When I was 9 years old, my mother gave me the Betty Crocker Kids Cook Book (BCKCB). That was the catalyst for me to independently tap into my love for cooking (prior to that, I was always just "mom's helper"). To this day, I still make some recipes from the BCKCB book, with some minor tweaks. I frequent the Allrecipes site for ideas and suggestions, and hope to someday be a major contributor to the Allrecipes community. Today, my favorite cooking-inspired books include, "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret to Eating for Pleasure," and, "A Season for All French Women," by Mireille Guiliano. These books offer inspiring, healthy, tasty recipes for all food enthusiasts to enjoy. *Comfort Food* and healthy alternatives I am a big lover of comfort food - macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, Italian dishes, etc. Now that I'm approaching my 30's, I have to ease up on the garlic-cream cheese-cheddar mashed potatoes (made with real butter and 1/2 & 1/2). I am always looking for delicious alternatives to red meat and heavy cream-based ingredients, grilled dishes, vegetable dishes, and delightful desserts. I absolutely love cooking for my family, friends, co-workers, and people who have never tried my dishes before. One suggestion I would like to share with my fellow cooks for storing hard copies of these wonderful recipes: Print out the recipes and put them in plastic sheet protectors (depending on the size of your print outs you may opt for full-page ones, or sheets divided into index-card sized sections), and place them in a large 3-ring binder (organized in a structure that works for you). When it's time to cook, take them out - if you spill on them, no big deal, just wipe off the plastic sheet protector. When you're done, pop the sheet/recipe back in the binder.