Hi! My name is Liesel(yes, from The Sound Of Music...lol) and I live in Perris, CA. I have been married for over 18 years to the most amazing man in the world. Yeah, I know a lot of women say that, but if you only knew...anyway, I started cooking at about 16 years old, but before that, didn't really have an interest. Then all of a sudden, you couldn't get me out of the kitchen. I LOVE to cook AND bake, and will try anything once....more, if it's really good. I make A LOT with chocolate, although I myself, don't like it. Food has always been a very big part of my life, as my mom is a very good German cook. Our 18 year old daughter loves to eat the things I make, but has yet to want to make things herself. She is a Freshman in college, which keeps her pretty busy.... SO COOL!! lol P.S. I have actually used this site for years, but didn't actually "sign up" until last year! lol I love to cook pretty much anything, except Asian, as my family doesn't care for it much. I have a weakness for authentic Mexican food and comfort foods are also a weakness, so I make a lot of Meatloaf, Mashed potatoes, Chichen Pot Pie, Pizza, and things like that. I try to cook everything from scratch and do not use box mixes much at all. Anything I make that the family likes well enough to eat again!! lol One time I made a meatloaf and put it in a pan that didn't have room for the fat to collect. As the fat was "spitting" around, some hit the heating element. Needless to say, it created a small fire and we had to call the fire department, since it was a grease fire. All of our neighbors came out to see all the excitement...and I did actually laugh at myself for being so careless...needless to say I am now very careful about the size of the dish!!