Interview
Courtney Gordon on what to feed the kids before dinner
The Court Makes Home creator talks about after-school appetites, letting her children vote on recipes, and the twisted kebabs other parents wrote to her about.
Courtney Gordon had been saving dinner recipes when she began paying attention to an earlier meal problem. Her three teenage boys came home from school hungry enough to raid the pantry. A snack needed to last them a couple of hours, while leaving room for the dinner she would eventually put on the table. That interval became the subject of her “WTF to Feed Your Kids After School” recipe series on Court Makes Home.
The children have a say in what follows. Sometimes they vote on what to make; their cravings can become a snack or a full dinner. In this July conversation, Gordon, a full-time clinical pharmacist and mother of five children then aged 3 to 15, describes trying to please teenagers and younger children with the same food. She also talks about the messages that arrive after another family cooks a recipe. Her twisted kebabs brought replies from mothers of picky eaters, a response she had particular reason to appreciate.
Q.Can you tell us a little about yourself and how Court Makes Home got started?
I'm Courtney, the creator behind Court Makes Home! I'm a full-time clinical pharmacist, wife, and mom to five kids ages 3–15, so life is busy! I've always loved cooking and was frequently sharing easy meals and snack ideas with friends and family.
What started as a fun creative outlet quickly turned into a community of people looking for realistic, family-friendly recipes that don't require hours in the kitchen, so they're perfect for busy moms like me!
Q.What inspired you to start sharing recipes online? Was there a particular moment that made you think, “I should start posting these?”
I was constantly saving dinner recipe reels to make for my family, but with three hungry teenage boys, I realized the bigger struggle wasn't dinner. It was the chaos that started the minute they walked through the door after school. Every afternoon they'd be starving and raiding the pantry, and I'd find myself thinking, “What the f$&@ am I going to feed these kids after school?”
That's exactly how my “WTF to Feed Your Kids After School” series was born. I started creating quick, easy, satisfying snacks that would buy us a couple of hours before dinner without spoiling their appetites. I had a feeling other parents were asking themselves the same question every day, and it turns out they were.
Seeing that series resonate with so many families confirmed that if these recipes could make life a little easier in my house, they could do the same for someone else's.
“If these recipes could make life a little easier in my house, they could do the same for someone else's.”
Q.How do you usually come up with new recipe ideas?
My family is definitely my biggest inspiration. If my kids are craving something, I love figuring out how to turn it into a quick after-school snack or, depending on the day, a full dinner. Sometimes I have the kids vote on what we're making, which is fun and gets everyone excited to eat.
I also draw inspiration from seasonal ingredients, trending foods, and requests from my Court Makes Home community. I really try to create something that's exciting for my teenagers but still appealing to my little ones. If all five of my kids will eat it, I know it's worth sharing.
Q.What does your recipe creation process look like from start to finish? Do you publish a recipe straight away, or test it multiple times before you're happy with it?
Most recipes have been developed over time behind the scenes, but every once in a while I'll have an idea and just go for it! I've loved cooking for as long as I can remember, so I've built a pretty strong foundation for knowing how flavors work together and how to create recipes that are approachable and realistic for everyday families.
I always keep the end goal in mind: it needs to be something anyone can recreate at home, even on a busy day. If I'm sharing a recipe on Court Makes Home, it's because it's something I genuinely love, my family enjoys, and I'd happily make again in my own kitchen.
Q.What's one recipe you're especially proud of, and why?
My favorite recipes are the ones that take familiar comfort foods and give them a fun, approachable twist. One I'm especially proud of is the twisted kebabs. They were so easy and such a hit! I received so many messages from moms telling me that even their pickiest eaters loved them.
As a mom of a few picky eaters myself, I know how stressful it can be trying to find meals that everyone will actually enjoy. Knowing that any of my meals have helped make mealtime a little easier for other families is what makes me the most proud.
Q.What's the most rewarding part of sharing recipes online?
The messages from people who have made my recipes are my favorite part. Whether it's a busy mom saying dinner was finally stress-free, someone whose picky eater cleaned their plate, or a family who cooked one of my recipes together, those moments remind me why I do this. Food has a way of bringing people together, and I love getting to be a small part of that.
Q.What's one part of creating or sharing recipes that you wish was a little easier?
Keeping up with social media can definitely be challenging. Creating the recipe is only one part of the process. There's filming, editing, writing captions, staying consistent, and hoping the algorithm shows my recipes to the people who will find them useful.
On top of that, my husband and I are raising five kids, so our days after work are full with school activities, dance, swim, football, and all the little moments in between. I try to be really intentional with my time and make sure that creating content still fits into our family life rather than taking away from it.
I try to involve my younger kids in the cooking and filming behind the scenes whenever I can. It's become a fun way for us to spend time together and to teach them new skills!
Q.What's next for Court Makes Home?
I'm excited to keep creating simple, approachable recipes that make mealtime easier for busy families. I have lots of fun recipe ideas in the works, and I'm looking forward to continuing to grow my community!
Long term, I'd love to continue partnering with brands I genuinely love and expand Court Makes Home into more lifestyle content alongside recipes, sharing more of the everyday moments that inspired this page in the first place.
The best place to follow along is on Instagram at @courtmakeshome. I'm so grateful for everyone who has supported this journey so far, and I can't wait to keep sharing more recipes, family moments, and kitchen inspiration with you!
Gordon's answers return often to the people eating the food: the child asking for a snack, the family making dinner, the parent sending a message afterward. If you are preparing your own recipes to share, testing from the written instructions can help you find the details another cook will need. For recipes already in captions, the guide to moving Instagram recipes onto a website covers preparing those instructions for their own pages.