Year in Review: 2012 Recipe Round-up

The end of the year is time for reflection and possibly growth. Did I want to look back on 2012 and see what recipes my readers enjoyed most or did I want to look back and see how much I’ve grown? I created this round up with both of those things in  mind. Some of these are my personal favorite posts that never got much attention and some of them are my most popular posts. I picked these posts and recipes based on three things: The month they were posted in, if they were special to me this year and if you guys liked them too!

(1) Fruit & Oatmeal Flax Smoothie: Probably one of my most popular posts. Everyone loves a good smoothie. This recipe is perfect for helping your body get over the holiday indulgences.

(2) Quinoa Egg and Spinach Scramble: Another really great recipe that everyone seemed to love. I had some trouble with flavoring but I had some really great suggestions in the comments so be sure to read them as well.

(3) No-Bake Chocolate & Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars: A post that brings you back to my childhood and provides a really kick -butt, no bake recipe that is perfect for summer when you don’t want to turn on the oven… or for when you are just incredibly lazy and need some chocolate.

(4) Apple & Pear Quinoa Parfait with Lavender: I picked this post because I was honest with myself in it. Also, its good for you, pretty damn tasty and gluten free.

(5) Strawberry-Basil Popsicles: I loved these little guys. I ate most of them in the same day. It was also featured on Fine Cooking Magazines “Best of the Blogs” Section!

(6) Cherry-Wheat Beer Popsicles: I went on a popsicle kick this year. This post is one of my favorites because it highlights beer for fathers day and I love my dad! June was a hard month to decide which post to feature because these Quinoa & Black Bean Stuffed Peppers relate to Joe in a way. But, these popsicles were also inspired by Joe who had me try Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer.

(7) Egg and Potato Skillet: My birthday! and breakfast! Two B words I absolutely adore! Need I say more?

(8) Pesto Quinoa with Local Tomatoes and Corn: I wrote this for slave-labor free tomatoes and it was featured on DailyBuzz Food Top 9.

(9) Cinnamon Sugar Sweet Potato Chips: Chips. My biggest vice. I love them. I love these. You should love these too.

(10) Simple Apple Cake:  Close to my heart because it is a family recipe, easy to make and I think it is pretty great!

(11) Apple and Banana Baked Oatmeal: A pretty popular post and I  get why, who doesn’t love a quick easy breakfast?

(12) Banana Topped Spiced Pancakes: This was the first time I’ve ever made pancakes that looked pretty. So in love with this recipe.

In 2012, I was featured on some cool places around the internet, was asked to do something completely epic come June (I know I am so cryptic, I will share soon enough!) and was published on the cover of a BOOK! My graduation is a semester away and I can’t wait for 2014 so I can look back on how awesome I know 2013 will be.