Welcome!
We’re Corey and Shaylah Coogan! Both of us were born and raised in Iowa (and a wee bit of Nebraska for me) and then we both landed in Texas in the ’90s, met each other a decade later, and fell in love!
Having spent most of his adult life traveling {for work, rugby, and pleasure}, I’d say Corey is a true foodie. He’s eaten at some of the finest restaurants all around the world, the biggest dives, and the yummiest food trucks. He’s tried pretty much every food and every delicacy out there. Throughout his travels, he’s learned how to bake the perfect Chicago pizza, how to barbecue Kansas City style, and found inspiration from Little Italy in San Diego. Bread, pastries, and wine in France, various dishes while in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Austria – have all collectively formed his creative passion for food, flavor, and spice.
The kids and I have been on the receiving end of Corey’s extensive knowledge of food, spices, and herbs for years – and now that our kids are grown, we’ve created an outlet to not only share our favorites with them but also our family and our friends. Our desire is that our recipes will bring you and your loved ones to gather together and build memories in the kitchen and at the table.
about Corey and Shaylah …
While dating back in 2004, Corey always invited my two little ones to join us on dinner dates, which was always a super special treat! The first time we invited him over for dinner, I thought this guy would love a “home-cooked meal” since he travels so much! The kids and I mulled it over a bit and came up with our absolute best not-from-a-box meal — spaghetti, super bland hamburger (I wasn’t big on seasoning), straight from a jar meat sauce, and some garlic bread from the frozen food section of our grocery store. Now there’s nothing wrong with that meal but I was claiming some made-from-scratch home-cookin’!
We joke to this day, that this meal pretty much sealed the deal for him! I mean, what man wouldn’t want to marry a single mom who claimed this level of scratch cooking skills! He was so sweet though and complimented us over and over on our delicious meal. Such sweet memories!
When Corey joined our family – our tastebuds pretty much exploded and went straight to tastebud heaven! We discovered flavors, spices, and meals we had never experienced before! The kids were even eating vegetables and food creations I could have never dreamed of!
Our Favorite Recipes
Sausage and Tots Breakfast Casserole
Recipe for Breakfast
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Recipe for Dinner
Delicious Hummingbird Cake
Recipe for Dessert
Shredded Potato Stuffed Chicken
Recipe for Grilling
the heart of our home …
Over the years, our kitchen has truly become the heart of our home. I learned to cook and bake from scratch. The kids learned to try new foods, flavors, and how to test recipes. It’s where we gather to prep veggies and chat about the day. It’s where we’ve listened to countless stories from our kids, offered advice {when requested} all while rolling out dough or cutting biscuits. Dancing and drinking wine while waiting for timers to go off … to belly laughs over something silly and mundane is most definitely the norm around here. I’m beyond thankful for the many years of dances and singing the kids witnessed and participated in while growing up!
I owe Corey so much for everything he’s taught them in our kitchen … not just recipes – but what an incredible husband and father looks like. I hope that one day they will carry on in the kitchen the very same way.
and Coogan’s Kitchen was born …
I’ve learned many techniques from him but my favorite part is watching, photographing, and being his sous chef! I’ve spent the past few years snapping pics of his creations and documenting his recipes. He even gifted each of the kids a recipe book full of their favorite “Corey” recipes at their high school graduations. They have both graduated from college and are living on their own, and those recipes have been through a lot. Some have been lost, some torn, and many are messy from so much use.
As the kids approached adulthood, they wanted to learn more about cooking and baking. And when they both moved away for college, we would facetime cooking techniques and text and email recipes. I started documenting and photographing Corey’s steps in much more detail, taking notes and then transforming them into recipes with steps our kids would find easy and quick to navigate. And honestly, it’s made me a better home cook and baker too!
Our Favorite Recipes
Delicious Sweet Corn Casserole
Side Dish Recipe
Coogan’s Chicken & Beef Irish Stew
Stew Recipe
Acorn Squash with Wild Rice
Vegetarian Recipe
Roadhouse Rolls & Cinnamon Honey Butter
Dinner Roll Recipe
covid + quarantine …
When Corey’s flights were all grounded from Covid in March 2020, we made a plan to gather all our food photos and recipe notes and create this website for our adult kids.
And so that, my friends, is how CoogansKitchen.com was born. A place for us to share our extensive recipe collection from over the years plus recipes we’ve been handed down from friends, grandmothers, and even great, great grandmothers.
We love all things food. We grow our own herbs and most of our veggies {and we are obsessed with gardening}. We love celebrating and creating new memories with our loved ones around the kitchen table. And … we are so excited to share our love of food with you!
Contact us anytime with comments and questions or if you are interested in working together. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. We’d love to hear from you!
