A's favorites of 2016

Hi, I'm A! I'm 9 years old. I used to be picky but when I tried a lot of different types of food I started to like new food. These are my top favorite recipes from my mom's blog. I started with 27 favorite recipes but had to only pick 10. Here are my top 10:

10.  Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

 

9. Chicken Souvlaki Kabobs

8. Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
 

7. Garlic and Herb Italian Bread

6. Mojo Pork Tenderloin

5. Roasted Dill Lemon Potatoes
 

4. Bacon Mushroom Leek Risotto

3. Crock Pot Beef Gyros

2. Banana Cinnamon Pancakes

1. Crock Pot Hurry Chicken

My favorites of 2016

 My husband says I'm my own worst critic when it comes to food. Isn't that the case with most things? Most of the time I like what I make but sometimes there are meals that I love.  Honestly it was a good year for food and it took a bit of narrowing down to get it to ten but I think this pretty much covers my absolute favorites from this year!

10.  Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Toffee Cookies

 

9.  Freddy's Burgers 

 

8. Copycat Cinnamon Biscuits
 

7. Pumpkin Gingersnaps 

 

6. Company Green Beans

5. Crock Pot Three Envelope Pot Roast 

 

4. Grilled Honey Citrus Chicken with Basil Butter 

 

3. Hot Spinach Ranch Dip 

2. Margherita Pizza 

1. Easy Caramel Cake

Top 10 Most Popular Recipes of 2016

It's hard to believe another year is coming to an end.  In the many years I've been blogging recipes, I think this might have been my most successful.  I made a lot of recipes that I really wanted to make at the beginning of the year. I was pretty consistent at keeping up with it, I usually start falling off the wagon towards the end of the year so I'm happy about that. I love cooking and I do this because I love the thought of another family sitting down around the table with a good meal and talking about their days. That brings a beautiful image doesn't it? But I'm sure many tables look like mine come dinner time, a frazzled mom, a baby throwing food on the floor, a tired husband and a dog begging under the table. But in the REAL moments there is beauty too, there is connection and there is refreshment.  So that's why I do what I do over here in this little space of the internet.  I hope you and your family has had a wonderful holiday season and thanks for joining me over here! 

 

Now on to the recipes, I always find it fascinating with what recipes get the most views each year. This year confirmed something I bet most of us already knew, we love pumpkin anything and we are obsessed with our crock pots! Amen and amen.  Here are the top most viewed recipes of 2016. 

 

 

10. Crock Pot Summer Corn Chowder

 

 

 

9. Cheesy Ziti Bake

 

 

 

8. Crock Pot Beef Gyros 

 

 

 

7. One Pot Crack Bean Burritos 

 

 

 

6. Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup

 

 

5. Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread 

 

 

 

4. Crock Pot Three Envelope Pot Roast 

 

 

3. Mounds Brownies

 

 

 

2. Pumpkin Gingersnaps 

 

 

 

1. Broccoli Potato Cheddar Soup

Copy Cat Cinnamon Biscuits

I love Bojangles, like deep love.  And I LOVED their cinnamon biscuits. Then we moved away from the land of Bojangles and then Bojangles did away with cinnamon biscuits. It's just all sad. So when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it out to get my cinnamon biscuit fix.  These would be the perfect Christmas morning breakfast.  This recipe is adapted from Life Love and Sugar.

Cinnamon Filling
1/2 brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter (melted)

Biscuits
2 cups self rising flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup salted butter (very cold, cubed)
3/4 cup plus 2 tbp buttermilk

Glaze
3/4 powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 450.  In a medium mixing bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and butter then set to the side.  In another medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, powdered sugar and cinnamon.  Then using a pastry cutter or two forks cut the butter into the flour mixture. Once it's blended to resemble rough sand then stir in the buttermilk. Knead the dough on a floured surface several times then spread out to desired thickness. Cut your biscuits out then knead the remaining dough back together and cut remaining biscuits. Place the biscuits on a sheet pan. Make a well in the middle of the biscuit dough and fill with about 1-1 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon filling. Bake for 12 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked through.  While the biscuits are cooking whisk together the glaze. Let biscuits sit for 5 minutes then drizzle with the glaze.

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

I put this on them menu because I thought it sounded different and interesting. Then I made it and everyone freaked out over it. It really was so good and different but not so different that my little ones wouldn't eat it. My son took the leftover to school the next two days because he loved it so much. This recipe is adapted from Food Lovin Family.

4 cups finely shredded cooked chicken
2 (8oz) containers chive and onion cream cheese
1 package frozen spinach (thawed and drained
1 tsp garlic salt
1 jar pasta sauce (best to use a red sauce with cheese like parmesan red sauce)
4 cups mozzarella cheese
12 lasagna noodles (cooked according to packaging)

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with baking spray. In a bowl combine the chicken, cream cheese, spinach and garlic salt. Place 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, top with 4 noodles, 1/3 of the chicken  mixture and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat two more times ending with the mozzarella layer.  Cover and bake for 40 minutes then uncover and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Puppy Chow

Puppy chow, muddy buddies, whatever you call them this is a classic! Everyone seems to make their recipe slightly differently but this is how I make it!

1 (12 oz) box Crispix
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter
5 tbsp butter
1 lb powdered sugar

In a sauce pan melt together the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter.  Stir together over low heat until it is completely melted. Pour the cereal into the chocolate mixture and stir until it is covered. Place half of the powdered sugar into a 2 gallon ziplock bag. Add the coated cereal then pour in the remaining powdered sugar and carefully shake to coat.  Place in an airtight container to store.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

My oldest loves tomato soup. I usually make the same recipe but when I saw this roasted tomato bail soup I had to try it.  It was delicious and I loved the flavor the roasted tomatoes brought to the soup. This recipe is adapted from Cooking Classy.

2 1/4 lbs Roma Tomatoes
1 1/4 lb Cherry Tomatoes
4 1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
8 cloves garlic (peeled and left whole)
2 small yellow onions (sliced in 1/2 inch pieces)
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil
5 cup vegetable or chicken broth

Heat oven to 425. Slice the roma tomatoes length wise. Toss the roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, garlic and onions then toss in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place on a rimmed sheet pan and roast for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove papery layers from the onions and pull the peels away from the tomatoes. Place in the bottom of the pot then pour the broth over the vegetables and stir in the basil then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or in small amounts in a regular blender. Serve warm. 

Gingerbread Loaf with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I love all things gingerbread! Well except the gingerbread latte, that does not sound good to me at all. But gingerbread cookies, gingerbread muffins, gingerbread loaf, all of it. I feel like it's highly underrated and that makes me sad, it deserves a lot more love.  I adapted this recipe from Le Creme De La Crumb.

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
2 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

3 tbsp butter
3 oz cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4-5 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  In a bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger and salt.  In a separate bowl cream together the butter, sugar and applesauce. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until combined. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes then flip out of the pan and let cool on a wire rack. When the loaf has cooled completely, make your frosting. In a medium size mixing bowl cream together the butter and cream cheese then add in the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and milk until it reaches the desirable consistency.  Spread over the loaf and serve.

Crock Pot BBQ Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

This was a recipe born out of plans changing and trying to make dinner out of what I had on hand! These sandwiches turned out great, the ranch seasoning gave them a nice tangy taste and the chicken just fell apart.

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar bbq sauce
1 ranch seasoning packet
buns 

Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.  Whisk together the bbq sauce and ranch seasoning. Pour the bbq sauce mixture over the chicken and cook on low for 7-9 hours. Shred the chicken and serve on lightly toasted buns. 

Butterscotch Peanut Butter Clusters

These make the perfect little holiday treats for a party or gift basket and they are super easy to make! My 9 year old helped me stir and enjoyed putting these all together. This recipe is from Crazy for Crust.

11oz butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups cornflakes

Cover two baking sheets with wax paper and set to the side. Place the butter scotch chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds then stir. Continue to heat for 30 seconds while stirring in between until the mixture is smooth.  Carefully stir in the cornflakes until they are coated with the butterscotch mixture. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the lined baking sheets then place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until they are set.

Creamy Herbed Roast Beef Pinwheels

These are the perfect little bite size appetizers for your christmas party! I made them when I hosted a Noonday Collection Trunk Show and they were so easy to put together and also to eat!

4 large tortillas
1 lb thinly sliced rare roast beef
1 container garlic and herb boursin cheese

Spread 1/2 of the boursin over the tortilla then top with 1/4 of the roast beef.  Roll up tightly then roll in foil and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until right before your party.  Unroll from the foil and slice in 3/4 inch pieces.

Gingerdoodles

These little sugary treats just scream Christmastime to me! I love all things ginger and snickerdoodle so the combination was just perfection. They weren't over the top gingery so the kids loved them too! This recipe is slightly adapted from Julie's Eats & Treats.

3/4 cup butter (softened)
1 1/2 cup sugar (divided)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (divided)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar


Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl cream together the butter, 1/2 cup sugar and brown sugar until it is light and fluffy.  Mix in the egg and syrup. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ginger, salt and cream of tartar. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. In a small bowl combine 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Roll the dough into balls and coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture then place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes then place on a wire rack.