I am a wife, a sister, a daughter, a friend and 7th grade teacher. I love my job--no two days or even two hours are exactly the same. Cooking is a way for me to unwind after a long day. I turn on the radio (usually the Oldies or Delilah), open my cookbook and let the stress out through chopping, sauteing, straining and mixing. By the time the dinner is on the table, I am relaxed, but hungry! Outside of the kitchen I enjoy running, spending time with my family and friends, reading and traveling. I have always loved my mom's Italian dishes--particularly her lasagna. I've developed a taste for it and really love throwing together a baked ziti, stuffed shells, spaghetti and from time to time, a lasanga. My parents are from Upstate NY, although I was raised in Florida my entire life. We grew up on Yankee inspired meals of thick soups, sausages, pasta and potatoes. My dad recently passed on his recipe for Cornwell Chicken--yum, yum! To this date, I have never had grits and only recently made my first chicken and dumplings. If you ask my husband he would tell you "Chicken Divan" (the Publix Apron meal's version), although my hungarian goulash has fed and pleased dozens of friends, family and co-workers. I started tinkering around the kitchen as a young teenager. One afternoon I surprised my parents with the announcement that I would be making dinner that night. Thrilled, they took me to the store to pick up all the necessary ingredients. The tomato-garlic pasta called for 3 cloves of garlic. At home I unwrapped two packages of garlic and used 3 entire bulbs! The garlic "aroma" nearly peeled the paint off our walls! With heads peeking into the kitchen, I assured my family it was all under control. They kindly ate a few bites at the table until they realized I had misunderstood clove and bulbs. Oops! It took about 3 days for the garlic scent to fully leave the house.