I am a 40-something mother of 3. My husband and I are almost empty-nesters. I am trying to prepare more interesting dinners, since college tuition is making it tough to fit restaurant meals into our budget. Soups, stews, anything slow cooked. Any dish where garlic is more an ingredient than a spice. Anything chocolate. Making Christmas cookies with my kids. My dad making arroz con pollo for neighborhood gatherings. My Mom serving hot chocolate to all the neighborhood kids who skated on our pond. Making suausage biscuits and gravy for a special birthday breakfast for each of us. My triumphs are mundane, but fairly frequent, like having family thank me for a good meal. Meatloaf. I put it on the table for my (then) newlywed husband, and he refused to eat it. I argued that it was not very tasty, but it was edible. He again refused. The exchanged ended with "FINE" (which means everything but fine) "you can take me out to dinner". I was paying so much attention to the chip on my shoulder as we left, that I forgot to put the meatloaf away. While were we out, the dog pulled the meatloaf off the table....AND DIDN'T EAT IT. That was 23 years ago - my husband and I still laugh about it.