I am a divorced mother of two girls, and I work full time at a United Methodist church. I'm also a writer and am in the process of completing my bachelor's degree. I love making new casseroles and soups-- they're so comforting and versatile. Just now I'm deeply into mexican and tex/mex foods. I grew up in the south so southern type foods are a favorite -- fried chicken, mustard greens, and pinto "soup" beans. I like to improvise new dishes from old and some of my favorites are hot and spicy bean soup and fresh apple pie. I've recently lost 93 lbs, so just now I'm into modifying my favorite recipes and making them healthier. My family shares out cooking on holidays, so we have a great potluck Thanksgiving and Christmas. My mom makes the main dish -- turkey usually -- and also makes vegetables, then it's up to the rest of us to bring in the trimmings. I love making my hashbrown casserole and providing an interesting, decadent dessert. I hosted a post-Christmas party at home and served lots of interesting appetizers. The favorite of the party was the hot pizza dip from allrecipes, followed by the jalapeno popper dip as a close second. My former company's annual meeting is a potluck dinner for members. A few years ago, I made a five flavor pound cake, a recipe I'd never tried before, out of a new cookbook I'd recently purchased. It called for a 12 cup bundt pan, and that's what I used, but the batter filled the pan almost to the top. I put it in the oven to bake, and after thirty minutes, the cake exploded out of the pan and splattered the oven! My four year old heard my shouts of surprise and dismay, picked up the phone and dialled 911. Fortunately, we live in a tiny town and when the police dispatcher called back to verify the emergency, I was able to convince her no one was hurt. I told her that the only emergency was my exploded pound cake, and that she was welcome to send rescue services to clean my oven!