The number one question I usually get from people is "do you even eat the recipes again after you post them?" My answer is "yes!" But we definetely have our favorites too. This post takes some of your favorites that didn't make the top 10 list and shows how these recipes still make it onto our plates at home long after they are posted.
#10: Honey Sweetened Brownies and Climbing Fences
If you know a family member with autism, you know how much fun those autism tantrums can be. This was the first one that my nephew ever threw and boy was it a fun one! After I needed a whole plate of these amazing honey sweetened brownies to help.
This year my sister started to have him stay over occasionally for sleepovers with us and they have been a lot of fun. I'm lucky that he adapts pretty easy but for some reason after watching him brownies still always sound good! 🙂
Category: Life, Recipe
#9: Zupas Garden Chowder aka Christmas Chowder
This has always been one of my FAVORITE recipes. I made it back in 2014 after eating it at Zupa's but after being diagnosed with colitis had to give it up because of all the cream. From the time I got diagnosed until this year I would mourn this delicious soup. This year I made it with NutPods original and it tasted amazing!! It worked PERFECT!!! I'm back to eating this deliciously amazing soup again! Note: I've tried A LOT of dairy free creamers, and coconut based ones that are thicker, etc. NutPods has seem to give my soups the thicker consistency I've needed. And they AREN'T paying me to say it!
Category: Recipe
#8: Poor Man's Garlic Bread and Spaghetti
This year has been hard. It's been a year of college applications, scholarship applications, and barely seeing my oldest her last year of high school. I'm HATING it! This recipe has always been our go to when I'm lazy but it's also been a staple since my college days and with college around the corner again I'm hoping it will be hers too!
Category: Recipe
#7: Meals to Feed Football Players and Other Large Crowds
This year introduced football to the family. I've now transitioned from soccer mom to football mom. Football moms are intense! And I learned VERY quickly that when feeding these boys I suddenly had to make A LOT of food. Here I listed some very simple ideas for making food for football players and large crowds on a modest budget. You'll see more of these next year with another football season around the corner!
Every Christmas and Superbowl my son makes sure that these are served front and center. He is always munching on them. These are a long time tradition in our family and I'm sure with them being one of the first questions I'm asked about making each holiday will continue to be a tradition for many years to come. Some recipes just never grow old!
#5: Diabetes and Marriage. When Is It Okay to Say You're Done?
I can't write about my ex today without going back to the catalyst of all posts. I had been struggling for several years when I wrote this post. I made a choice that day, stuck by it, and within a year would find that sometimes it just isn't enough. My world started to crumble shortly after writing this. Today instead of looking back on this post with sadness, I look back knowing that I did everything I could. To this day my late exes doctor's simple question sticks with me, “What do you want me to do for you if you choose not to do anything for yourself?” After exhausting every avenue of what I could I do for him, for our marriage, for our family what more could I do for him?
Diabetes must have been on a lot of people's minds this year because this article on the cost of insulin also became very popular this year when a teenager started to ration his insulin because he saw the financial burden it was on his parents.
Ugh! I HATE colitis sometimes. I hate my stomach. And A LOT of you do too because you reached out after my visit this year to the ER with some of the same concerns. I talked about the frustration of my latest ER visit--(same meds I could have at home just higher dose), the irritation at being told that after being sick for MONTHS all my labs looked fine (but I feel like crap!) and wondering if vitamin therapy would be a better option. I just don't feel like labs always measure what is going on underneath. And I've wondered if those of us with "functional" illness might benefit more from vitamin IV therapy if ER visits really only serve the purpose of giving you IV meds and stronger OTC meds?
#3: Sweet Service 16
Our daughter last year was struggling to celebrate her birthday--a teen's FAVORITE numbered birthday! It was her first birthday without her Dad and she decided while grieving her dad that she would do a service birthday. We had lot's of donations from friends and neighbors and every time you've found this article and reached out in person or via email since to let us know that you did something similar we want you to know that it just keeps us moving forward on those tough days.
#2: Easy Crispy Honey Garlic Tenders
This was by far one of our favorite new family recipes from the last year and my favorite photo I took. I've really been working on my photography a lot this year and this is one of my favorites--complete with my new dishes from Mexico!
#1: BIG Changes!
Oh my goodness, this was definetely one of the biggest years for change in our family. The kids and I had known we needed a change, but weren't quite sure what the next step was. Answers come in unexpected ways and sometimes not always in the ways you would expect. This one definetely required a leap of faith and some hope and trust for the future--something that is VERY hard to do when you've been through some of the things our family has. I'm so grateful and happy for this next chapter of life and grateful this man is by my side through it.
What are your goals for the new year? What kinds of posts would you like to see more of? Copycat recipes, life posts, counseling helps, etc.?
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