I love to cook! Now my husband may argue with this statement and claim that he believes it does not reflect my evening whine, not to be mistaken by my evening wine, because we all know I indulge in a glass or two.

But for reals (am I too old to say reals – you can tell me!) I do enjoy cooking. It is my second therapy behind blogging. The thought has crossed my mind to just cut all the bull crap and food blog, but let me explain the problem with food blogging. You need great photos. Amazing photos that make you want to eat your screen. I rarely have time for photos. For one, the lighting in my kitchen is poor for photos. It gives a yellow glow and two, my hungry family wants to eat and not wait on me to prep for a photo shoot before they dig in.

I do cook though and often. I actually enjoy hosting company and cooking for people. It is like I am saying “I like you” or “I love you” and let me show you through food.

With all that said, Pinterest is my go-to. I love how I can type in two ingredients I have on hand and in seconds a digital library of options are available to me. It is so easy! My Cheers to the Yum board may be the heaviest, but let me assure you, I keep it updated. If I try a Pinterest found recipe and it does not meet my standards or makes Nathan and I look at each other and say, “This is not so good!” then I delete the pin from my board, never to see it there again. Like that lemon and vegetable baked chicken. Ugh! So lemony that even I refused to push through the meal and instead used my fork to scrape the remaining food off my plate and into the trash and then the whole pan of leftovers.

Gnocchi, Sausage and Spinach Soup – Laughing Spatula

Healthy Baked Eggplant Parmesan – Andie Mitchell

Crispy Skin Oven Roast Chicken in Cast Iron Skillet – Best Recipe Box

Easy 30-Minute Homemade White Chicken Chili – Averie Cooks

Smothered Green Beans – Plain Chicken

Seafood Gnocchi with White Wine Sauce – Brown Sugar Mama

Mexican Fried Ice Cream Dessert – Life In The Lofthouse

Simple Is Best Dressing – Bon Appetit

There are so many more great recipes on my Pnterest Board and on the site in general, but these top recipes made my list for their flavor, ease to make and ultimately, that they were made over and over in our home in 2016.

And, hey, Happy New Year, friends. I strayed away from the typical – “What is my resolution” blog post and I hope you don’t mind. Sometimes I actually do not have the words to say for everything and when that happens I stress eat, so why not highlight some of the best foods to indulge in this year?

Enjoyed this post?  Awe, thanks. I am blushing. We can connect through facebook || twitter ||  instagram || pinterest || bloglovin’