Recipes

It’s officially 2015 and I’m counting down the best recipes of 2014! These were the top performing recipes on Smile Sandwich this year, and some of the best ones I made! And ate. YOU’RE WELCOME. 

Well, I meant to have this post up BEFORE the new year, but then I was just having too much fun to get to it. Better late than never, right?

It’s been such an exciting year for me and my little blog. On January 1, 2014, guess how many pageviews I had.

Seriously guess …..

You’re wrong.

It was 34. At that time, I was all like “woohoo 34 people looked at my blog today, I’m so famous.” But in reality, 15 of those were probably me looking at my own blog. And about 10 were probably my mom.

Now …. check this out. My numbers have gone up, up, up and my obsession with the Sandwich has become a little out of control. If you’re considering starting a blog, DO IT. It’s a rewarding hobby that makes you feel totally famous. Plus it might even pay for one bar tab per month. Win.

Seeeeeee! (My numbers were down in December because I was switching jobs and blogging less, but still … I came a long way this year). *Pats herself on back.*

Here are the 10 of the best recipes of 2014 on Smile Sandwich. These are the recipes that performed the best on Pinterest and brought the most eyes to my corner of the interwebs this year.

1. Amish One Pan Ground Beef and Cabbage Skillet

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Seriously The Best Green Bean Casserole Recipe Ever. Once you make this homemade from-scratch green been casserole, you’ll never make the kind with canned soup again! Perfect addition to your holiday dinner. 

TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Which means you’re probably busy scrambling to decide which dish-to-pass you’re going to bring to the holiday party. Well, Jordan’s here to help.

Green bean casserole is a holiday staple that really only comes around during Thanksgiving and Christmas in my family. Since recently discovering the best green bean casserole recipe ever, it’s become one of my favorite dishes to look forward to in November and December.

The creamy homemade sauce is full of flavor, and using fresh green beans gives it a homemade taste you won’t get using canned ingredients. You can make your own crispy onion straws to go on top if you want, but we just used the store-bought kind.

Either way, I guarantee this green bean casserole recipe will turn veggie haters into lovers! Even those who don’t like green bean casserole will love this dish.

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My mom has been making these 30-Minute Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns for years. They’re super easy to make and are the perfect addition to brunch. 

IT’S CHEAT MONTH! Can you tell? I promise in the new year we’ll get back to healthy recipes, but these are tried and true family favorites that I just have to share for the holidays. Get out those extra large sweaters and your stretchy pants and we’ll make it through this month together. Come January 1, we’ll talk treadmills and leafy greens.

These hand-held bites of heaven have been the star of family brunches for years. It’s pretty much impossible to not go back for a second … err third. They’re made using refrigerated dough, so they couldn’t be easier to throw together. After baking, you have perfect warm pecan sticky buns that caramelize in the bottom of the pan that make them taste amazing.

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These Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies might be the best cookies I’ve ever made. They’re the perfect healthy Christmas cookie, but you’ll want to make them all year round. No flour or butter!

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY. I know, I’m crazy. But I just had to share these Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies in time for your holiday baking this weekend.

I don’t lie when I say these might be the best healthy cookies I’ve made. They’re made without any butter or flour! Peanut butter oatmeal cookies are perfectly soft and chewy and full of peanut butter flavor.

These are loaded with peanut butter, which gives them an amazingly soft yet chewy texture and just the right amount of peanut butter flavor. These aren’t dry or tasteless like some other healthy cookie recipes – trust me, nobody will be able to tell they’re healthy.

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This Swiss cheese version of classic chicken enchiladas is perfect for people who don’t like a lot of spice! They’re easy to make and can even be prepared ahead of time for a quick dinner solution. 

Don’t these look ahhh-mazing? Anything that’s covered in cheese is almost a guaranteed winner in my mind. These Swiss Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas are another creation by my dear mom. I have so many great memories of the food she would make us growing up. When we were young, she would wake up every day and bake muffins hoping that we would take a few bites out of one on our way out the door.

When we got a bit older, we were all involved in sports, and we could always count on a hot meal to be ready when we got home from practice. I don’t think we ever appreciated it as much as we should have. I sure as heck wish I had that service now!

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Anyone who loves chocolate will love these 4-Ingredient Death by Chocolate Bars … and you’ll especially love how easy they are to make! They’re chocolate chip cookie bars with chunks of Snicker’s candy and festive M&M’s. The perfect easy Christmas dessert. 

Chooocccooollaaattteeeee.

It’s currently 8 a.m. and I could eat one of these 4-Ingredient Death by Chocolate Bars right now.

Talk about the perfect easy Christmas dessert. These only take four simple ingredients and they make enough bars to feed a hungry Christmas crowd. Take these to your holiday party this year and you’ll definitely be the star of the party. You can also change up the candy on top to fit different tastes and times of year.

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This Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Casserole is like a baked spaghetti casserole that uses squash in place of pasta! The super easy recipe only uses a few ingredients. 

Let’s talk about casseroles. Many people fear the word “casserole” because it brings to mind a sloppy mess of canned vegetables, canned soup and other miscellaneous ingredients baked together into a complete meal.

I, for one, never feared the casserole. We grew up on casseroles. I would get home from basketball practice starving and Mom would have a hot casserole ready to dish up in large proportions. No complaints here (unless it was tater tot casserole … I just cannot make myself like that one).

Although I still only cook for one, I never truly appreciated the ease of preparing a casserole that would feed a whole bunch of hungry people. Now I’m up to my ears in this Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Casserole … but that just means I get to eat it for lunch all week!

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This recipe for How to Make the Easiest and Best Christmas Cookies is an old family secret that uses a sugar cookie mix and one secret ingredient that takes them to the next level. You’ll never make Christmas cookies the same again. 

Let’s face it. Christmastime is busytime. And just when your office or friends ask you to join their Christmas cookie exchange, you probably also have all your Christmas shopping to do, are busy at work, and don’t have any time to bake 7 dozen cookies.

I feel ya.

That’s where this recipe comes in. I didn’t call it How to Make the Easiest and Best Christmas Cookies ever. They really are super duper easy. And they really are the best cutout sugar cookies to make in a pinch.

These Christmas cookies use a pre-made sugar cookie mix, but no one will ever be able to tell once they taste them. The secret is one special ingredient: almond extract! Seriously – just 1 teaspoon of almond extract added the mix gives these cookies amazing flavor. My family won’t accept sugar cookies any other way.

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These gooey, soft homemade cinnamon rolls are perfect for a weekend breakfast or the holidays. They’re super simple to make and come out perfectly soft in the center and just a bit crisp on the outside. 

I finally watched Julie & Julia for the first time over Thanksgiving break after a friend recommended it to me. Of course, I loved the fact that it was about a food blogger, but one part that stood out to me was when Julie first started her blog and didn’t have very many readers yet. A notification popped up for a comment that she was all excited about, when she realized that it was just her mom commenting.

This made me laugh because I’m sure a lot of us bloggers can relate. At first, my mom was the only one who commented on my blog and she’s still one of my biggest fans. But a lack of readers at first is no reason to stop blogging! I’m still (slowly but surely) gaining more eyes on my corner of the interwebs, but I continue to blog for me.

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Not your average turkey meatballs. These Baked Sriracha Turkey Meatballs are delicious turkey meatballs that are baked in the oven and slathered in a sweet Sriracha glaze. 

I love Sriracha sauce so much, I wish I could marry it. And the same goes for meatballs.

So pretty much when I dream of my wedding, these Baked Sriracha Turkey Meatballs are standing at the end of that isle. They’re that good.

The sauce reminds me of a teriyaki sauce with an extra kick of spice. These would be great over brown rice or quinoa so all that delicious sauce soaks into the rice, but I just ate them plain! These would also be great as party meatballs – just roll them a little bit smaller and serve them with tooth picks. Then sit back and watch your guests give you all the compliments.

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