So I have been trying to access my creative side, but life is busy. So, I tried to combine the fact that my family has to eat anyway, with my desire to learn to cook.
I asked a good friend here, Rachel, where to even start, and she handed me a stack of "Bon Appetit" magazines. "Look through recipes and choose the ones that have ingredients you actually like. Also, as you read, look for techniques that you don't know how to do, and learn them."
-Rachel
So, that's what I have been doing. Let's just say most of the dishes I make have mushrooms, onions, and pasta. Those things I know I like. I've learned a lot from these "fancier" recipes, including what porcini mushrooms, shallots, creme fraiche, and swiss chard are, and how to use fresh herbs.
Tortellini with Porcini mushroom sauce.
Chicken Parmesan in process
Finished product- Chicken Parmesan.
My first Pecan Pie. (Although being creative for a main dish has limited my need to create while baking, I couldn't leave it out altogether:)
My apprentice, Olivia rolling out Giada's pizza dough.
Mushroom and Pancetta pizza, fresh mozz, parmesan, and pecorino cheese. Before:
After:
Smoked salmon with creme fraiche and chives.
Buttermilk Pie with berries, mint leaves, and homemade whipped cream.
This is Giada's Winter Minestrone Soup:
After:
Smoked salmon with creme fraiche and chives.
Buttermilk Pie with berries, mint leaves, and homemade whipped cream.
This is Giada's Winter Minestrone Soup: Swiss Chard and Pancetta
I've learned the key to a good flavor for this kind of soup, is simmering a parmesan rind.
I know it doesn't look pretty, but trust me, my whole family gobbles it down.
Giada's pizza dough, with barbecue chicken and red onions.
I've also made my own basil pesto and added cream and tossed with thin noodles. I still don't like strong cheese, but I do like to freshly grate parmesan when I can.
I've learned the key to a good flavor for this kind of soup, is simmering a parmesan rind.
I know it doesn't look pretty, but trust me, my whole family gobbles it down.
Giada's pizza dough, with barbecue chicken and red onions.
I've also made my own basil pesto and added cream and tossed with thin noodles. I still don't like strong cheese, but I do like to freshly grate parmesan when I can. 
