I'm a new mom and wife to a future USAF Chaplain. As a SAHM I'm learning to cook things that are affordable but amazing. Anything that makes my husband say "Let's have that for dinner again!" My family's only cooking tradition is "Try something new!" My mom was always experimenting and she always brought home unusual or ethnic foods for us to try. for example, one day she fried up SPAM. "Just because everyone should eat it once in their life." The first time I made anything on my own I must have been about 10 years old. My mom told me I could fix the family contribution to the church potluck. She suggested fruit salad and provided all of the ingredients. She left me to decide how much of everything should go in the bowl all by myself. (That's a big deal to a kid!) All I did was chop the fruit, open some cans, and stir in some lemon juice and honey but I was so proud of that simple salad. I was given a Thai cookbook for Christmas. I invited my parents over to try a few recipes with us. Several of the recipes called for fish oil. I must have bought a very low quality oil because the smell was horrendous! My house reaked for weeks!! Now when we invite them over for dinner, my dad asks what we will be eating before he agrees to come. :)