Just a few short months ago Kelli Kirkland was a lousy cook -- maybe even the worst cook in America. She was a busy student at UCLA and wasn't much interested in cooking. But her grandma always believed she had a great cook inside of her. So Kelli joined Food Network's reality show, Worst Cooks in America. Eight weeks of cooking boot camp and an intense competition later, she became the series champion!

Now Kelli has a 2-year-old son and is bringing her dazzling skills home so she can pass on her family's food traditions to the next generation.

Wouldn't we all love to get our own cooking boot camp with celebrity chefs? But since that's so not happening for most of us (hey, you never know!), Kelli has some super-simple tips for gettin' your chef on at home.

National Grilled Cheese Day came and went last month, but who needs a holiday to indulge in the all-time fave sandwich? In some households, every day is National Grilled Cheese Day. What can you do? It's just so easy and the little ones can't get enough!

But sometimes, you want ... okay, you need to mix it up. Have no fear, because here are seven easy, speedy variations on the classic grilled cheese sandwich that you're bound to salivate over.

We all know we're supposed to eat vegetables. They should be the staple of any healthy diet -- even the majority of a healthy diet. But what if you simply don't like them? What if your kids don't? What if the very sight of an artichoke or stalk of broccoli makes you wanna holla, "Gimme a slice of cake!"

There's some good news. You can gussy up veggies so that they taste better or you barely even taste them at all. Seems bizarre to me, since I love veggies, but I get it that there are people with veggiephobia.

Here are some ways of getting those veggies down and loving it:

Who else here is planning on making pasta tonight? It's hands down the easiest, most kid-friendly dish ever. Everyone has their list of favorite pasta dishes. For some people this list consists of one dish: Boiled pasta tossed with butter because that's how the two-year-old likes it. But maybe, moms, you'd like something a little more exciting that that?

There's the "fancy" version of that dish I used to make all the time in college: Buttered spaghetti with lots of lemon juice and pepper. Or you can toss with olive oil and add any of the ingredients we suggest below. The possibilities are endless, but sometimes you just need some fresh ideas. Have you tied these lately?

Hungry? Need dinner ideas? Just love anything and everything food and recipes? Then you'll totally want to follow us on Pinterest! Our virtual pin boards on Kid Friendly Recipes , Sweet Treats  and Easter 2012 are pure eye candy. Yum!

Summer is around the bend and that means one thing. Summer vegetables! I grew up in the country and summer was a time for fresh veggies from farmer's markets and even from my own backyard. There are vegetables and then there are seasonal vegetables that are best tasted in summer.

So here's 4 soup recipes that take advantage of all summer has to offer and should bring you flashbacking to a childhood of outdoorsy adventure.

Sloppy "Janes"Ground beef can be the ultimate time-saver for moms. You can buy large amounts of it and freeze it in little one-pound packs. Then, when you need a quick dinner -- ta da! Pull one out for an easy, frugalicious meal.

But you need ideas, right? Fresh ideas beyond the usual Hamburger Helper. Well we've got you covered. Here are five quick and tasty ground beef dinner dinner ideas that will fill your family's bellies and put a smile on their faces.

Lettuce is one of those food staples you always buy and then a few days later, it sits there beginning to brown and wither in the fridge, and you're like, "Why did I buy that?"

Still, you hate to  throw away a perfectly good bag or head of lettuce. That would be wasteful. So here find 5 ways of using up that lettuce!

Actual Delicious Umami Burger . . . MmmmmWith that mad cow only a few miles away from my very own home, one would think that burgers would be off the menu. However, when you take a look outside and the sun is shining, and summer is merely around the corner, it's time to bust out the grill. And what goes better on the grill than any other thing in the known universe? Burgers.

And that is why I've searched the Internets for the most amazing twists on the humble burger. So you can totally show off to your dinner guests this weekend.

Don't forget the fries!

Here are five unbelievably amazing ways to prepare your burger this weekend.