I've been an an avid cook and baker for several years, tweaking recipes to perfection and creating them from scratch. I'm a stay-at-home-mom cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily for my husband and 2 children. Hearty meat and potato meals that always bring smiles and full tummies to my family. I also cook up a big farm breskfast once per week with all the trappings! Baking nutrient rich cookies and decorating all-natural cakes are my forte'. I grew up in eastern Wisconsin where the traditional recipes included Cool Whip, margarine, bratwurst, beer, and loads of cheese. For my own family, I have gone the direction of natural, healthy, hearty eating. I cook and bake from scratch almost every day using organic and all natural ingredients, including lots of fresh, local produce. Rice n' Beans. I decided to give the budget-friendly recipe a try after receiving several "You've NEVER had rice n' beans?! It's sooo delicious!" comments from Southern friends. It lived up to it's hype and now I make the dish a few times per month. I use the following Red Beans and Rice recipe sans the ham: http://www.gumbopages.com/food/red-beans.html Bread Machine Bread. I have never been able to make a decent loaf of bread with my bread machine and I can't figure out why!