I am the mother of a very high-energy 2 year old and I have a demanding career (as does my husband). I have to be uber-organized if I want to have variety and balance in our week-day meals. I love the crock-pot and anything that I can make that has tasty leftovers (for one additional meal or a lunch...then I'm done with it). I like using seasonal veggies and fruits and keeping meals light in the summer and rich-and-hearty in the winter. I've never done much in the way of soups so that is my project for this winter...I'm going to try a Butternut Squash Soup recipe from this site for the maiden voyage! Collecting cook-books and recipes is a favorite of mine; however, since I meal-plan then create my grocery list based off of a weekly menu, I can get VERY sidetracked when it comes to choosing what we will eat during the week! (Hence, why I am on this site) Sunday dinner when I can pull out all of the stops because I have the time to cook. I really like pairing meats with complementary veggies and seasonings...usually preferring to roast veggies rather than steam. I love sauces - gooey is great! I also prefer to eat salty dishes over sweet. My grandmother is an amazing cook who passed her tips, tricks, and recipes to my mother...she is my life-line while I'm cooking! My mother gravitates mainly towards family favorites while I tend to be fairly open to trying new recipes and working with different ingredients. However, my mother is super-baker when it comes to bread and rolls from scratch! I know that someday I'll take on that challenge - once I've mastered waiting for the dough to rise. My family also has a fantastic "award winning" potato salad recipe...once you've had it, nothing compares. I am very good at meal planning and getting everything on the table at the same time - at the right temperature. I love hot food served hot! That said, I have also learned that if I tell guests that we will eat at 5:00 we will actually be eating at 5:30...some one is always late. ;) The most memorable disaster was at the beginning of my cooking endeavors. I was making a family Chicken Casserole recipe that my mother gave me. I had never made it before, but it always seemed so simple when she would make it. The basics of the recipe are: home-made stuffing layered with roughly-shredded chicken and topped with a creamy sauce...bake and serve. I made a great stuffing and had boiled and shredded the chicken just so. I mixed the ingredients for the sauce and poured it over the chicken/stuffing and popped it in the oven to bake. However, I failed to COOK the sauce so I ended up with a soupy mess...it was awful!