I'm a single mom on a tight budget who works outside the home so I like to make quick and easy meals that are also delicious and appealing. Allrecipes has never let me down. I love cooking for my kids and family (and they seem to like it too!) My favorite things to make are desserts because everyone looks forward to dessert. I especially love to make things that LOOK like they took alot of effort but really didn't. I don't do alot of baking throughout the year but at Christmas I go wild. It's not unusual for me to make 10-12 different types of cookies plus candy, breads and other goodies. Then I give it all away! During the holidays I try to have my mom (a widow) and my sister over for dinner when it can be just us(aside from the big family get together to open presents). I usually make a pork roast with all the trimmings, but especially sweet potato souffle. It's almost like having dessert. Then we sit, talk and enjoy a good cup of coffee and some of those Christmas cookies! I love coming up with new ideas for my son's birthday cakes. The best one yet was the Hamburger Cake I made from this site a couple of years ago. It turned out beautifully and looked like a real hamburger. You should have heard the oooh's and aaaah's. It was perfect. One year at Christmas, after spending hours making cookies, I thought it was cold enough to leave the boxes I pack them in on top of the freezer out in the garage rather than putting them inside. The freezer wasn't defrosted and I was tired. I didn't feel like making room right then and thought it would be ok until the next day. Well it was cold enough that it preserved the cookies ok, but not the ants! Dozens and dozens of cookies wasted. I was so mad at myself. You can bet I made sure the freezer was defrosted after that!