The Top 13 Recipes on Iowa Girl Eats in 2013, chosen by your visits, tweets, pins, and shares!
Happy Friday, everybody, I hope your holidays were merry and bright! We had Ben’s family in town from the 20th through Christmas, so I took the opportunity to take a short interwebs/blogging break to be present with them. It was wonderful.
We also hosted my family along with Ben’s for Christmas Eve dinner which starred Ben’s first attempt at prime rib. He crusted a 10lb roast with heaps of cracked pepper and sea salt. Into the oven and off to church we went. After a song and a prayer we returned home and, with a song and a prayer, we sliced that sucker up.
NAILED IT!!! I tell you what, Ben needs to start his own manly food blog. He did such a great job and the entire roast was scarfed down by all. So yum. Going to try and convince him to make another one for New Years Day, though something tells me I won’t have to try too hard. ;)
The next day we all headed over to my parent’s house for this little pork chop’s first Christmas – whee!
One the of the most touching gifts he received was ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas recorded by my Grandma. I tell you what, if you need a really special gift for a grandchild/niece/nephew/etc, these recordable books by Hallmark are a wonderful idea. I love the thought of Lincoln being able to hear his Great-Grandmother’s voice reading to him anytime he wants!
Our Christmas feast was just that – a FEAST featuring all my favorites. Christmas ham, of course, plus Luann’s Kale Salad, Party Potatoes Deluxe, Green Beans and Bacon, and Grandma’s Holiday Salad (which I had approximately 1,500 bowls of. #worthit.)
‘Twas a wonderful Christmas indeed! (Could you not just die over bat-Finn?)
Now that the holidays are behind us (sob!) it’s time to start looking towards the new year. I’m sad to say goodbye to 2013, after all this was the best year of my life thanks to the birth of our baby boy, but I’m also excited for what 2014 holds. If the past year has taught me anything, it’s that the possibilities for life are absolutely endless. Before we get there though, I want to recap the Top 13 recipes of 2013 on IGE per your visits, pins, tweets, and shares!
From meatballs to pasta salads, soups, casseroles, and sauces, you guys totally dug these 13 recipes. I’m loving the variety here (not all chicken, know what I mean?) Some vegetarian recipes, some appetizers, some skinny dishes, some not. Maybe you’ll find one of your favorites here or discover a new dish to try.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful final weekend of 2013!
Feta-Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup (Panera Copycat)
Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Tomato-Basil Risotto
Mozzarella Bruschetta Chicken
Make Ahead Fruit & Yogurt Breakfast Parfaits
Lazy Girl’s Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Healthy Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli-Rice Casserole
Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Creamy Garlic Shells
O.M.G. I want every recipe! And I hope you do a prime rib tutorial :)
My husband’s grandmother recorded Twas the Night Before Christmas as well and gave it to us as a shower gift. It’s such a sweet idea. And the advice about hiding it is so helpful. I will have to do that as well.
So I don’t normally comment on blogs but I just wanted to thank you for producing such an awesome, wholesome, adorable blog that seriously inspires me every time I read it! I have tried so many of your recipes and loved every one of them! Your family is adorable and I love living my life vicariously through your stories, so keep them coming! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I made your cheese sauce to dip sweet potato fries into. It was pretty fantastic. Thanks for all the recipes! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Oh I forgot to mention last night I made your salmon on a Dole Light Caesar Salad and OMG I’m sooooo in love! I didn’t even like salmon until last night. I got the sweet maple marinated salmon from Hy-Vee and sautéed per your recommendations and I am obsessed now with that crusty edge the salmon gets. Soooo good!
Beautiful family picture! This year my husband also tackled a prime rib and a beef tenderloin for Christmas dinner and he definitely nailed it! He was scrambling the night before for butcher’s twine (no stores open on C’mas Eve past 8pm in our town) . Haha! Luckily our neighbor had some. ;)
yum. i still need to make the italian beef sandwiches, but they are on my list! my husband will LOVE them!
I am SO glad I’ve found your blog! I look forward to all of your yummy recipes every week! My hubby is from Iowa (and a HUGE Hawkeyes fan), so every time I try a new recipe from your blog, I make mention that it’s from Iowa Girl Eats (“you know, the one who’s a big Hawkeyes fan”). That way, he’s sure to like it! The Italian Beef Sandwiches are a HUGE hit with us! We eat them atleast once every two weeks! I even made it when my Canadian cousin was in town! I think I may have to try your Feta-Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Bites for NYE…YUM! Happy 2014 :)
Word of advice on the new recorded book – hide it!! My daughter, now a toddler, had accidentally deleted all the original recordings from her granparents because she hits all the buttons!!
Those crock pot beef sandwiches are one of my favorite recipes of yours – so good! Glad you had a nice Christmas.
I’m sure it’s simple enough but wouldn’t mind hearing more about how the prime rib was made too. And I love the bruschetta chicken! (I know it’s chicken, but still)!
What a tasty year! Happy Holidays!
That prime rib looks AMAZING!! Think you might jot down some specifics on how he made it? I can generally guess on most things, but not with big chunks of meat. They scare me. Thanks!