2018 Recipes
After having so much fun making meals and desserts during 2017, I did it for 2018, and I hope to do it again for 2019! And this time I'm keeping a much better record! I do want to point out that I'm not getting paid or anything like that to talk about these recipes; I don't even know the people that made these. I just thought it would be nice to share them, and send some love their way! Anyway, here's everything I made these past twelve months:
January:
https://belleofthekitchen.com/2016/08/30/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-chicken-tacos/
*My family and I always use soft flour tortillas, and we rip it up into little pieces, instead of trying to fold everything inside and keep it there.
*I used lime juice from a container instead of actual limes because they are just too hard to squeeze
*I could not taste the cilantro as it came out of the slow cooker so we just added more to our individual plates
February:
https://www.littlebroken.com/2015/12/08/artichoke-tomato-and-spinach-flatbread/
AND
https://letthebakingbeginblog.com/2015/01/15-minute-easy-margherita-flatbread-pizza/
*I doubled the ingredients for the margherita flatbread because it was meant to be an appetizer for whoever made it, but for my parents and I, we needed it to be more of a dinner
*The M flatbread did NOT call for red sauce (marinara) but I added some anyway and I think it made for a better tasting pizza!
*These two recipes were so yummy and basically turned into two pizza dinners instead of strips like appetizers you'd get at a restaurant
March:
https://www.recipesthatcrock.com/crock-pot-cinnamon-roll-french-toast/
*My parents and I ate this as a dinner, rather than a breakfast, but it would have been better for a breakfast/brunch because it tasted so rich
*This recipe said it should only take about 2 hours on high or about 4 hours on low as it cooked in the crock pot. Well, we ended up with about 6 hours, plus a little bit in the oven
*I'm sort of disappointed in the process of making this, but not the actual meal itself
April:
http://wholeandheavenlyoven.com/2015/04/02/springtime-veggie-pasta-primavera-2/
Oh my goodness this meal surprised me, because of how well I liked it! It contained a few veggies that I would normally not eat, like asparagus and peas, but it was actually pretty tasty! I had to add just a bit more lemon juice to my own bowl, and I let my parents take the amount of basil they wanted. The first night we ate it warm like the recipe said, but for leftovers the following night, my mom and I ate it cold, and it was just as good!
May:
For the month of May I decided to use a recipe we already had at home, instead of finding one online. For Mother's Day I made chile rellanos and it was pretty good. Traditionally you're supposed to stuff the cheese into the chiles, but we get diced chiles and layer everything together instead. The cheesy crust was a perfect golden color and I was happy with how it turned out! Since the recipe is on paper, and I don't feel like typing it out here, you can just go find one online and customize it to your liking.
June:
https://www.cucinadeyung.com/2017/08/greek-burgers-with-spinach-feta-and-sun.html
The author of this recipe cooked her burgers on the stove but I had my dad fire up the charcoal grill for mine. The flavors went really good together, even the taziki sauce! I made it the night before so that all the flavors could mingle. They turned out good and I wouldn't hesitate to make them again!
July:
I'm afraid that nothing was made for this month! Whoops. It was approaching the end of July and I hadn't found a recipe to make, or time for a recipe. So we decided to wait until August to make something for my birthday dinner!
August:
https://temeculablogs.com/crockpot-lasagna-casserole/
So August is my birth month and we decided to do a pasta dish, but without the stove or the oven! Enter the crockpot! The author of this recipe used taco seasoning. My mom and I did not. Taco seasoning is for Mexican dishes, not Italian. So it was replaced with some Italian seasoning. I originally wanted no meat, because it was for my birthday dinner, but I changed my mind. We had leftovers, so they were put in the freezer, and had them later in the month!
Bonus for August!
https://forksnflipflops.com/recipe/moist-banana-bread/
I made banana bread because we had 5 super ripe ones in the freezer and they had to be used up. The author of the recipe said to keep the batter (once mixed) sitting at room temperature for an hour before baking. I totally think that that made all the difference. The flavor was so yummy, but not really moist, so that was a bummer.
September:
https://www.asouthernmom.com/homemade-hamburger-helper-recipe-cheeseburger-macaroni/
For September's dinner, I made a homemade version of a Hamburger Helper recipe. It was so easy to make, and it was very tasty! I could have added a bit more seasoning to my own bowl, but overall, it turned out good! I would totally make it again!
Bonus!
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240580/chocolate-chip-cookies-with-avocado/
I made chocolate chip cookies, but with half the butter! Normal cookie recipes use 2 sticks of butter, but this recipe uses 1 stick of butter and 1 avocado! These were so delicious and not as green as I though they'd be!
October:
https://homemadehooplah.com/gnocchi-alla-sorrentina/
For October I used an Italian product that I had only eaten once before, gnocchi! I was at a gala a few years ago for college scholarships, and the meal I had that night had gnocchi in it, and it was so good! A poofy ball of potato, flour, and sometimes cheese? Can't go wrong! Ever since then I had wanted some again and I had my chance. For this recipe I used store bought gnocchi, as well as store bought pasta sauce, instead of making it myself. Cook the gnocchi as directed on the package, warm sauce, mix together, place in a casserole type dish and top with mozzarella cheese, and bake! It was one of the easiest dishes I made last year. This meal doesn't contain any meat, but if you must have some, then I suppose hamburger beef would be the best option. A second option might be chicken.
November:
https://www.mrfood.com/Cakes/pumpkin-cream-cheese-bundt-cake
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! My mom found the above recipe to use for an alternative to pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert. I prepared the cream cheese filling, the wet ingredients, and the dry ingredients the night before, and baked it the next day. It was pretty tasty, and I could probably eat it for breakfast!
December:
Since it's the holidays, I decided to two dessert recipes for Christmas Eve celebrations, and two appetizer recipes for New Years Eve celebrations!
Dessert:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/chewy-ginger-molasses-cookies
These had such a great flavor, and they were chewy, but not as soft as I had hoped. Overall though, they turned out great, and the crackle effect was probably my favorite.
https://www.chef-in-training.com/homemade-almond-roca/
I have mixed results with this one. I've never made almond roca before, but I was familiar with the flavor and taste. I had never used a candy thermometer either. Despite my hesitation, the making of this was easier than I thought, and it tasted so good. But as I was going to break up the sheet to make little pieces, the chocolate layer kept separating from the caramel layer underneath. No matter how I tried to not have that happen, it happened anyway. There was no way around it. I will probably make this again, and will make sure the two layers meld properly!
Appetizers:
https://www.raegunramblings.com/2015/12/best-spinach-artichoke-dip-recipe.html
I made this before, a few years ago, but I just tossed everything in the crock pot. That method didn't turn out very well and it wasn't very flavorful. So this time I melted things one by one in a pot on the stove. Once all the cheeses were melted, I started adding the rest of the ingredients. I even used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and it came out much better. This time the overall flavor was so delicious, and had a melt in your mouth type of feel.
http://littlespicejar.com/gruyere-mushroom-caramelized-onion-bites/
This was a new thing for me to make, and I would do it again! I've never made caramelized onions before, and I'm not a fan of any type of vinegar, but everything worked well together. Gruyere cheese is not only expensive, but at all the stores in my town, it doesn't come in shreds like the author used. So I used leftover mozzarella instead. The other thing I changed was to spread this mixture onto the puff pastry as whole sheets, instead of little cut squares. I also didn't use thyme as it's not my favorite flavor.
I hope everyone has a great 2019!
January:
https://belleofthekitchen.com/2016/08/30/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-chicken-tacos/
*My family and I always use soft flour tortillas, and we rip it up into little pieces, instead of trying to fold everything inside and keep it there.
*I used lime juice from a container instead of actual limes because they are just too hard to squeeze
*I could not taste the cilantro as it came out of the slow cooker so we just added more to our individual plates
February:
https://www.littlebroken.com/2015/12/08/artichoke-tomato-and-spinach-flatbread/
AND
https://letthebakingbeginblog.com/2015/01/15-minute-easy-margherita-flatbread-pizza/
*I doubled the ingredients for the margherita flatbread because it was meant to be an appetizer for whoever made it, but for my parents and I, we needed it to be more of a dinner
*The M flatbread did NOT call for red sauce (marinara) but I added some anyway and I think it made for a better tasting pizza!
*These two recipes were so yummy and basically turned into two pizza dinners instead of strips like appetizers you'd get at a restaurant
March:
https://www.recipesthatcrock.com/crock-pot-cinnamon-roll-french-toast/
*My parents and I ate this as a dinner, rather than a breakfast, but it would have been better for a breakfast/brunch because it tasted so rich
*This recipe said it should only take about 2 hours on high or about 4 hours on low as it cooked in the crock pot. Well, we ended up with about 6 hours, plus a little bit in the oven
*I'm sort of disappointed in the process of making this, but not the actual meal itself
April:
http://wholeandheavenlyoven.com/2015/04/02/springtime-veggie-pasta-primavera-2/
Oh my goodness this meal surprised me, because of how well I liked it! It contained a few veggies that I would normally not eat, like asparagus and peas, but it was actually pretty tasty! I had to add just a bit more lemon juice to my own bowl, and I let my parents take the amount of basil they wanted. The first night we ate it warm like the recipe said, but for leftovers the following night, my mom and I ate it cold, and it was just as good!
May:
For the month of May I decided to use a recipe we already had at home, instead of finding one online. For Mother's Day I made chile rellanos and it was pretty good. Traditionally you're supposed to stuff the cheese into the chiles, but we get diced chiles and layer everything together instead. The cheesy crust was a perfect golden color and I was happy with how it turned out! Since the recipe is on paper, and I don't feel like typing it out here, you can just go find one online and customize it to your liking.
June:
https://www.cucinadeyung.com/2017/08/greek-burgers-with-spinach-feta-and-sun.html
The author of this recipe cooked her burgers on the stove but I had my dad fire up the charcoal grill for mine. The flavors went really good together, even the taziki sauce! I made it the night before so that all the flavors could mingle. They turned out good and I wouldn't hesitate to make them again!
July:
I'm afraid that nothing was made for this month! Whoops. It was approaching the end of July and I hadn't found a recipe to make, or time for a recipe. So we decided to wait until August to make something for my birthday dinner!
August:
https://temeculablogs.com/crockpot-lasagna-casserole/
So August is my birth month and we decided to do a pasta dish, but without the stove or the oven! Enter the crockpot! The author of this recipe used taco seasoning. My mom and I did not. Taco seasoning is for Mexican dishes, not Italian. So it was replaced with some Italian seasoning. I originally wanted no meat, because it was for my birthday dinner, but I changed my mind. We had leftovers, so they were put in the freezer, and had them later in the month!
Bonus for August!
https://forksnflipflops.com/recipe/moist-banana-bread/
I made banana bread because we had 5 super ripe ones in the freezer and they had to be used up. The author of the recipe said to keep the batter (once mixed) sitting at room temperature for an hour before baking. I totally think that that made all the difference. The flavor was so yummy, but not really moist, so that was a bummer.
September:
https://www.asouthernmom.com/homemade-hamburger-helper-recipe-cheeseburger-macaroni/
For September's dinner, I made a homemade version of a Hamburger Helper recipe. It was so easy to make, and it was very tasty! I could have added a bit more seasoning to my own bowl, but overall, it turned out good! I would totally make it again!
Bonus!
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240580/chocolate-chip-cookies-with-avocado/
I made chocolate chip cookies, but with half the butter! Normal cookie recipes use 2 sticks of butter, but this recipe uses 1 stick of butter and 1 avocado! These were so delicious and not as green as I though they'd be!
October:
https://homemadehooplah.com/gnocchi-alla-sorrentina/
For October I used an Italian product that I had only eaten once before, gnocchi! I was at a gala a few years ago for college scholarships, and the meal I had that night had gnocchi in it, and it was so good! A poofy ball of potato, flour, and sometimes cheese? Can't go wrong! Ever since then I had wanted some again and I had my chance. For this recipe I used store bought gnocchi, as well as store bought pasta sauce, instead of making it myself. Cook the gnocchi as directed on the package, warm sauce, mix together, place in a casserole type dish and top with mozzarella cheese, and bake! It was one of the easiest dishes I made last year. This meal doesn't contain any meat, but if you must have some, then I suppose hamburger beef would be the best option. A second option might be chicken.
November:
https://www.mrfood.com/Cakes/pumpkin-cream-cheese-bundt-cake
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! My mom found the above recipe to use for an alternative to pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert. I prepared the cream cheese filling, the wet ingredients, and the dry ingredients the night before, and baked it the next day. It was pretty tasty, and I could probably eat it for breakfast!
December:
Since it's the holidays, I decided to two dessert recipes for Christmas Eve celebrations, and two appetizer recipes for New Years Eve celebrations!
Dessert:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/chewy-ginger-molasses-cookies
These had such a great flavor, and they were chewy, but not as soft as I had hoped. Overall though, they turned out great, and the crackle effect was probably my favorite.
https://www.chef-in-training.com/homemade-almond-roca/
I have mixed results with this one. I've never made almond roca before, but I was familiar with the flavor and taste. I had never used a candy thermometer either. Despite my hesitation, the making of this was easier than I thought, and it tasted so good. But as I was going to break up the sheet to make little pieces, the chocolate layer kept separating from the caramel layer underneath. No matter how I tried to not have that happen, it happened anyway. There was no way around it. I will probably make this again, and will make sure the two layers meld properly!
Appetizers:
https://www.raegunramblings.com/2015/12/best-spinach-artichoke-dip-recipe.html
I made this before, a few years ago, but I just tossed everything in the crock pot. That method didn't turn out very well and it wasn't very flavorful. So this time I melted things one by one in a pot on the stove. Once all the cheeses were melted, I started adding the rest of the ingredients. I even used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and it came out much better. This time the overall flavor was so delicious, and had a melt in your mouth type of feel.
http://littlespicejar.com/gruyere-mushroom-caramelized-onion-bites/
This was a new thing for me to make, and I would do it again! I've never made caramelized onions before, and I'm not a fan of any type of vinegar, but everything worked well together. Gruyere cheese is not only expensive, but at all the stores in my town, it doesn't come in shreds like the author used. So I used leftover mozzarella instead. The other thing I changed was to spread this mixture onto the puff pastry as whole sheets, instead of little cut squares. I also didn't use thyme as it's not my favorite flavor.
I hope everyone has a great 2019!
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