I am currently a senior in college. I learned to cook through 4-H (2nd generation) and my mother. Early on, my first (and still favorite) dish is "Andrea's Macaroni and Cheese" which I created because I hated the box Kraft kind and decided to make my own variation on that theme. It has become a staple for many of my friends that I have shared the recipe with in my teaching them to cook when I came to college. I enjoy cooking for my family and friends and entertaining others with the food I make. I am the "cook" for the college pep band I play in, too. My friends always joke they should nominate me for Top Chef, but that is just flattery. I love creating my own recipes and modifying pre-existing recipes. One thing I am well-known for is usually never measuring ingredients (eyeballing everything) and coming up with great substitutions (I am a poor college student and often don't have all I need on-hand). I love baking and make vegetarian chili, a grilled dish called "concoction," and homemade chicken nuggets to die for! Sitting down to homemade weeknight dinners with my family. Making kolaches every year at Christmas with my family. Peeling apples and fighting (with my sisters) over the peels (and sneaking slices every now and then!). Helping my mom can tomatoes, tomato juice, peaches, pears, applesauce, salsa, grape juice, and jams/jellies. I won merit awards (outstanding award given to the top 1% of entries) at the county fair for an angel food cake and for a recipe box collection of original creations. "The crock pot incident"--where I left a batch of BBQ beef on the "high" setting overnight, which burned (my friends don't let me forget about this). Like everyone in their younger, inexperienced days, I had many bumps along the way to becoming an accomplished cook. One incident I remember is when I decided to surprise my mom by making a chocolate 2-layer cake for her birthday. I was too impatient to wait for the cake to cool before frosting it, and the frosting melted all over! I was angry and frustrated (swore I'd never bake again), but my mom came home from work and explained I needed to let the cake cool completely, helped clean up the mess, and make a new batch of creamy chocolate frosting. We made memories together frosting the cake and decorated it with sprinkles and candles. My disaster turned into a learning experience and quality time with my mother (and slightly-soggy but still delectable chocolate birthday cake)!