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Friday, January 3, 2014

Happy New Year: 2013 Recap

A New Year recap of the most popular posts from each month in 2013.



I will start this recap with last year's most popular post and my favorite holiday tradition.


Swedish Meatballs


These are delicious meatballs in a creamy gravy.  I literally lick my plate clean.  The meatballs are usually made with a mixture of ground meats such as pork and beef sometimes veal and/or lamb.  This is a recipe my husband grew up with and I only had after I met him.  The holiday season isn't complete anymore with out these.

Now this years most popular posts in alphabetical order:




Bacon Wrapped French Toast

Sweet french toast sticks wrapped in crunchy, salty bacon.  A great hand held breakfast and gameday snack.  These turned out even better than I imagined and are a definite make again recipe.  They can be prepared the night before and held in the refrigerator until ready to bake and eat.  This is probably my favorite recipe of the year and also my most popular.  These were also listed as Foodista's food blog of the day October 14th 2013 (yay).



Bacon wrapped potato wedges

A delicious football snack made with soft potato wedges wrapped with crispy bacon.  I love bacon.  I think I would eat just about anything wrapped in bacon.  These potato wedges made a great snack and were a big hit.  They were even great after freezing.



Baked samosas

A great recipe I got from With Love from Mom's Kitchen.  Spicy potatoes and peas stuffed into hand sized pastry then baked until golden.  A great snack or appetizer.  I love Indian food and I love samosas.  Usually they are fried in oil but these are baked which makes them easier and better for you.



Black bean soup

A creamy, flavorful, and meatless soup made with black beans and spices.  Filling enough for an entree.  I loved this soup.  It was a last minute dinner idea that turned out delicious.  This recipe can easily be made vegan by substituting vegetable broth and omitting the cheese and sour cream garnish (guacamole or plain avocado would be a great substitute). This picture/recipe was accepted to TasteSpotting which helped it receive more views (and made me proud).



Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Savory beef and crisp broccoli served over rice.  This is a stand-by recipe for me.  It uses leftover steak and anytime I have leftover steak this is the recipe I make.  I love that it turns a small piece (maybe 2-3 oz) of steak into another complete meal for two.  And it's quick and simple.



Ciabatta

A crisp and chewy loaf of rustic bread made from a very wet dough.  This is my husband's favorite bread.  It is delicious, makes great sandwiches, and is great with bruschetta.  This was also accepted to YeastSpotting.



Light wheat English muffins

Soft, flat buns full of nooks and crannies, English Muffins make a great breakfast or lunch sandwich even a great snack.  Sometimes I even make bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches with these, and freeze them.  My husband loves taking them to work for lunch.  I think homemade English muffins are so much better than store bought.  These were accepted to YeastSpotting.



Hershey's Chocolate Cheesecake

A rich, dark chocolate cheese cake with a chocolate cookie crumb crust and chocolate drizzle.  Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate...that's what I love about this cheesecake.  I actually don't care for regular cheesecake but this cheesecake is where it's at.  This cake is so rich and dark that you only need a very small piece and it goes great with a big glass of milk.  This is a once a year indulgence in my house my husband always wants this as his birthday cake.



how to roast garlic

A simple tutorial on how to roast garlic.  If you love garlic this is a technique you need to know.  I roast garlic all the time for use in so many recipes.  My favorite use for roasted garlic is garlic bread. If you've never had garlic bread with roasted garlic you don't know what you are missing.  Roasted garlic is delicious and it makes your kitchen/house smell great.



pumpkin oatmeal raisin cookies

Soft, moist, and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies that taste like pumpkin pie.  I finally decided to make something with pumpkin for this fall/winter.  These are what I came up with and they were delicious.




Slow cooker roast beef sandwiches

Beef roast slow cooked in broth and beer until tender then placed on a baguette and topped with melted cheese.  The cooking liquid can be used as a dipping sauce.  These sandwiches were delicious.  My husband loved this meal and the leftover meat was used for cheese steak stromboil.



Special dark mocha chip cake

A moist dark chocolate cake with a creamy mocha frosting topped with chopped chocolate chips.  This was my birthday cake this year (2013) and it made my birthday week great.  My husband was out of town on a work trip over my birthday so I was all alone for the big 30.  This cake made my 30th birthday very special (I love chocolate).

Thanks for sharing the year with Joybee, What's for Dinner?  I hope to have a great new year and I wish everyone a great new year too.  Enjoy.

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