I am currently a stay-at-home Mom who is also going through a divorce. I am going to school and don't have a lot of time to plan or create elaborate dishes. I now look for quick recipes that my picky eater, aka. my son will eat. I find myself using ready made dishes in combination with fresh ingredients. I guess I am doing my own semi-homemade recipes! I also have a wonderful friend who loves to cook and is much better than I. She make dishes that are ready to pop into the oven for me. I am blessed with her generosity. So even though I love to cook, it's not a priority right now. I love to cook everything, but I hate to fry anything and am not much up on wok cooking. I love casseroles, although my family doesn't always like them. I am from the South and we love our casseroles! My Mother took classes and became a gourmet cook. She also lived in Guatemala and learned to cook many dishes there. I learned to experiment from my mom, and was often in charge of cooking dinner for her when she went back to work. For Christmas one year, she gave all her daughters a binder filled with all her favorite and famous recipes. It is a treasured cookbook and it has encouraged me to create my own binder. I do have to say that many dishes I have made for parties have been regaled as great! I have given several recipes to friends including my chicken enchiladas, crab and cream cheese dip, granola, and no sugar added deserts. I used to try a couple of new recipes a month. I still try new dishes, but not as often. I am into quick cooking and they don't always turn out favorable. Most of the time either I don't like it or my son doesn't like it. I have been guilty of giving my son a hot dog as I run out the door to class twice a week in the evenings.