Midwestern Home Cooking

Midwestern cuisine is a regional cuisine of the Midwest. It draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe.

Everyday Midwestern home cooking generally showcases simple and hearty dishes that make use of the abundance of locally grown foods.

• Breads Recipes

• Beverages Recipes

• Cheese Recipes

• Desserts Recipes

  • Bar Cookies

• Egg Recipes

• Fish and Shellfish Recipes

• Meat Recipes

• Noodles & Pasta Recipes

• Poultry Recipes

• Salads Recipes

• Sandwich Recipes

• Soups and Chowders Recipes

• Vegetable & Side Dish Recipes

The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest.  The region consists of 12 states in the north-central and north-eastern United States: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Chicago is the largest city in the region, followed by Indianapolis, Columbus, Detroit, and Milwaukee. Chicago and its suburbs form the largest metropolitan statistical area, followed by Metro Detroit, the Twin Cities, Metro St. Louis and Kansas City area. Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is the oldest city in the region, having been founded by French missionaries and explorers in 1668.

The term Midwest has been in common use for over 100 years. A variant term, "Middle West," has been in use since the 19th century and remains relatively common.  Another term sometimes applied to the same general region is "the heartland".  Other designations for the region have fallen into disuse, such as the "Northwest" or "Old Northwest" (from "Northwest Territory") and "Mid-America". The four westernmost states of the Midwest—the Dakotas, Kansas and Nebraska—were in the late 19th century very much part of the "Old West".