Here's what our editors and readers loved this year.
by Melissa JamesonBuzzFeed Staff
We recently asked BuzzFeed Life's editors, writers, and readers to share the favorite thing they made this past year. Here's what they said.
1.Banana Cake with Nutella & Cream Cheese Frosting
2.Stovetop Carnitas
3.Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
4.Pesto, Tomato & Broccoli Pasta
5.Chocolate Avocado Pudding
6.Easy Weeknight Chicken
7.Original Plum Torte
8.Creamy Brussels Sprouts Shallot Dip
9.Homemade Pumpkin Butter & Sautéed Dates
"My favorite kinds of recipes are ones where you take a fruit or vegetable (here, squash and dates, respectively), add pantry staples to them (sugar and olive oil & salt, respectively), and go to town." —Rachel Christensen
"This was the year I discovered the wonders of self-rising flour, which makes these biscuits possible. They're great. I've made them jumbo-sized with chopped chives and used them for sandwiches. I've also put strawberries in them, then topped with sugar." —Sarah DiGregorio
12.Spaghetti Squash with Bacon, Spinach & Goat Cheese
Lauren Zaser / buzzfeed.com
Lauren Zaser / buzzfeed.com
"I love this recipe because it's full of vegetables but really only healthyish, on account of the goat cheese and the bacon. It's also great because it teaches you how to cook spaghetti squash in a way that makes it sweet and al dente, instead of water-logged and flavorless. —Christine Byrne
"This was my favorite thing I tried this year, and is quickly turning into the only bread I need. It's sturdy enough to toast and not too sweet, but still super dense and moist. Highly recommended the warm bread + ice cream combo, too." —Lauren Paul
"I love these because they taste like a Heath bar and are made completely out of things that I can pick up at CVS. I tried to make them for a friend recently and they ate so much of it that I had to make a second batch. (So keep that in mind when you're picking up ingredients!)" —Mackenzie Kruvant
"This has become a staple in my house. To make it even more delicious, I make my own enchilada sauce, use homemade stock, and add lime juice when it's done." —MrsH810
"This year I took a Thai cooking class and learned how to make my absolute favorite soup in the world: Tom Kha Gai. I always go to this recipe whenever I need to get my fix." —Sabrina Jayde, Facebook
"Super easy thanks to the Crock Pot, and it can feed nine people. I serve it with coleslaw, Mexican street corn, and black beans with rice." —Miss Mandi
"I've had this recipe for almost every lunch for a couple of months now, but instead of using a tortilla, I make it part of a burrito bowl. Add rice, lettuce, cheese, hot sauce, guacamole — whatever you'd like." —unituna
"We won a grilled cheese contest with this recipe, and some folks in Wisconsin thought it was one of the best things they ate this year as well." —Chasing Snacks, Facebook
"This is my new favorite comfort food. The only changes I made were to halve the original recipe (because it makes tons!) and to use the bacon grease in place of some of the butter. —Emily Handler, Facebook
The general rule [...] is that three major [emphasis added] changes are required to make a recipe "yours." However, even if you make such changes, it is a professional courtesy to acknowledge the source of or inspiration for the recipe.
It is 5 times more expensive to order delivery from a restaurant than it is to cook at home. Meal kits are 3 times more expensive than cooking from scratch. When cooking at home, you'll save most money on carb-based meals (vs eating them at a restaurant).
But if you compare two loaves similar to what you could make at home — one made with high-quality ingredients as opposed to one made with lesser quality ingredients — home baking becomes much cheaper. Homemade bread uses more expensive ingredients and is more nutritious and better-tasting than store-bought loaves.
A roux (pronounced 'roo') is the name given to the cooked mixture of butter and plain flour that thickens and forms the base of various sauces, particularly the white sauce (béchamel).
“Even 'I just always wanted to write a cookbook' is acceptable as long as you realize all the time and money that will go into it,” she says. “Cookbooks can take anywhere from 12-24 months from start to finish.”
What is the best format for a cookbook? The best way to format a cookbook is to dedicate two pages for each recipe. On the left page is usually the title, image and short description, and on the right page is a step-by-step instructions of the recipe.
If you really want to become a good cook, you have to commit to doing it regularly. Try to prepare all of your dinners on your own for one week to get yourself fully immersed in the kitchen. Simply approaching cooking with a positive mindset and a “can-do” attitude will make the process seem easier.
Recipe Keeper is the easy to use, all-in-one recipe organizer, shopping list and meal planner available across all of your devices. Enter your recipes with as much or as little information as you like. Copy and paste recipes from your existing documents or apps. Categorize your recipes by course and category.
A recipe can usually be considered “original” if you have changed three or more major ingredients, or three or more steps in the recipe process, and have written everything in your own words.
Determine the required yield of the recipe by multiplying the new number of portions and the new size of each portion. Find the conversion factor by dividing the required yield (Step 2) by the recipe yield (Step 1). That is, conversion factor = (required yield)/(recipe yield).
A general rule of thumb is: if you change three or more ingredients in the recipe, and rewrite the recipe instructions in your own voice, you can consider it your own. Even so, stating that the recipe was “adapted from” or “inspired by” the original recipe is a good idea.
Introduction: My name is Mrs. Angelic Larkin, I am a cute, charming, funny, determined, inexpensive, joyous, cheerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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