I am a wife to my dear husband of 16 years and a mom to 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls. I love to cook and I try out new recipes regularly. I must visit Allrecipes almost everyday in search of something new to try with the ingredients I have on hand. Thanks contributors!! I love to try new recipes. Unfortunately, my husband and children can grow weary of my experiments so I do have to have some standbys to please them. Most of which I have found right here. I like to try just about everything and tend to go in cycles. I will do homemade pastas one week, homemade tortillas and tamales the next, then indian naan and lentil stew the next. You just never know what you'll get when you eat at my house. I also like to make frugally healthy meals using whole grains, brown rice, corn meal and beans since we do have a family of 10. Probably my kids favorite is that I make a birthday cake for them on each of their birthdays, decorated to their specifications. Every Christmas we do some cookie baking and making caramels is a must. I don't know about tradition, but I make a hot breakfast from scratch for my children every morning. Some of our favorites are banana eggs (my own creation), porridge, hot rice cereal, and on occasion either buckwheat pancakes or even crepes. We also have some Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter traditions that we look forward to each year. A successful Prime rib roast for the Thanksgiving holiday, complete with all the sides and dessert (chocolate cake with liquid centers). I have also been thrilled with the sourdough that I made several times using my own starter. I don't know that I have ever had to throw out a meal entirely other than the "tuna pie" that I made when I was 16 or so. It was more like tuna soup and NO-ONE would touch it. I'm sure that I have had others, but rather than see them as tragedies, I see them as learning experiences. I have a very brave family!