Basically I grew up poor and my parents worked and went to school at the same time for a few years, so at a young age I had to take care of my younger siblings during the day and have dinner ready for the family in the evening, working with very little food options. But I won over their taste buds with some very creative recipes and I kept cooking till I moved out. My two grandmas and my grandpa each liked to cook and passed down thier styles and recipes to me. I am so grateful for my upbringing and my grandparents tutelage. I wouldn't be half the cook I am today if it weren't for those influences. Murphy Family Secret Recipe Fudge, Grandpa Russell's Deep Dish Pizza, seasonal fruit pies using Grandma Dee's Pie Crust, Grandma Ioan's Egg Foo Young, Grandpa Russell's Bierock, Popovers, Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole, Grilled Marinated Tuna Fillets, Apple Crisp, Grandma Mertle's Choclate Chip Cookies, Soda Bread, Veggie Loaded Pasta Salad, Braised Pheasant, Shrimp Lo Mein, Once A Year Steak, Twice Baked Potatoes, Banana Oat Bran Muffins, Pizza Bread, Mama's Famous Hotdish, Special Noodle Suprise, Apple Bread French Toast, Zucchini Fritters, Mama's Banana Bread, Onion Burgers, Papa's Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Venison Meatballs, Grandma Darlene's Corn Pie, While my dad was grwoing up the whole family would chop veggies and make "secret pizza sauce" to help his dad, my Grandpa Russ, make Deep Dish Pizza. Even though it was his recipe, the whole family loved making dinner together and spending that Saturday evening eating pizza, drinking rootbeer and catching up. Later on Grandpa Russ would make his pizza when us grandkids would stay over and he would tell us funny stories. The Saturday after he passed away I made his Deep Dish Pizza and we all shared Grandpa stories. So now, every Saturday right after his birthday, we get together and have his pizza and tell Grandpa stories. My grandma was coming over for dinner and I made my first pie(actually it was two pies) using her crust recipe. I was so nervous, when my dad brought the pie into the dining room I thought I was going to burst. But the pie was fantastic and everyone had seconds. My grandma was almost in tears too, it made her so proud that I paid attention to all of her cooking lessons and was able to keep her recipe alive. Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin, turned into dry sawdust like meat- 12 dollars Twice Baked Potatoes, turned into a charred mess- 4 dollars Dinner Rolls, turned into hockey pucks- 2 dollars Steamed Broccoli, turned into a soggy puce green mess- 1.50 First time you meet your boyfriends family and throw a fancy dinner, and his uncle overflows your toilet making you forget about the food in the oven, and everyone ends up at Perkins- Priceless