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Now that Easter dinner is done and digested (thanks, Mississippi Pot Roast!) I’m turning my mind back to regular meals, and one of my favorite food influencers is Julia Pacheco.
This young wife and mother of two burst onto YouTube during the early days of the pandemic, and now has over one million followers across several platforms. I’ve watched her grow ever more confident and resourceful in her videos, and it’s fun to see a young person succeeding in such a tough market.
More importantly, her recipes are easy and flavorful, and while Julia does use shortcuts and some convenience foods, she almost always shows a balanced plate of food by the end. So, say she’s made a recipe using cream of chicken soup, she might team it with steamed broccoli and a healthy salad.
And her recipes are often budget friendly!
If you’re a fan of Southwestern foods, you’re in luck with Julia Pacheco. I’m pretty sure she was raised in the Southwest, so she loves to add some heat and depth in her simple and delicious food—although I’m also pretty sure her food is fairly tame compared to genuine Mexican food. Anyway, she is no stranger to cumin and chilis, and my husband loves a lot of the recipes from her. He's a Mexican food fanatic.
I enjoy using a crockpot, and her Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin is delicious and easy—and nice enough for company. She starts with a pre-seasoned tenderloin, then adds potatoes, carrots and a variety of seasonings. Easy peasy.
Julia also does plenty of desserts, budget grocery challenges and holiday meals. You honestly could cook from her recipes for a year and not get bored—although like many cooks these days, she sure likes ranch seasoning. (The whole internet seems obsessed with it though. I like it fine, but frequently substitute other seasonings for it.) Anyway, she’s plenty strong on variety.
Want to learn more? Here’s the link to her website, where you can find most of her recipes as well as her cookbook.
Here’s her YouTube channel.
If you’re looking for fast and flavorful food that will get people fed on a busy day, you’ll like this influencer. I think Cinderella would approve!
As for Cinderella, have you bought your copy of Glass and Feathers, by Lissa Sloan? It's published by The Enchanted Press and every copy sold helps our site.