I am a busy stay-at-home mom of four young children. I love my family, and love to cook! My husband has a hard time getting me to eat out with him, because most of the time, I feel I could make most foods better and much cheaper! Being home with my family is my favorite place to be. I love to bake! Bread, cookies, pies, yummy desserts, etc. I also love to make healthy variations of foods. For instance, whole wheat veggie pizza, apple or pumpkin whole grain pancakes, and instead of frying chicken in oil, I add a little water and put a lid on to steam the meat instead, and it still turns out crispy. I am also really good at making do with what I have on hand. If I don't have something specific in a recipe, I can change it around to fit what I do have, and nobody knows the difference. At Christmas time, my family has a tradition of making all kinds of Christmas candy. My mom did that with us while we were growing up, and now that we have families of our own, we still get together every year to carry on the tradition. I also believe in families eating dinner (and breakfast) together at the dining table. It's a great way to keep in touch with each other as our lives continue to get busier and busier. It's nice to have some good family fun together every day while enjoying some good home cooking. It is a triumph for me every time I make something that is a hit with the kids (which happens more often than not...thank goodness they are not super picky). If it meets their approval, I know I've scored high with the toughest of judges. When I was newly married, my husband and I invited my sister and her new husband over for dinner. My brother-in law had inherited some deer meat, so I decided to make mashed potatoes and gravy as a side dish. The mashed potatoes turned out okay, but the gravy, oh, man, the gravy. Growing up, potatoes and gravy were a staple in my home, so you'd think I had learned the art of gravy-making in my youth. Wrong! I had never made it on my own, so I did what I "thought" I was supposed to do. I mixed the flour with cold water, then added spices for flavor. I used some seasoned salt, some sort of chicken/tomato bouillon, and pepper, then some more pepper, then yet again, you guessed it, more pepper. I had no idea when enough was enough. Needless to say, everyone was breathing fire that night. To this day, and probably forevermore after, I will never live down my famous Pepper Gravy. And don't worry, I vow I will never post that recipe on this site (or anywhere, for that matter)!