When you’re prioritizing things in your life, cooking homemade meals is often one of the first tasks to get demoted.

Enter Bobbi Jo Berg. She’s “a Midwest, farm-raised, and cornfed mom of three” who loves making hearty, healthy (and sometimes not-so-healthy) homemade meals. On her website, Recipes from French Creek, she curates simple recipes for others to follow, sells her family’s farm-raised beef, and – lucky for locals – sells freezer meals that make dinnertime easy.

Bobbi Jo grew up on a dairy farm near Lansing, Iowa, and went to school in Waukon, where she has lived nearly her whole life – with the exception of going to college in South Dakota to study Agriculture Leadership and Dairy Production. Bobbi Jo met her now-husband, Kollin Berg, after college, and got married in 2018. She and Kollin (also from Northeast Iowa) now have three kids: Hank (5), Hope (3), and Huey (1). The family lives on Bobbi Jo’s childhood farm, where they stay busy farming beef cattle and crops with her parents, as well as tending to Bobbi Jo’s small chicken flock.

A few years ago, Bobbi Jo felt like she wanted to try something new in her life. She wanted to find work that would allow her flexibility to spend more time with her family. So, Bobbi Jo transformed her passion for cooking family-friendly meals into a business that helps others enjoy the same. Recipes from French Creek, named after a beautiful trout stream that flows through their farm, launched in 2022.

Like many entrepreneurs, Bobbi Jo has a hand in all aspects of the business. She invested in a nice camera right away so she could take quality photos for her blog and to market the freezer meals on her website, which she created herself with the help of YouTube tutorials. She does all the recipe creation and, typically on the third week of each month, Bobbi Jo handles the local deliveries to Waukon, Decorah, Lansing, and New Albin.

But she also has support from her family: her mom helps with some of the cooking, her husband handles the farm side of things, and the kids pitch in on day-to-day farm chores. 

In addition to freezer meals, Bobbi Jo has offered cooking classes in recent years. “They are a hit! They usually sell out,” Bobbi Jo says. “This is one thing that I have had to take a step back from this last year with our growing family.” She does plan to do one Freezer Meal Prep class this fall – likely early November – where attendees learn some easy “dump and go” meals that can be frozen now to be enjoyed later. At these events, there is often a food and nutrition specialist from Iowa State Extension there to chat with the group and provide meal planning tips.

Bobbi Jo also hopes to do a “Mom and Me” cooking class this fall, where they start with a kiddy cocktail bar with snacks, then prep a meal – like meatballs or homemade pizza – to take home for the rest of the family. There is usually a fun activity related to whatever they’re making as well.

People wanting to learn more can head on over to recipesfromfrenchcreek.com to read Bobbi Jo’s food blog – she gets thousands of visitors each month from around the world  (the ground beef and egg noodle recipe – originally from Kollin’s family – is the most popular one on the blog) – and local folks can order French Creek Beef or freezer meals to try at home. Bobbi Jo says breakfast burritos or protein energy balls are always a best seller.

Read on to learn more about Bobbi Jo’s entrepreneur journey!

The Basics:
Name: Bobbi Jo Berg
Age (as of fall 2025): 32
Business: Recipes from French Creek LLC
Year Business Established: 2022
Business address: Rural Lansing, Iowa
Website: www.recipesfromfrenchcreek.com

Tell us about the “leap” moment. When/how did you decide to jump in and become your own boss?

I always knew I wanted to own my own business, but I struggled for years to determine what that would be. When I started, I was in a totally different career path – in agriculture banking. While I enjoyed the financial side of things, I was not satisfied and had such a strong passion to start a new business. Plus, I had young children and wanted more flexibility for my family. 

I’m not the kind of person that really “takes leaps” or wants to draw attention to myself, but I had such a strong desire to do something new that I finally took the leap and started a food blog – I have always liked cooking simple, family-friendly foods. The thought of starting something like this and sharing with friends and family totally terrified me. After I was over that fear of sharing recipes, I started getting requests to take food orders. I began researching what that would look like, got the licensing needed, and the rest fell into place. 

What’s the best thing about being your own boss?

The best part is the flexibility it brings. While it is a lot of work, I get to decide how I get it done and when. It is so rewarding to work for something you’re truly passionate about, too – that makes everything worth it.

How about the worst?

I think the worst part is probably that the weight of everything falls on me as the business owner. For example, with three young kids, in the winter, it always seems someone is sick! When I was working in an office, I would take the time off needed and know someone would help while we recovered. As my own business owner, even with a small support group, the weight falls on me. I get it done, but it can be a struggle sometimes!

Was there ever a hurdle where you just thought, “I can’t do this?” How did you overcome it?

About a year into starting freezer meals, we were expecting our third child. While I was so excited to have another, I wondered – how can I still own this business and be an attentive mother, get enough sleep, and provide the quality meals to my customers/run a business in general? There were so many times I thought, “I literally cannot do this. This won’t work.” Guess what though? It did work. We adapted, I took steps back from some goals in order to raise my family (that was the main goal in the first place!), and things have gotten easier.

I think in general, as mothers, we all think sometimes “we can’t do this” – and somehow, we still manage to do it – moms are rockstars. I love that part of my job is supporting mothers and parents with hearty meals and recipe ideas!

Any mentors/role models you look to/have looked to?

The first that comes to mind is Mary Heffernan with Five Marys Farms out of California. They have such an awesome farm and excellent small business program where I have taken some online entrepreneurship courses. I would love to transform my business into something similar to what they have built – very inspiring!

I also have grown friendships with other farmer/food entrepreneurs throughout the Midwest. I love having someone in a similar business to roll ideas off of, share freezer meal recipes that our customers love, and so forth. Being a small business owner can be lonely sometimes and this helps!

What’s the one thing you wish you had known before you started?

I wish I would have known that this business would work. It would have alleviated stress for me at the time!

How do you manage your life/work balance?

Work/Life balance is something I’m learning to manage. Since so much of my business is done online and operated out of my home, it can be very difficult to “turn off” and disconnect from work. It’s also a part of our everyday lives. I am making blog content based on food that my family ate for dinner that week, recipe testing freezer meals I make for the family, and farm chores are a family chore too. 

But being my own boss, I get to set my own schedule – and I usually don’t offer quite as many freezer meals in the summer months when my kids are home from school. I strive to have slow mornings with my kids and then the afternoons are set for work. 

Basically, a lot of the business is intertwined into our entire life. Which I love about it, most days!

What keeps you inspired? Any quotes that keep you going?

Listening to different podcasts and watching other businesses thrive in the farming and food industry keeps me inspired.

And in the mornings, I do an online live zoom group workout. My instructor always has a “quote of the day” and it has given me the inspiration and attitude to get through tough days! Most of her workouts are a good reminder that, when you think your life is tough, stop feeling sorry for yourself – there are people out there with less doing more! Always a good reminder. 

You started this business to help busy folks juggling many things, right? Who helps you juggle all the things?!

I owe a huge shout out to my mom! We are blessed to live about one mile away from my parents and when I decided to start this business full-time, my mom retired. She will help me make food, watch my kids, or just be a listening ear. Both of my parents have been very supportive. 

Prep-Ahead Sausage, Egg & Cheese Muffins (with tater tots!)

Recipe by Bobbi Jo Berg / Recipes from French Creek / recipesfromfrenchcreek.com
(You can print the recipe here!)

Ingredients

8 large eggs
1/2 cup half and half or milk
1/2 lb browned ground pork sausage (could sub 6 slices cooked & crumbled bacon)
3/4-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Optional: 1 cup additional veggies of choice (cooked mushrooms, diced peppers, etc.)
16 oz bag tater tots (may not use entire bag- 24-36 tots)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Spray a muffin tin.
Add 2-3 tater tots to the bottom of each muffin tin. Next add ground sausage (or crumbled bacon), optional veggies, and top with shredded cheese.
In a medium-sized bowl crack the eggs and whisk together with milk. Add seasonings to the mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the muffin tins until filled.
Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes; until the eggs pull away from the side of the muffin tins and are set in the middle.
Enjoy! 

Freezer Instructions

Let cool and flash freeze in a single layer before transferring to a freezer bag. Can wrap individually with plastic wrap to help prevent freezer burn, too. Warm in the microwave for 45 seconds approximately. Freeze for up to 3 months.