Many who know me know that I’m always looking for and trying new recipes. It has become a bit of an obsession throughout the years, but there are very few things in life for me that are more satisfying than a recipe that yields phenomenal results. I’ve now started testing and creating my own recipes after years of trying recipes from other food bloggers and I think it’s important for me to acknowledge how I got to where I am today in the kitchen.
The cooking skills I’ve acquired took practice and a lot of it. I wasn’t a great home cook when I first started cooking, but after years of reading, studying, and trying recipes I found on food blogs I can say that I’ve become proficient at providing delicious meals. For me, food blogs were a source of inspiration while meal planning and at the same time, without me knowing it right away, they became responsible for the skills and knowledge I acquired throughout the years in my kitchen.
Since I’m a newbie in the world of food blogging, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite recipe finds from other food blogs. It’s only fair that I show some love to the recipes and food blogs that have shaped my culinary journey. I’ve made all of the recipes below several times and I promise your taste buds will do a little jig if you try them out! I also hope you can a learn a few things, like I did, from making them.
Creamy Garlic Pasta by The Cheese Pusher. I first made this recipe about 7 years ago and my husband, Tim, can’t get enough of it. This recipe is incredibly easy from start to finish. It only requires one pot and there is minimal prep work. It’s not the healthiest, so I recommend loading it up with roasted or sautéed veggies.
The Best Meatballs and Sauce by Andie Mitchell. I’m currently consuming a predominantly vegetarian diet, but this is by far one of my all time favorite recipes and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. The meatballs are slightly different than your run of the mill meatballs because they feature mint and as weird as it might sound to you it completely elevates this dish taking it to an entirely different planet.
Classic Minestrone Soup by Cookie & Kate. First, I want to point out that any recipe you find on Cookie & Kate will knock your socks off. I’ve never been let down by a recipe on this food blog and I recommend this blog to everyone for this very reason. Just like many of the other recipes you will find on Cookie & Kate, this classic minestrone soup is a hearty soup that will warm your soul and won’t disappoint.
Best Vegetable Lasagna by Cookie & Kate. I told you right above this that Cookie & Kate has a bunch of great recipes, but what I neglected to tell you is that I’m obsessed with the recipes. This vegetable lasagna truly is the best and you should make it. LIKE RIGHT NOW.
Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas by Cookie & Kate. These enchiladas are full of flavor, absolutely delicious and provide a great alternative to the standard beef or chicken enchiladas that most people regularly make. I’m not trying to bring down regular beef or chicken enchiladas, but after you make these you will realize how regular beef and chicken enchiladas are a bit of a disgrace to the enchilada name.
Thai Red Curry with Vegetables by Cookie & Kate. I’m in love with this curry and I could eat it multiple times a week. I love that I can add whatever vegetables I want or have on hand and the dish comes together rather quickly. I crave thai food regularly and this recipe always fulfills my thai cravings.
Pulled Pork Tacos with Sweet Chili Slaw by How Sweet Eats. How Sweet Eats is another food blog that I cannot get enough of. The recipes are fun, inspiring and always hit the spot. There are several taco recipes on How Sweet Eats, but I think this one in particular is my favorite. My reasoning for it being my favorite: THE SWEET CHILI SLAW. When I first saw this recipe several years ago I almost skipped over making it because I didn’t think it was for me and I’ve never been more wrong in my life.
Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl by How Sweet Eats. I modify this recipe a little by omitting the chicken and adding roasted vegetables (usually broccoli). Also, when making this recipe I usually double it so we have more for leftovers. This is another frequent flyer in our house and I meal plan for it often.
Cheesy Turkey (or Chicken!) Tortilla Soup with Crispy Tortilla Strips by How Sweet Eats. This soup recipe changed my life. I honestly couldn’t care less about soups until I made this recipe and now I eat soup at least once a week. Most of the time I wish it was this soup, but you know that “predominantly vegetarian” lifestyle of mine gets in the way of this. I’m assuming you can easily omit the turkey or chicken and it would still be epic, but since I haven’t tried it for myself I can’t say for sure.
Fettuccine with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce by Cooktoria. I cannot take credit for finding this recipe and owe it all to one of my very favorite friends. My friend made this for me one night and I’ve been making it regularly ever since. I omit the chicken and found that the red pepper sauce goes exceptionally well with the pappardelle pasta that you can find at Trader Joe’s for $0.99. This is also a recipe where I roast or sauté a bunch of vegetables to go along with it to create balance because you know all of us basic’s are all about finding balance.
The Masters Egg Salad by Plain Chicken. This was the first egg salad recipe that I ever made and it was also the last because it was so great. I don’t want to be let down by any other egg salad recipes that likely won’t compare so this is the only egg salad allowed to be made in our household. I always eat this egg salad open-faced on a piece of toast with spinach because you know I’m all about that balance as I mentioned above.
Arugula Pesto Pasta with Garlic Shrimp by What’s Gaby Cooking. What’s Gaby Cooking is one of my favorite blogs and this is my favorite recipe from it. The arugula pesto is absolute perfection and the topping of shrimp will rock your world. From start to finish this recipe is a winner and I’m so glad that it’s in my life.
Greek Pita Sandwiches by A Couple Cooks. When I first made this recipe I couldn’t stop talking about it and told several people to make it. It’s an easy recipe to make and I’m always super excited for lunch the next day to have it for leftovers.
Chicken Shawarma by Recipe Tin Eats. This is another recipe that I made often before I consumed a mostly vegetarian diet and it has me drooling just thinking about it. If you make this recipe please, please, please promise to use chicken thighs. I know many people have this weird thing against eating dark meat from chicken, but honestly it tastes a lot better and is infinitely more tender than the breast of a chicken.
Easy Soft Flatbread by Recipe Tin Eats. I love this flatbread recipe and I’ve even made it vegan by subbing almond or cashew milk and olive oil for the milk and butter. I’ve used the flatbreads for the chicken shawarma mentioned above and I’ve also made it to go with some homemade hummus. These flatbreads take hardly any time to come together, requires ingredients most of you already have and quite frankly are far more delicious than the flatbreads you will find in a grocery store.
Chickpea Curry with Potato (Chana Aloo Curry) by Recipe Tin Eats. It’s been a hot second since I’ve made this curry and writing about it is giving me all the feels. In general, I love a good soul warming curry and this curry does just that.
Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce by Recipe Tin Eats. As you’ve likely put together by now, Recipe Tin Eats is another one of my favorite blogs. The recipes on this site are well developed and this recipe is no exception. Lamb was introduced to me later on in life and, in my humble opinion, when it is cooked correctly it is undeniably one of the best meats. If you have a hankering for some lamb, you should give this recipe a try! This recipe slowly cooks, as implied in the title, but the time will pass and you won’t regret the time put in once you get a taste of the results.
Super Stuffed Chipotle Sweet Potatoes by Love & Lemons. This is another recipe that makes a regular appearance in our house. I personally didn’t love Sir Kensington’s Chipotle Mayo when I tried it, so I top my stuffed sweet potatoes with a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt. When I first made this recipe I was quite skeptical about how we would like it, but Tim and I both love it.
My Favorite White Bread Recipe by Brown Eyed Baker. I started making this bread recipe a few months ago and nothing compares. In general, no bread you will ever buy in a grocery store will compare to homemade bread. It just can’t and I’m not sorry for being opinionated about this. My favorite part about this recipe is that it yields two loaves. You can either freeze one loaf while you devour the other or you can be a good friend and share. I recommend the latter.
Basic + Awesome Creamy Potato Soup by Pinch of Yum. I started making this potato soup this winter and we love it. I love that in addition to the milk that it’s in it, it doesn’t rely on adding copious amounts of cheese for more flavor. When I make this I omit the bacon to make it vegetarian and I truly love it.
Baked Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs by Just a Taste. This here is yet another recipe I was hesitant to make, but I’m so glad I gave it a try. Again, before the vegetarian diet, I made these regularly and always served them over rice with roasted broccoli.
Indian Turkey Meatballs over Rice by Bev Cooks. I LOVE this recipe and I’ll even admit that I would have never tried it if Bev of Bev Cooks didn’t create a blog post featuring all the recipes on her blog that she actually makes. This recipe was one of the recipes she actually makes and I totally understand why. It’s unique, delicious, hearty and extremely satisfying.