Top Ten of Twenty-Eleven!

Without further ado...

1. Edamame Mac & Cheese

2. Peach Frozen Yogurt

  

3. Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

4. Pumpkin Prune Bread

5. Pork Chops with Sour Cream Sauce

6. Toddler-friendly Round Crayons
You can make more than just food in the kitchen!

7. Mini Canadian Bacon Quiche

8. Experiment! Oven Ready Lasagna

9. Banana Muffins with Caramel Icing

10. BOMB (Burst of Mega Blueberry) Muffins

The Most Viewed Desserts of 2011

And the fun continues!  Listed below are the most viewed dessert posts of the year.  The stats range from 16 to 52 views.

::Easter Brownies {16 Views}
Topping Robin Eggs on brownies?  Seems like a win-win to me!

::Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt
My first try with my new frozen yogurt/ice cream maker!

::Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies {17 views}
Oh, my!  These are delicious!!

::Fruit Biscuit Braid
This is also in the quick bread list.  It makes a light dessert and fairly addicting.

::Strawberry Shortcake {19 views}
My first attempt at making homemade Strawberry Shortcake.  The cake was easy to bake although there were jokes about how it tastes like a fancy biscuit.

::Low-fat Raspberry Yogurt Pie {20 views}
This is such an easy pie to make!  I made the crust from scratch, but that isn't necessary.  Making the raspberry heart was a last-minute thought that made a big impression.

And the number 1 most viewed dessert of 2011...

Peach Frozen Yogurt!
This was also my favorite frozen yogurt (or ice cream for that matter) of the year!

Most Viewed Quick Breads of 2011

Quick breads are one of my favorite things to bake.  The stats showed this as well, the most popular range from 15 to 32 views.

::Raspberry Muffins {15 views}
I like to add fruits into muffins.  This is the best (aka healthiest) recipe I found for raspberry muffins.

::Experiment!  Irish Soda Bread {16 views}
It seems that around St. Patrick's Day food bloggers are baking Irish Soda Bread.  Let's just say that I tried... :)

::Fruit Biscuit Braid {17 views}
I tried to substitute biscuit for a pie-crust dough, and it's definitely hit or miss with making it.  Taste wise, it took some getting used to, but I kept going back for more!

::BOMB (Burst of Mega Blueberry) Muffins {22 views}
This is an excellent recipe for blueberry muffins!  Looks like I'll be making them again soon.

::Banana Muffins with Caramel Icing
These muffins are so good!  I like that the caramel icing automatically makes an okay muffin become acceptable as a gift or to serve at a holiday gathering.

And the most viewed quick bread post of the year is...

Pumpkin Prune Bread!
My very own recipe! :)

Most Viewed Meals of 2011

In the next few days, I'll be reviewing the most popular posts of the year. Here's the list for the most viewed meals (breakfast, soups, salad, main course) of the year. The viewers range from 16 to 62.

::Steel-Cut Oatmeal {16 views}
Once you have steel-cut oats, you won't want to go back!

::Oven-fried Chicken
This is one way to make chicken.  It's not my favorite, but I could see myself trying this recipe again

::Chicken Tortellini Soup {17 views}
I have made this soup dozens of times this year.  I love the versatility and the pasta really tops it off!

::Set for Life's Potato Salad {18 views}
This has been my potato salad of choice lately.  It seems to marry the potato salad I grew up with, with the vinegar taste I love in German potato salad.

::Spicy Potato Soup {19 views}
I remember this soup being a staple in childhood.  I recently made it for dinner and it's a hit-- again!

::Experiment! Oven Ready Lasagna {23 views}
This post was the first time I made lasagna with the no-cook noodles.  It's my updated lasagna recipe and my favorite, as well.  Recently I've been laying the pasta in the baking dish and covering it with boiling water, letting the pasta soften as I make the sauce.

::Mini Canadian Bacon Quiche {24 views}
It's interesting that this post is up there in viewership.  I had great intentions with this idea, but it just wasn't executed as I imagined!

::Pork Chops with Sour Cream Sauce {28 views}
After grilling, this is our favorite way to make pork chops!

::Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie {40 views}
I love the comfort-food aspect of this recipe.  I just haven't perfected the biscuit part.

The number one most viewed "meal" of the year is...

Edamame Mac & Cheese!
A quick lunch that Julia and I often eat.  I just discovered Edamame on January 2nd, and it's also a snack that everyone in the family enjoys!

Baked Potato with Chili

Yesterday we had my parents and sister over for a winter/early Christmas party.  I bought five baker's russet potatoes and wanted to know how to bake them properly.  In a search, the first four links came up with the exact same method of baking potatoes.
1. Scrub potatoes
2. Poke potatoes with 6-12 deep holes
3. Rub them with vegetable oil (or cooking oil of your choice)
4. Sprinkle kosher salt or sea salt
5. Bake in the oven, placing a baking sheet on a rack underneath for about 1 hour at 400 degrees.
After making these and seeing that we needed to clean the oven rack, we thought about baking them directly on the baking sheet next time.

The skin is crisp and flavorful.  The potatoes were gorgeous.  We topped them with chili and everyone was completely full.  Some were good and ate salad (I wasn't among them), but we all had room for some chocolate fondue and fresh fruit!

Potato bar with chili, toppings and sauteed mushrooms

Sparkling Cider, ginger snaps, Spitzbuben, and banana bread

(P.S. sorry the pictures are terrible quality)

Lasagna Soup

In the fall of 2008 I created this soup with inspiration from Good Things Utah.  It was a dinner staple until mid 2010.  Originally I would use 1/2 pound of Jimmy Dean sausage, but this time I used ground turkey.

Recipe
1/2 pound of ground meat (turkey, sausage or beef)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups of pasta
Cheeses like Mozzarella or Parmesan

Vegetable suggestions
(aim for about 1 cup for each vegetable)

diced carrots
baby spinach
diced zucchini
onion
mushrooms

Herb/spice suggestions
(to taste)

Italian seasoning
Parsley
onion powder/dried onions
garlic powder
black pepper
salt

Instructions
Cut carrots and begin to boil in a medium saucepan.  If you'd like to use an onion, dice and begin to sautee in a skillet.  Brown ground meat in a skillet until cooked through.  (I like to spice the ground turkey to ensure more flavor.)  In the skillet, add cans of chicken broth and diced tomatoes. Simmer until bubbly.  Stir in all herbs and spices into the meat/sauce mixture.

Meanwhile, add any other vegetables into the medium saucepan to soften.  Make sure there is enough water to cook two cups of pasta.  Add pasta to the boiling water. 

Add baby spinach in the skillet after pasta begins to cook.  After the pasta has cooked and the baby spinach has wilted, drain the pasta and vegetables returning them to the saucepan.  Mix the meat/sauce/spinach mixture into the pasta. 

One suggestion is add the cheese to the bottom of the bowl and ladle the hot soup into the bowl.  Or just top the soup with your cheese of choice.