Top 10 Recipes of 2013

Tags

2013, blogging, collection, milestones, recipe, resolutions

I love the New Year because it gives us all an opportunity to reflect on the past year. This past year has been a rough one for me personally. It forced me to stretch my personal boundaries and dig deep into my well of inner strength just to make it through. But, like all things, even bad times come to and end, leaving you will lessons learned and even more courage/faith in yourself.

This year has also been one of growth for the blog as well. AnnaShortcakes had 41,965 views this year, with an average of 115 views per day. That’s over 200% more views than last year! I can’t wait to see how the blog changes and grows in 2014.

Thank you so much for reading AnnaShortcakes!

Top 10 Recipes of 2013

Rustic Manicotti

Lavender Liqueur

Rosemary Garlic Grilled Chicken

One Jar Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Thai Crab Soup

Vietnamese Shrimp Quinoa Salad

Mustard Marinated Grilled Brussels Sprouts

Spicy Crispy Chickpeas

Coconut Cranberry Chocolate Granola Bars

Limoncello-Gin Cocktail with Thyme

 

2013: A Year in Books

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2013, best reads, books, goal, goodreads, reading

This year, my goal was to read 50 books. I didn’t make it. But in my defense I read three books that had nearly 900 pages each. They should count for 2 books right?!!

The best books I read this year were:

A couple of other honorable mentions are:

What is the best book you read this year?

In My Kitchen ~ May 2013

Tags

2013, cocktail, flowers, kitchen, lavender, lemon, marshmallows, May, sea salt

May brings flowers to my yard….

May brings fantastic gifts from wonderful friends to my kitchen….

Such as spearmint marshmallows (you can buy them here)…

 

Alaskan Pure Sitka Spruce Tip Sea Salt (you can buy it here)…

May brings lemon lavender cocktails to my sunny porch….

 

May brings my birthday (27!) and another list of things to do to celebrate the next year of life…

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out figjamandlimecordial for more In My Kitchen posts.

 

Happy National Pi Day!!!

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2013, berry, celebrate, cobbler, dessert, pi day, pie, Southern

National Pi Day is a celebration of the Greek letter  “π”, which represents the constant ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.

You know you remember this from algebra, right?

Ha…

Truth is, I don’t either.

What I do remember is that I love PIE! Apple, peach, pecan, pumpkin, chocolate, coconut, berry, lemon, lime, custard… You name it, I like it… And I bet you do it. So to celebrate National Pi Day, why don’t you whip up a delicious pie. If you use this recipe, it won’t take much time at all.

A Berry Medley Pie

• 3 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen then thawed
• 2 pre-made pie crusts
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 3/4 cup white sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small sauce pot, combine the berries, cornstarch, and sugar until well combined.

In a 9 inch glass pie plate, lay out the first pie crust evenly. Pour the warmed berries into the crust. Top the crust as you would desire, using the lattice pattern or laying the second crust over the berries, being sure to cut in some air holes in pretty pattern. Using strips of foil, cover the pie crust edges so they don’t burn. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy!

In My Kitchen – March 2013

Tags

2013, food, kitchen, march, strawberries

In my kitchen…

… are two adorable little mugs from my grandmother. They were freebies from Nestle, back when companies used to entice you to buy their products with promises of neat little things (provided you collect and mail in enough UPC codes). I remember drinking weak instant coffee out of these mugs when I was little. When Grammy offered them to me, I was thrilled to get them. Now when I am homesick, I drink out of them and remember good things from my childhood.

In my kitchen…

… is Baby Lurch, the new aloe vera plant. My friend Christine has the original Lurch, who apparently is trying to take over her home. I hope Baby Lurch is an enthusiastic grower too!

In my kitchen…

… is this adorable little swizzle stick. I bought it at an antique store years ago because it was so neat. I don’t really have a use for it so it will decorate Baby Lurch’s temporary cup home.

In my kitchen…

… is a gorgeous bowl of strawberries. I couldn’t resist them. They tasted as good as they looked.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out figjamandlimecordial for more In My Kitchen posts.