11 Top (Most Popular) Recipes from 2011, "Leapt-Over" Recipes & Other Popular Posts

On this Leap Day, we present to you...

Our 11 Top (Most Popular) Recipes from 2011:

#11 Lemon Lime Ice Cream Soda Shots
#10 Pecan-Encrusted Tilapia
#9 Crockpot Turkey Meatloaf
#8 Strawberry Freeze
#7 Easy Slow Cooker Barbecue
#6 No Bake Cashew Butter Oatmeal Cookies
#5 Homemade Limoncello
#4 Kicked up Crockpot Cube Steak
#3 Frog Eye Salad
#2 Slow Cooker Italian Sausage, White Bean & Kale Soup

AND #1 was....

Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake

11 Recipes from 2011 that were "Leapt over" (lower pageviews for those posts) that we'd highly recommend trying:

*Some of the pictures we got of these dishes truly do not "do them justice"... we have found that some types of food are much more challenging photograph subjects than others!

#11 Apple and Sausage Stuffing with Walnuts
#10 Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Sausage and Smoked Gouda
#9 Turkey Leek Burgers
#8 London Broil with Cranberry and Portobello Reduction
#7 Beef and Pineapple Vietnamese Rolls
#6 Raspberry and Carob Chip Pancakes (or use chocolate chips!)
#5 Squash and Goat Cheese Casserole
#4 Italian Cheese, Mushroom and Walnut Risotto
#3 Peach and Sweet Tea Vodka Glazed Pork Tenderloin
#2 Paradise Shrimp over Jasmine Rice

AND #1 is....

 

Grilled Pork Chateaubriand Stuffed with Garlic Herbed Cheese Served with Sweet Onion and Portobello Pino Grigio Reduction

11 Popular Non-Recipe Posts from 2011:

#11 No-Sew Felt Wine Bag Wrap {DIY Gift Idea}
#10 A Balloon for Isabel
#9 The Christmas Smorgasbord
#8 Beauty, Body Image and Anorexia
#7 DIY Tile Photo Coasters {DIY Gift Idea}
#6 Eczema and Food Triggers/Allergies
#5 Debt-Free Living/Dave Ramsey
#4 100-Day Countdown to Christmas Series
#3 Mom-Friendly Recipes
#2 Lots of Lunchbox Ideas

AND #1 was...

The Crock Pot Craze {Recipe Collection}

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Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms with Thyme Recipe

If your family, like ours, is ready on occasion for something different from the "same 'ole, same 'ole" when it comes to your side dishes, this Saturday Evening's recipe, Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms with Thyme, is one you may want to try, especially if you like carrots and the flavor of Thyme.  This was the second side that was a new recipe we tried (recently we shared the other one, which was a Brussels sprouts recipe) for Thanksgiving in 2011 in an effort to break away from the usual, traditional Thanksgiving menu options.

I wasn't crazy about the flavors, but The Lucky Wife really liked them a lot.  The Well-Fed Son and Daughter didn't seem as crazy about them, but as their palates mature they may come around!

You will find the recipe over at Kalyn's Kitchen.  You can see what other ideas we considered for Thanksgiving on our Pinterest board.  Follow us on Pinterest if you'd like to see regularly what great recipes (and other ideas) we come across on a day-to-day basis.

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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Poor Man's Stir-Fried Rice Recipe

This Saturday evening's recipe, Poor Man's Stir-Fried Rice, is yet another "open up the cabinets and use what's available" creation.  If you have followed our blog for any length of time, you have probably realized that our family loves rice in its many forms.  We also love Asian flavors of any form.  This dish is simple, cheap and has quite a bit of flavor to it, the perfect combination for The Well-Fed Family.

If I would have had them on-hand, I would have loved to have added about 1/4 cup of chopped cashews to this for a nutty, crunchy accent.  You could also use other vegetables such as small broccoli florets, snow peas and/or green beans.

Enjoy.

Poor Man's Stir-Fried Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked rice, drained and chilled in refrigerator
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
• 1/3 cup shredded carrot
• 1 1/4 cup shredded raw cabbage
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• dash of ginger, ground
• 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Prepare rice as directed. Rinse, drain and chill in refrigerator until completely cool.
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and diced onion. Saute onion until softened.
3. Brown ground beef with onion and drain excess grease.
4. Return pan to burner, increase heat slightly to medium-high and add minced garlic, carrot, peas, corn and ginger. Stir constantly to incorporate until vegetables have softened.
5. Add cabbage and toss continuously until cabbage has wilted.
6. Add 1 additional tablespoon of olive oil. Fold in cooked rice until mixture is combined thoroughly. Stir continuously to keep rice from sticking.
7. Remove pan from burner and sprinkle rice with soy sauce. Fold mixture until soy sauce is evenly distributed.
8. Taste and add salt, pepper or additional soy sauce if desired.

NEED ANY OF THE TOOLS USED?

Rating scale

1 star - Feed it to the dog
2 stars - Surprise your neighbor

3 stars - Definite keeper

4 stars - Looking forward to leftovers

5 stars - Clean plate and nap time! Are there enough ingredients left to make it again soon?

The Chef - 3 Stars

The Lucky Wife - 4 Stars

The Well-Fed Son (5 years old) - 4 Stars
The Well-Fed Daughter (18 months old) - 4 Stars

*Rate it yourself in the comments!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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The Crockpot Chronicles ~ Our Daily Paper {Crockpot/Slow Cooker recipes}

We published our first daily paper, The Crockpot Chronicles, today, featuring crockpot and slow cooker recipes, information and news.  Check it out!




If you have a great crockpot recipe you'd like to be considered for a future issue, follow us on Twitter and tweet the link to us with the hashtag, #crockpotchronicles.  Most featured content is chosen by Paper.li's algorithm; however, we plan to add our own picks into the mix for some future issues.

We're excited to bring you fresh ideas for your crockpot/slow cooker needs each day, as we know many families enjoy the convenience of crockpot cooking on a regular basis.  Let us know what you think in the comment section below!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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Clipix ~ Fun way to organize/share recipes, foodie event planning, and so much more!

clipix

Recipes, event planning (think birthday parties, graduation parties, baby showers, weddings, etc.), music, shopping, favorite blogs... you name it, anything you go to do online, you want a place to keep track of things you'd like to be able to find and view again later.  There are numerous options and they all were developed with people like me in mind, detail-oriented, borderline-obsessive planners.  (The Chef would probably disagree about the "borderline" part!)

When I first learned about Clipix and its Multiboards feature, my mind immediately jumped to my daughter's 2nd birthday party, coming up in August.  Yes, I love to begin planning well in advance, or at least gathering ideas.  So I signed up to explore Clipix.  I was taken in right away by its user-friendliness and by how quickly a new user can figure out how it works.

I especially love the Multiboards feature, which allows you to group different clipboards onto one bigger one.  For example, I created a clipboard for my daughter's upcoming 2nd birthday party and then grouped the following clipboards onto the bigger one: Theme Ideas, The Cake, Food Ideas, and Wish List.  Here's what it looks like:

You can make your boards public or private, a big plus for me, and this one is public, so click here if you'd like to get a better look!  You will see I've clipped ideas for one of several themes: Elmo, Tea Party, and Princess.  The wish list are gift ideas I wanted to remember when it comes time to decide what we will be giving her.

One really neat feature of Clipix is Syncboards, which allows you to clip collaboratively with your friends or family. When anyone adds a clip to the Syncboard, everyone else you collaborate with will see it in real-time.  My first thought was how awesome this would be when planning a wedding!  If a bride wants to consider ideas others in her wedding party come across, they could all share them through the Syncboards she set up for her wedding planning.  There's also a place for comments, so she could get feedback right underneath the item from the groom, her mother, her bridesmaids, wedding planner, anyone involved with planning the wedding.

Or what about family events where everyone is contributing a dish for a meal, like a reunion, Christmas, or Thanksgiving?  The host could clip the main dish, and as each person decides what they are contributing, they could add it to the board.  This way, everyone can see the meal coming together, and it would be easy for those still undecided about what to bring to know what's needed and what would coordinate well with what's already being contributed.

As you can see, there are so many ways you could use Clipix to keep track of your favorite things online, whether it's recipes, blogs, music, products or articles you've read.  I would love to know how you could see yourself using Clipix or any other ideas you may have thought of while reading this post.  Just leave a comment if you thought of anything and visit Clipix to sign up for your free account to check it out for yourself!


Promoted Post

Marinated Lentil Salad {Published by Yahoo! Voices}

This is a recipe The Lucky Wife adapted from one she had been given by a former co-worker.  I am not a big fan of salads, but this is one of her favorites.  And it was also a recent request by The Well-Fed Son, who is only 5 years old.  We've never seen another young child eat salad like he does.

You can see the recipe, along with some information about the health benefits of lentils, at Yahoo! Voices.  If you like lentils, a link to other lentil recipes is also included with the recipe.  Eat your lentils!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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More great ideas: Tip Me Tuesday, Titus 2sdays, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well Wednesday, Recipe Roundup

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta Recipe

This Saturday Evening's recipe, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta, is actually one we tried with our 2011 Thanksgiving turkey.  We had grown tired of the more "traditional" menu selections, so we decided to find some new recipes to try.  The Lucky Wife surfed the net, and this was one of the recipes she discovered.

Now, I'm personally not a fan of Brussels Sprouts, but when she told me these had pancetta in them, it made me a little more wiling to try them.  I thought the presentation was cool with the shredded Brussels Sprouts.  Pancetta is always nice, and this was one of the better ways I've ever eaten Brussels Sprouts.  The Lucky Wife liked them but prefers them this way.  The Well-Fed Son seemed to like them and The Well-Fed Daughter hasn't decided overall on Brussels sprouts yet.

You'll find the recipe at Gina's Skinny Recipes.  Enjoy.

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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More great ideas: Works for Me Wednesday

Romantic Tablescapes ~ Perfect for Valentine's Day or Wedding Anniversary

Even though I do not really "set a table" at this stage in the life of our family (two young children, need I say more?), I am becoming addicted to the beautiful tablescapes I see pictured all across blogland, and I have fallen in love with some romantic tablescapes I discovered while looking for Valentine's Day!  Of course, they also would be perfect for wedding anniversary celebrations.  Without further ado...

When I first saw this one, I immediately thought it was my favorite:

Used with permission; Credit: Elisabeth

I love the scrabble tile message.  Check out the full post by Elisabeth at Treasuring the Moments to see the other message.

Not long after stumbling onto this, I found what I think must be the most feminine, romantic tablescape ever:

Source: marlisbennett.blogspot.com via TheChef/TheLuckyWife on Pinterest

Isn't that gorgeous?

If that wasn't enough... check out this amazing tablescape for the ultimate romantic Valentine's Day breakfast:

Source: betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com via TheChef/TheLuckyWife on Pinterest

You can see a couple more ideas on my Tablescape board on Pinterest.  Follow us on Pinterest for all of our latest "pin-worthy discoveries".

If you're planning to celebrate Valentine's Day with a romantic dinner for two in the quiet and private environment of your home, The Chef and I have chosen a few ideas for dinner that would definitely be on our short-list:

Entrees:

Peach and Sweet Tea Vodka Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Pork "Chateaubriand" Stuffed with Garlic Herbed Cheese Served with Sweet Onion and Portobello Pinot Grigio Reduction

The must-have, all-time favorite appetizer of mine is The Chef's Portobello Mushroom Caps Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto.

Since desserts are not our forte... but a necessity for Valentine's Day, my request would probably be this No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Cream Pie from Krysta's My Life in Food.  I have had that on my to-try list (need to pin it... off to do that immediately following publication of this post!).  Since The Chef loves lemon and has a gluten sensitivity, my guess for him would be something like these lemon bars from Whole New Mom:

Source: wholenewmom.com via TheChef/TheLuckyWife on Pinterest

Hope everyone has a very romantic Valentine's Day this year!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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For more great ideas: Foodie Friday, Tatertots and Jello, Tip Me Tuesday, Titus 2sdays, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well Wednesday

Curried Hamburger Goulash/Soup

This Saturday evening's recipe can be eaten as goulash or soup (add more broth when serving) and is a super quick and easy meal to put together for your family.  Recently, I made this soup using the ingredients listed in the variation below.  The flavor was milder and surprisingly, we found that we actually preferred the variation over the original. 

In all honesty, I created the variation using ground turkey and rice pasta because our family had been down for a week with a bad stomach virus.  We needed something gentle on our stomachs but different from the ordinary chicken soup, vegetable soup, bread, crackers and other "bland" foods normally eaten when sick.  This soup had just enough kick to make it interesting.

Enjoy.

Curried Hamburger Goulash/Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
• 48 ounces beef broth
• 1 16-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 16-ounce box of pasta shells (we used Quinoa)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder

Instructions:

1. Heat 6-quart stockpot over medium heat until hot. Add crumbled ground beef and brown. Drain excess grease.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer until pasta is al dente.

(NOTE: You can adjust the amount of curry powder to your personal taste. My suggestion is to add 1 teaspoon of curry powder, taste test, and then adjust by half-teaspoon increments until desired taste is achieved.  The 2-teaspoon ingredient reflects our family's preference.)

RECIPE VARIATION: 

Substitute ground turkey, chicken broth, rice pasta, and 1 teaspoon of curry powder for a milder flavor.

NEED ANY OF THE TOOLS USED?

Rating scale

1 star - Feed it to the dog
2 stars - Surprise your neighbor

3 stars - Definite keeper

4 stars - Looking forward to leftovers

5 stars - Clean plate and nap time! Are there enough ingredients left to make it again soon?

The Chef - 5 Stars

The Lucky Wife - 4 Stars

The Well-Fed Son (5 years old) - 4 Stars
The Well-Fed Daughter (18 months old) - 4 Stars

*Rate it yourself in the comments!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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More great ideas:  Recipe Roundup