. Some of my fondest memories are the moments sitting in the kitchen while Mom was making three or four things at one time—or baking alongside her sisters. Her bread making was her art, and she loved spoiling her family with good food. 

My mother passed away in April of 2019 from complications of Alzheimers, and I wrote a tribute to honor her. I miss her so much! Norma Jean’s Kitchen is the section on my blog dedicated to her recipes, and I’m so very proud to share them with you.

My Recipe Testers

My fingers adding salt to cowboy caviar.

My husband Mike and I are high school sweethearts and parents to two young men, Josh and Zach, and to our Shih Tzu, Theo. All three of my boys and their ladies, Tiffany and Kirsten, are my main recipe testers in my kitchen.

Josh and Tiffany made us grandparents (aka MuMu and Gramps) in August of 2023 when they welcomed their sweet Amelia Marian to the world.

Quick Bites About Me

  • I met my husband, Mike, in the 3rd grade when his family was “new in town”. I still remember some of the velour shirts he wore and how he swiped his hair out of his eyes. Yes, he had hair! And yes, I was CRUSHIN’! We actually played together as children at my cousin’s house (who lived next door to him) – “kick the can” and “hide and seek”. Oh the fun!
  • My mom and dad are both from very big families, so I have over 100 first cousins and who knows how many second cousins. Reunions and name tags go hand in hand. 
  • Mike and I graduated from Iowa State University in 1989 and married just one month after graduation with barely a dime in our pockets. We started our married lives in the Twin Cities area, moved to Chicago, and then finally in Texas in 1993. We moved to our current “fixer upper” home in 2001 and have never stopped “fixing it up”. 
  • Craft beer has become a thing here and we are always on the hunt for a new brewery to try when we travel and when we go on our long bike rides. IPAs are our favorites – the hazier the better.
  • Now that we are empty nesters, Mike and I get away often and love to travel (as seen below). Each summer we take a trip to do some bike riding (the one thing outdoors I CAN do for exercise due to a bum foot) and to celebrate our anniversary. We also have fallen in love with Hawaii and are planning more frequent trips to experience the aloha life!
A collage of travel photos with me and Mike.