I'm a wife, mom of 3 and home daycare provider for 6 toddlers and preschoolers. I started cooking at about 13 because my mom didn't enjoy it and I did. About 10 years ago I convinced my husband to pitch in with the cooking and he pretty much took over because it was more convenient with his shifts. A couple years ago he was promoted to a day job and I was once again the cook in the kitchen. This site is my saving grace. Every morning I look to see what foods I have on hand and do an ingredient search to come up with our dinner. It's been great fun and my family is loving the new meals I create. From a practical point of view, slow cooker recipes are my favourite. Casseroles or dishes that can be prepared ahead and popped in the oven at dinner time work too. On week-ends my husband and I love to try new dishes and cook together. My mother in law has a recipe for meat buns (yeast dough filled with a chopped meat mixture and baked). They are a family favourite and she refused to share the recipe. I figured it out on my own. The first time I made them her husband said; "These are even better than mother's". You could have heard a pin drop when everyone stopped eating and waited to see what she would say! She was gracious and admitted mine were better. Every year I make them for Christmas dinner and my boys "sneak" into the kitchen to snatch a few, usually burning their mouths because they can't wait for them to cool. I have to pretend I don't see them. They are now 19 and 24 and it is tradition for them to sneak away with a handful of buns. My oldest now lives 3000 miles away and I think one of the biggest reasons he comes home at Christmas is for my meat buns. When I was 18 and living in my first apartment I made a Black Forest Cake for my mom's birthday. I wasn't used to the oven and burned it. In a panic and in a hurry, I made another. This time it turned out and I filled and frosted it before it had time to properly cool. With just moments to go before I had to leave for her party, I jumped in the shower and when I came out, the heat from the cake and the apartment (it was a VERY hot day) had caused the frosting to melt and all the layers slid apart and skidded across the kitchen floor. I cried like a baby. We were lucky to see an open bakery on the way to the party and stopped to buy a cake.