Welcome! I’m Leslie Wyatt, and my favorite way to spend time is cooking and entertaining friends and family. Sharing recipes and connecting with people with the same passion for these activities led me to create Second Helpings…a blog about cooking, caring and celebrating.

I live in Chicago, Illinois, with my husband, our three daughters and our very spoiled chocolate lab, Clyde, who is the real rockstar of the family. Our incredible daughters love to bake and keep our house smelling delicious with creative treats and baked goods. Find their recipes in the Sweet Helpings section of this site.

Entertaining family and friends led to my real true love – cooking. A perfect day at home is spent cooking all day with friends popping by to say hello and finishing with a family dinner and a great glass of pinot noir.

Being a mom of two active teenagers and one active teen-to-be, it’s challenging to come up with simple but delicious weeknight meals. Between carpooling to volleyball, dance and softball, I’ve created and compiled some easy meals everyone in our home loves, and I hope you will love them, too.

I’m very fortunate to have lots of taste testers. My husband loves almost anything, and the girls have become little foodies. We certainly have our favorites but aren’t afraid to mix it up when we can.

Please join our email list to stay up-to-date regarding Second Helpings. If you have any questions or recipe suggestions for me, I’d love to hear from you. Follow our social media pages, as well.