As fast as it's gone, I think 2011 has treated us pretty well. I graduated from nursing school and passed my NCLEX, I moved to San Diego, I started blogging again (thank goodness for everyone I decided to go back to food blogging or else there might be more weirdo posts about squirrels!), I visited China for 5 weeks, I went to my first blogging conference, and I wrapped the year up by spending time back in Ohio with Jesse and my family.
Of course I can't forget about the food! In this post I'm going to recap my top 3 favorite savories and sweets from 2011 along with the top 3 reader favorites. Picking only my top 3 favorites was super duper hard, but I didn't want to this post to be too overwhelming. Clearly I liked all of the recipes on my blog enough to put them on my blog, so for this post I wanted to highlight the ones that I make over and over again or that were just so good I can't stop thinking about them.
My Top 3 Favorite Savory Recipes from 2011
Pineapple Teriyaki Glazed Salmon was one of the best meals of I made this spring. The glaze was so delicious I thought about slurping it up with a straw.
Pineapple Teriyaki Glazed Salmon was one of the best meals of I made this spring. The glaze was so delicious I thought about slurping it up with a straw.
I must have made this Coffee Chipotle Pulled Pork 4 or 5 times this summer. The dry rub makes a ton so I kept it in an airtight container and any time pork was on sale I pulled it out (only had to make a full batch twice). We looove cheesy grits and serving the pulled pork over the grits has become my new favorite way to eat it!
The sauce for this Spinach and Artichoke Mac n' Cheese was another one I wanted to slurp up with a straw. I ate way more than my fair share of this before finally puttingMy Top 3 Favorite Sweet Recipes from 2011
I LOVED these home made Milano cookies. They were so much better than the last bag of store bought Milanos I had. The PERFECT coffee dunking cookies. And of course I love finding a way to make things from scratch in my own kitchen.
Perhaps I am a little biased about this one because it was MY birthday cake. But I put a lot of time and thought into creating this Not-Ice Cream Sundae cake and I couldn't have been more pleased with the results. It's not one that I can make time and time again, because even my elastic waist pants probably wouldn't fit, but it's definitely one I'll never forget and I will most certainly make it again for special occasions.
Over the years I have tried more Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes than I care to admit. Many of them yielded really tasty results. I've even thought that I had found "the one" a few times before. But there is just something about this recipe... It's definitely my new go-to and in the dozen or so times I've made them since posting I have had consistently (darn near) perfect results and rave reviews. Not one flop. That says a lot to me.Top 3 Reader Favorites from 2011
Well, this one comes as no surprise to me. The Pinterest love I got from this post alone was mind-blowing. Thank you to everyone that shared, pinned, tried, and commented on this Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread. It was a close competitor for my own top 3, but since I knew it would be included in reader favorites I decided to leave a spot open for another sweet treat.
I really loved this Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta, so I was very excited that readers loved it too! There is just something about a cheesy, creamy pasta that goes right to your heart. Know what I mean?
Jesse is pretty excited to see that his Cookies and Creme birthday cake ranks so high with readers. It is well deserving of a spot in the top 3 because it was so freaking good. Plus I think the black and white appearance is classic.
So what do you think? Did I miss one of your favorites? Like I said it was TOUGH narrowing down it down to just 3. There were a lot of memorable meals for me in 2011. Hopefully 2012 brings even bigger and better things!! Thank you again to everyone that has taken the time to read, comment, and share my blog over this past year. I wish you all a healthy and happy New Year!
Well, this one comes as no surprise to me. The Pinterest love I got from this post alone was mind-blowing. Thank you to everyone that shared, pinned, tried, and commented on this Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread. It was a close competitor for my own top 3, but since I knew it would be included in reader favorites I decided to leave a spot open for another sweet treat.I really loved this Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta, so I was very excited that readers loved it too! There is just something about a cheesy, creamy pasta that goes right to your heart. Know what I mean?Jesse is pretty excited to see that his Cookies and Creme birthday cake ranks so high with readers. It is well deserving of a spot in the top 3 because it was so freaking good. Plus I think the black and white appearance is classic.So what do you think? Did I miss one of your favorites? Like I said it was TOUGH narrowing down it down to just 3. There were a lot of memorable meals for me in 2011. Hopefully 2012 brings even bigger and better things!! Thank you again to everyone that has taken the time to read, comment, and share my blog over this past year. I wish you all a healthy and happy New Year!