Top 10 of 2011

This post is funny considering my specialty recently has been grilled cheese sandwiches.  I’m still not feeling too great, nothing sounds appetizing and currently have no desire to be near food, which has led to me making a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches recently.  So rather than dwell on our lack of exciting meals in our home I thought I’d reminisce on some happier memories.  I have enjoyed several blogs who have posted their top 10 recipes of 2011 and thought I’d follow suit. 

Here’s my little happy eater.  He loves spaghetti.  With a passion.  Unfortunately spaghetti didn’t make the cut this year.

1.     Chicken Paprikish.  This was so good, oh so good.  I remember wanting to just eat the sauce with a spoon, it was that good.  I’m pretty sure I was already full by the time we sat down to dinner from all my “test bites”.

2.    Goof Proof Coconut Curry Chicken.  It’s a cinch to throw together. I’m so thankful we can get curry sauce here.  You’ll love this easy recipe.

3.    Thai Peanut Salad.  Amazing blend of sweet and salty.  The last time I made it we just added the sauce to our own salads and the salad portion of it stayed nice and crisp for leftovers the next day.  I had to make lots of substitutions to the dressing, but it was a winner.

4.    Cashew Chicken.  This one was amazing. This is where I learned a trick to toss your chicken with a little corn starch before cooking it and it really does give it the same texture as in Chinese restaurants and it keeps your chicken from drying out.

5.    Fresh Strawberry Limeade.  I know weird to include this one but it really made my year to find this recipe.  Since we live in a place without sonic drinks during the hot summer months, this recipe saved the day this summer when I was craving a limeade.  I was able to find all the ingredients for at the store just up the road.  I even got a little wild and crushed the ice for a nice strawberry limeade slushy.  Heavenly.

6.    Chicken Picatta.  We all gobbled this one up. I actually used this recipe minus the capers as my sauce and chicken for a dairy free version of chicken pot pie.

7.    Eggplant Dip.  I could live off of it in the summer time.  I’m counting down the days until eggplant reappears.

8.    Pumpkin Waffles.  Since my fabulous husband bought me a waffle maker it’s been a treat to have waffles for breakfast.  I tend to make a bunch and freeze them, and then just pop them in the toaster in the mornings.  It helps this non morning person make breakfast choices easier.  FYI this recipe makes a ton.

9.    Perfect Cupcake Frosting.  After my first attempt at this recipe was a complete flop but I decided to try it again, this time I bought the expensive imported butter and it worked like a charm.  I’m not a frosting gal, so intensely sweet butter cream frosting generally gets dumped to the side of my plate.  This was more of a whipped cream type of frosting.  It was worth the stomach ache I experienced after eating it.

10. Peanut Butter Granola.  It’s become a favorite at breakfast time in our house.  I love this on plain yogurt.  The sweet granola on tart yogurt is so good, and not to mention it’s a very filling breakfast.  I just love it and Calvin begs me to make this.

So I hope I get to enjoy a few of these sometime soon.  Did you all find some new recipes this past year that you’ll make for years to come?