Stephanie Howell

Wanted : Your Best Recipe of the Year

What am I doing today? Meal planning. WOOHOO! My least favorite task in the entire universe. Except maybe mincing garlic. I really really hate mincing garlic too.

Sooo what I really want to know is...

What's the best recipe you tried in 2014?

Link me up and tell me about it. We will have company for a week and a half (YAY CHRISTOPHER AND ANNA!!!) over the holidays and in an effort to not eat out every.single.meal...I'm attempting to do some serious meal planning.

And I need your help.

If you share your favorite recipe in the comments I will enter you for a chance to win a padded envelope stuffed with my favorite small embellishments of 2014.  Think enamel dots, acrylic accents, veneer, paper clips, etc.

And since I'm asking you to share, I figured I would too. Here are some of the Howell family's favorite recipes of 2014. These are the ones that are regularly requested, and the ones that all six of us loved. 

 

1. Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup- This.is.delicious. It's soupy the first night and then turns more into a pasta dish for leftovers. Not at all healthy, and sometimes that's okay.

 

 

2. Spinach, Prosciutto, and Mozzarella Stuffed Pork Tenderloin - We make this often. It's easy, delicious, and healthy. You can vary the ingredients based on what you have on hand. It's really good with just the mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes. It's a given that we love absolutely ANYTHING by Gina at Skinnytaste.

 

3. Crock Pot Sesame Honey Chicken- As I said, we love Skinnytaste in this house. This recipe is a staple...especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays when we are out of the apartment until 5:30. The perfect combination of tangy and sweet.

 

4. Southern Green Beans- I've been making this recipe for YEARS. Since our first duty station at Fort Drum - in 2004 - when I made it for a Friendsgiving out of my Rachael Ray cookbook. Trust me. This one is GOOD.

 

5. Fusilli Caesar Salad - I'm pretty sure this is Miss Sadie's favorite recipe of all time. Definitely her most requested. And the homemade caesar dressing is TO DIE FOR. The first time I made this I couldn't believe how easy it was and I was so mad at myself for buying caesar in the bottle! Never.Again.

 

6. Pulled Pork with Caramelized Onions - another crock pot meal that is freaking GOOD.

 

7. Chicken Enchiladas - Make these. Immediately. They are somewhat time intensive but totally, completely worth it. This Texas girl is super picky when it comes to Mexican food and these completely passed the snob test.

Okay, your turn! Remember, you'll be entered in a small embellishments giveaway if you share a link and tell me a little bit about it.

Happy Sunday, y'all!

xoxo

 

Quick Recipe Share | French Breakfast Muffins

Go make these NOW.

Just trust me. Easy, easy, easy. And ridiculously good.

You will thank me. Or curse me. But either way, it's all good.

That is all.

Ciao Ciao

xoxo

S

Pinterest Recipe Review

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

I hope you had a beautiful weekend. I managed to try a few Pinterest recipes this weekend and I thought I'd share how they turned out.

I know I always appreciate hearing "real life reviews" of popular pins...I thought you might like to as well! :)

I was intrigued as soon as I saw this recipe for Magic Cake.

ease of recipe- Super easy. You have to fold in some whites, but that's about the only semi-difficult part.

review- Ehhh. It's sort of flan-esque and I HATE flan with a passion. Shudder. It's got a custard layer you can see in the photo. There's actually nothing "cake" about this cake. Unless I made it wrong. It's much more a baked custard/flan.

But it's pretty! So I took it to the BBQ and it was pretty popular. Which is good b/c I didn't have to eat any. :)

I LOVE Caprese Salad, so I figured I'd love this Caprese Pasta Salad.

ease- Ridiculously easy. The only somewhat involved step is reducing some balsamic on the stove.

verdict-Super underwhelmed. The salad tasted like...uh...pasta. No other flavors. I let it marinate for quite a bit and I even tried adding more balsamic, but it was just not impressive. Surprising.

I have been wanting to make these Carmelitas ever since I pinned them. Holy decadent! Anything that has oatmeal, caramel, and chocolate chips is going to be my friend.

ease-Not hard. You have to be pretty vigilant and patient while melting down the caramel, but that's it.

review-OMGAMAZING.Seriously, sinfully delicious. I'll definitely be making them again!

 

So there you have it. Have you made any really good Pinterest recipes lately? Or do you have any duds to share?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Oh, and here are my food related Pinterest boards if you are interested.

Munchies

Sweets for My Sweets

xoxo

S