I am a full time teacher and a mom of two little kids. I am always looking for fast and easy dinners to make for my family. My husband is a wonderful sport. He is always happy to try new things. I love to grill. During the summer months, we hardly use the oven. I also love making fish and italian food. My parents were born in Italy. My dad owned a pizzeria and my mom owned her a catering company. You might think that is good for me but I did not learn how to cook until I was an adult. They never used recipes, it was all in their head. So it was very hard for a new cook like me to follow their lead. I worked in a restaurant for many years. So between my job experience and my upbringing I learned a lot by just observing. My favorite family cooking tradition was making our homemade sauce, pasta, manicotti, and cannoli shells. My mom could do everything from scratch!! Perfecting my sauce! I can make tons of meals using my sauce as a base. Two come to mind. I wanted to make Chinese food for my mom one mother's day and the pot of rice exploded. The rice was everywhere!!! Another mother's day, many years later, I tried to cook for my mother in law. I was making fried shrimp but we did not have a thermometer for the oil. It actually caught on fire!!! Both tragedies were on Mother's day...my intentions were good. :0)