Stuff I Made Last Year

Lots of bloggers end the year or begin the new one with a post about their most popular recipes/DIY ideas/home improvement projects, etc… for the past year.  Because I still haven’t figured out what this blog is all about, I could never sum up a year by doing any of those things.  This fact only makes my blogging angst worse than it already is.  Especially when for the last several months I haven’t posted too much of anything, it’s pretty obvious that blogging will not be on my list of successes in 2013.    If I had a list.

So, here are a few recipes I tried for the first time in 2013!

Best new main dish: 
Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast
via Recipe Girl (recipe here)

This was a really easy and delicious roast that could be made in the slow cooker as well as in the oven.  Be sure to sear the meat before roasting it – I salt and pepper the roast really generously then brown it in a saute pan on the stove in a mixture of oil and butter.  

Best new cookie recipe:
Double Chocolate M&M Cookies
via Tracey’s Culinary Adventures (recipe here)
These are moist, chewy and wonderful.

Best new salad:
Tangy Asian Slaw
via A Dash of Soul (recipe here)
Loved this!

Best new bundt cake: 
Snickerdoodle Cake
via loveyourmotherearth (recipe here)

Tastes just like the cookie it’s named after – moist with a cinnamony, crunchy crust.

Best new (to me) Christmas recipe:
Peanut Butter Kisses
via Taste of Home (recipe here)
I know most everyone made Peanut Butter Kisses with their mom when they were growing up but I never had.  So I tried them with my nieces this year and I think they’ll become part of my yearly Christmas baking.  They are easy and make a fun addition to a cookie plate for the neighbors.  This is the only thing on the list that I actually took a picture of.  Well, Jeff did.

Best new muffins:
My Mom’s Muffins
via The Pioneer Woman (recipe here)
No butter or oil in these moist little treats packed full of goodies - banana, flax seed, applesauce, raisins & nuts!

Best salsa ever: 
Restaurant-Style Salsa
also via The Pioneer Woman (recipe here)
How could something this easy to make taste so much better than all the rest?

I'm looking forward to trying a whole bunch more this year.  I have several Pinterest boards that are FULL of delicious looking recipes, don't you?