As a teacher, I bring a LOT of work home. So, I love simple slow-cooker recipes and marinades (a lot of flavor, with minimal time commitment.) However, when I have the time, I LOVE to try and invent new recipes, especially Italian dishes. Any kind of Italian dish! My Polish grandma always makes fish and homemade pierogies for Christmas-yum! When I offered to make a few dishes for Thanksgiving 2004, my grandma and father said, "Sure." I think they perceived me as having little to no cooking skills. When they tried the dishes I made, I could see they realized that I could actually cook. When I was 14, I decided to make minestrone soup (one of my favorites.) For some inexplicable reason, when I looked at the recipe, my eyes read "1 tsp," but my brain processed "1 cup" of basil. Needless to say, it was the foulest minestrone ever made.