I'm a homeschool mom. Nope, I do not fit any generalized ideals you may have but I can see myself slowly morphing into the figure that fits some of your thoughts. I have four children and out of the four I homeschool one. Yes, only one. He is the last male pea to be produced in my pod and he makes me happy, happy.

Being that I homeschool my little skillet means he gets to try my kitchen experiments before his brother and sisters. Usually all of this high level clearance cooking takes place around noon...after I have had about ten cups of coffee (loads of sugar and a little heavy whipping cream), caught up on my email, and read cnn.com backwards and forwards at least three times. Don't worry, he is never left to his own vices unless you consider 'his own vices' to be him doing school work while mommy activates via the power of crushed coffee beans and hot water. So, getting back on track, because, well, I tend to lose track easily and I seriously need to get to the point....homeschool means my son gets to be my primary test subject.

I pride myself in the fact that my kids have some well rounded taste buds. I get to experiment, they get to test and they normally like it. While the other kids are in school, my son and I take time to play Master Chef and we sometimes pretend we are on an episode of 'Chopped'....I pull out random ingredients and we try to come up with something cool, edgy and tasty. Typically it works.

Sometimes we recreate recipes we see online (we meaning I and he gets to be the focus group consisting of...one). Sometimes we find what you can buy at the store can be too easy to make at home. And really, the joy of letting your kids help out is way to fun than just telling them to go in the fridge and dig it out already made.

How about these bad boys? So easy it is crazy. All you need is ice cream, Magic Shell (#clickablelinkherefolks), and nuts. Yes, nuts...or dried fruit....or sprinkles...or tofu....hey, whatever floats your boat. Take your cones, fill them with a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream, dip in magic shell and roll in nuts. Dude, I told you it was easy. Place in the freezer or eat immediately. So easy a 4th grader could do it. See...I have photo proof. A fourth grader did it.