From crock pot recipes to smoothies, soups and summery desserts, these are the top 10 reader favorite recipes on Iowa Girl Eats from 2016!
Hello from the other side of the holidays! How are you? Ben, our little elves, and I had a wonderful Christmas!
Sitting here a couple days after the fact, it’s still hard to believe the holidays are nearly over. They were even more of a blur this year since Cam came right before Halloween – each day since he joined our family has gone by in the blink of an eye. How this little chunker is nearly 10 weeks old is beyond me!
I tried to pause this Christmas, especially, since Lincoln’s at an age where he finally “gets” the holidays. We did the whole Elf on the Shelf thing (aka me frantically texting Ben every night at 10:30 from bed – “CAN YOU MOVE THE #$*%&! ELF???“) played Christmas music 24/7, talked about Jesus’ birthday, and of course sprinkled reindeer food on the front porch and laid out milk and cookies on the fireplace. In case this picture doesn’t give it away, this little guy was JACKED for the big guy’s visit! (Special shout out to my soon to be sis-in-law for the delicious dairy-free cookie delivery which Santa mightily enjoyed! ?)
Of course the reason for the season is not an enormous pile of presents under the tree, and we don’t go nuts with gifts, but man oh man to see Lincoln’s face light up when he opened the stuff he asked Santa for (at 6am – oy,) was just awesome. No better feeling than seeing your kids happy.
Big hits included this trampoline (hello saving grace during the season that shall not be named,) and this electric train set which I swear to you has not stopped running since December 25th. Cam’s even been getting in on the action!
Like I said, gifts under the tree is not what Christmas is all about, and my hope is that in the coming years we can focus more on that, as well as donate our gently used toys to children who could use it before Santa pays our boys a visit (should have started that tradition this year, dangit!) but seeing Christmas through a child’s eyes was really special this year, and it’s only going to get better as Cameron gets bigger. I remember running around in endless circles to Mannheim Steamroller with my little brother until we were too dizzy to stand, pretty much every afternoon in the month of December growing up. Good times!
Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. My parent’s house was practically bursting at the seams with our family plus both my brothers’. It was a Christmas to remember, for sure! ?
In other news, this week marks one of my favorites in my blog posting schedule – a look back at your favorite recipes posted throughout the year here on Iowa Girl Eats!
In all the years I’ve been blogging (almost EIGHT!) this was the most challenging for a number of reasons. In the beginning of the year I was extremely preoccupied with getting pregnant which took up a lot of my energy and attention. A few months into my pregnancy we said goodbye to our beloved part-time sitter, who was having a baby of her own, and I decided to take a whack at working with no childcare for over three quarters of the year. Needless to say, not a lot of blog growth happened when I only got naps, nights, and weekends to work, and there were many times when I looked at my peers who were trying new things with their businesses, releasing products, and have no children or have school-aged children (aka have big chunks of uninterrupted time during the week to work,) and felt anxiety about not doing more. Additionally I, and many other bloggers I know, fell victim to burnout this year. Blogging looks nothing like it did when a big chunk of us started in 2009 and 2010, and at times it’s been challenging remembering why we all started in the first place!
That said, I finally felt at peace with this year when Cameron was born. I may not have as much time to devote to work as I did when I was 25, but IGE was started with the intention of having a creative outlet, to set my own schedule and, when the time came, work from home with my kids by my side. Staying home with my beautiful baby boys, putting them down for naps, making their meals, witnessing their milestones, AND having something to satisfy my desire to work is what I’ve always wanted, and with a ton of hard work it’s exactly what I’ve got. Here at the tail end of 2016, I’m truly able to say that the grass is green enough right where I’m standing.
All that said, 2016 was still a banner year. A BABY, trips to Colorado and Kansas City, tons of exciting work projects and partnerships, magazine interviews and covers, 150+ posts, 100+ recipes, stories told, and connections made with all of you. YOU are the ones that make this blog possible, and I truly thank you for allowing me to do what I do. I get asked what it’s like to not have a boss but really, you’re my boss! And I’ve got the best boss in the world. THANK YOU.
Alrighty, let’s get into what this post is really all about – your top 10 favorite recipes from 2016 as decided by your visits, pins, likes, and shares! You sure picked some good ones, and if you overdid it during the holidays my advice is to skip directly to #6. Also #7 is the perfect NYE appetizer! Let me know which recipes you’ve tried, and I’ll be back on Friday with a list of MY top 10 favorite recipes from 2016!
Psst: In case you’re curious, here are the top reader recipes from the past four years!
- Top Reader Recipes from 2015 >
- Top Reader Recipes from 2014 >
- Top Reader Recipes from 2013 >
- Top Reader Recipes from 2012 >
CrockPot White Chicken Chili
Chicken Fajitas Recipe
Potsticker Noodle Bowls
Easy Chicken and Rice Soup
Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake Icebox Cake
Best Ever Green Smoothie
Bacon and Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Pepper Poppers
Italian Sub Salad
Shrimp and Wild Rice Skillet
As a long-time reader, I think you had a fabulous blog year, packed full of awesome, healthy, easy recipes. I get so many compliments when I make your recipes. I’m sure I sound like a broken record when I tell them the recipe came from Iowa Girl Eats! Have a fantastic 2017!
Thank you so much, Cari, you are too kind! Happy new year to you too!
The white chicken chili is on almost weekly rotation at my house. And so is the green smoothie; my 2 year old can’t get enough!
So glad to hear it, H, my 3 YO loves it too!
Hi Kristin, I really enjoy your recipes and found many family favorites in your mix! Thank you! I made #3 on your list last night, Potsticker Noodle Bowls, and my family fought over the leftovers today. We also love the Burrito Bowls and Balsamic Chicken Brushetta recipe (maybe that’s not the official name… but it’s awesome!). Thank you for your dedication and keep those recipes coming!
Love that Bruschetta Chicken recipe – it’s an old one, right? With pre-made bruschetta? Need to break that one out again ASAP!
So happy to see this recipe of yours!
I work for Aidell’s Sausage Company and I LOVE their products, which is actually the reason I wanted to work for them, sharing samples and knowledge of their products!
Customers are always interested in what ideas I can share with them, as their products are fully cooked, so everything is quick and easy, and always delicious!
Thank you so much for your recipe!
This recipe, in my humble opinion, would be well suited with any of their varieties of their sausages!
Love Aidell’s sausages, Julie!
Hi Kristin, I’ve been reading since the early days & just wanted you to know that I still love your blog as much today as I did on Day 1. I recommend it to friends all the time (whether they need to eat gluten-free or not) for quick & easy & delicious recipes. The vast majority of our fave meals that are on regular rotation in our house come from your site. I want to assure you that while you may have felt uninspired this year, it certainly didn’t come thru on the blog. I think your blog is as great as it’s always been & as good if not better than any of the others out there. There are a lot of bloggers who don’t post every day, & that’s OK! You do you ‘cuz YOU are pretty great!
Thank you so much, Julie, your comment means the world to me! Thank you so much for your support!!
I know you will get a lot of “how could this not make the list”… but seriously, the beef and broccoli was DELICIOUS and I’ve made it a handful of times since! I also loved the kale guacamole! Happy New Year and thank you for all your awesome posts!
Two of my absolute favorites that were *THIS CLOSE* to making my favorite recipes of 2016 list!! Seriously love both of them!
Kristin,
Can I just say YES to the White Chicken Chili. Without a doubt, always the biggest hit when I bring to potlucks, friend dinners, or just at home with my husband. I usually make a double batch, and we’ve never had leftovers…ever.
Every single recipe my husband deems a “favorite” comes from your blog (I love them too!), so thanks for keeping us fed with fun, interesting dishes around here–can’t wait for 2017!
So glad to hear it Kaia, thanks so much for reading and cooking along! :)