Stuffed Shells, Anyone?

Yesterday I made a huge dinner for my family at my parents' home. I haven't cooked anything like that in a while, and it made me feel like I was doing something special for them. I created stuffed shells, filled with cheese and smothered in meat sauce. I also made a tossed salad, and a sweet fruit salad to finish out the meal. It felt so good to eat something crafted by hand... To eat something designed to make you happy, and to fill you up!

One of my good friends mentioned that it seems as if cooking for others is how I show that I care. That is so true of me, and I had never really thought about that. I'm grateful to my parents for helping me and my daughters. Staying at their home until things get worked out was not something I had expected them to deal with so easily, or for them to be so helpful. I have been cooking meals almost nightly for them and for my daughters, and it seems that it is a work of my heart and soul. I truly enjoy creating good, beautiful food for my family, because it shows them how much I love them.

This has even become somewhat of an obsession. While my children are falling asleep at night, I sit in the room with them and browse the internet for new recipes. I've got tons of bookmarked recipes that I'm planning to try out this week. Of course, this includes special snacks for the girls; my hungry little caterpillars who seem to go through all the food in the cupboard in two days!! I'm hoping that heartier, handmade snacks will keep them more full, not only in their stomachs, but in their souls!

The website that I've been finding myself on the most this weekend is this: familyfun.go.com. It's full of ideas for cooking for children, and cooking with children, which is something I love to do.