How it all began

When I left home for college, I could barely boil a pot of water. Fast forward to today: I'm married, have a baby on the way and I've had visions of working on some kind of compilation of my favorite recipes, maybe even my own cookbook! In a fairly short time, I've progressed from making simple macaroni and cheese (after learning that you will never boil the water with the pasta in it) to some more complex dishes and cuisines.

In general, on weeknights, I prefer to cook things that require less time. I like to take more complex recipes and make the simpler and quicker. I rely quite a bit on things like 30-Minute Meals from Rachael Ray and other shortcut cooking. I like to try more difficult or time consuming recipes on the weekends or other occasions when I have more time.

I decided to start this site to feature recipes that I've tried (the successes and failures) and to point others to the many great resources that have helped me learn to cook. Some recipes are from my favorite cookbooks, some are from friends and family and a few are those that I've pieced together myself.