I have always enjoyed watching my grandmother cook. She always had a way of making the most of simple ingredients. I always thought she had to spend hours and hours in the kitchen coming up with magic recipes and cooking them all day. I really wanted to cook like her and make people happy with my cooking. So I spent time with her and asked her how she did her magic in the kitchen. I am in no way saying that what she does is easy; but I have found out that cooking like her is possible. This was a huge relief to me, because I wanted to enjoy those recipes and share them with others in my life. To me, passing along recipes is a way of keeping tradition alive, and in a way keeping my grandmother with me always. The recipes contained in this book can be prepared quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Like my grandmother, many of us have to feed our whole families on a budget. By applying the principals that these recipes teach us, we can then begin to create our own recipes and styles of cooking. The great thing about what I have put together is that it is not the final product, but a place to start. The simple ingredients that are a common theme in my cooking style can be applied to create all manner of dishes and memories like those I have of my grandmother.