Wife, mother of three adorable daughters ages 14, 10 and 6. I use Allrecipes.com every week to put together great meals for my family and when we entertain! I love to make soups and stews, also love to do appetizers, make great pancakes, spaghetti sauce, and mashed potatoes! From scratch as much as possible. Growing up in the midwest, we are big into the comfort foods, though I've tried to lighten up several of my favorite main dishes. My Turkey Chili, mashed potatoes, and a crab manicotti that is absolutely to die for. A terrible vegetarian stew with garbanzo beans, diced onion, vegetable soup, tomato soup, yams. Oh, it was just awful. It was the result of trying to be creative with an empty pantry and being too busy to run to the store during a hectic work week!