I look forward to writing this post at the end of every year. To say that this was the biggest and best year yet for In Katrina’s Kitchen is an understatement. Of course I want to say thank you for reading my blog and for sharing my recipes with your friends and family. To think that I have a small place in your birthday celebrations and family gatherings is overwhelming. I love when you share your photos with me!

If you aren’t already following In Katrina’s Kitchen on Instagram I hope you pop over and connect with me there.

I love sharing sneak peeks with you,

behind-the-scenes shots,

and little bits here and there about what is going on in my real life.

I should also say a huge thank you for sticking with me as I wrote my first cookbook! It was a LOT of work and I wasn’t able to be as present here as I have in past years, but I’m so proud of this accomplishment and grateful for your enthusiasm and support. The Biscoff Cookie and Spread Cookbook!

Let’s take a look at 2014’s most viewed and shared recipes:

10. Mile High S’mores Pie 

I love that this pie made the list because I prepared it and shot it in my grandmother’s pie plate. Both of my grandmothers have passed but I’m happy to have little reminders of them throughout my kitchen.

9. Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pretzel Nuggets

I made 3 batches of these in 1 week. No joke- these things are addictive!

8. Ombre Fruit and Yogurt Cups

I happily developed this recipe for the American Dairy Association – one of my most favorite brands to work with. My growing boys need a  filling, healthy start to their day. They are eating machines!

7. Sugar Cookie Dough Cups

We delivered these delicious candies to my son’s teachers and bus driver. Having requested the recipe, my kiddo tried explaining that his mom makes desserts and takes pictures of them for a living. #howembarrassing

6. Rainbow Cheesecake

It wouldn’t be a Top 10 here on In Katrina’s Kitchen without rainbow colors and sprinkles! This is my family’s favorite cheesecake recipe jazzed up with a hint of lemon and a whole lot of color. It’s just plain FUN!

5. Strawberry Chantilly Cocktails

After having made these cocktails both of my boys wanted them so badly that I used some delicious cream soda to make a non-alcoholic “mocktail” version for them- yum!

4 Lego Cake

Having gone through this list I’m just now realizing I never shared the Lego head pops with you! I even promised!!! Ooops! If you still want them I’ll make a quick tutorial to show you how I put them together.

3. No-Bake Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches

I made 2 batches this summer, and the neighborhood kids were disappointed when they were all gone.

2. Surprise-Inside Dotty Cake

I loved this cake because I made it in honor of my good friend Amanda (I am Baker blog) to celebrate her new book Surprise-Inside Cakes. I think I was looking forward to her book coming out more than my own. 😉 Seriously though this cake came together quickly and I decided not to even frost it… like, whoa!

1. Rise and Shine Skinny Coffee Smoothie

Controversy!!! I kind of cannot believe that this smoothie recipe came in at number 1, (the irony on this blog!) but it sure is delicious and we all know how much I love coffee so I’ll take it! I can see where my labeling a recipe as “skinny” could potentially be frustrating because everyone has different health goals. However this smoothie recipe uses whole foods and no chemical sweeteners. I personally feel refreshed after drinking this following a good workout.

On the same note as last year, the social media favorite of the year was this recipe for my family’s Best Sugar Cookie. Thank you for making it your family’s favorite too. ♥ It was viewed over 1 million times in 2014 alone!

Cheers to 2015!

The post Top 10 Recipes of 2014 appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

Wow- 2013 you were a delicious year! Before we take a look at the most viewed recipes of 2013 let me just take a moment to say thank you. Thanks for reading my silly stories and laughing with me. Thank you for celebrating my joys and helping me through the tough times. This year was certainly one of highs and lows. You all followed along my journey as I trained for and completed my first half marathon. Wow. That was amazing. And you even hung around when I got very very sick and spent the better part of 3 months in and out of the hospital. Through months and months of surgery and recovery I had many many people send me encouraging emails, write delicious guest posts, and send me care packages that made me cry like a baby.

Alright- let’s take a look behind the apron!

(more…)

The post Top 10 Recipes of 2013 appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

10. Oreo Ice Cream Cakes My ode to America’s Favorite Cookie. It’s not every day you turn 100. Also, I’m pretty sure there as some kind of rule about having a dessert blog and making something with these birthday cake Oreos.

9. Easter Egg Hunt Cupcakes In which I describe my fear of the Easter Bunny and why I dislike Easter egg hunts. I’m not really a hater but let’s just all admit that they are much more of a pain than they are fun. Anybody with me? So I piped some chocolate grass and hid chocolate eggs in it.

8. Patchwork Winter Mitten Cookies I had this recipe/technique tucked away in my little idea binder for years before I finally did something about making these cookies happen. I’m so pleased with the way they turned out that I vowed to make more versions…but I haven’t. Next year? A cool little (BIG!) bonus was that a publication named Parents Magazine.

7. Super Bowl Sundaes I pretty much lay out why I am the coolest mom on the block in this post. Our poor children think we are so funny and hilarious right now. In 10 years, I will whip out these sundaes for my son’s friends, and they will be totally unimpressed.

6. Cotton Candy Mousse What can I say? I like pink things. And I like sleep. Sleeping in—that’s what Mom wants for Mother’s Day. Is anybody listening?

5. Salted Caramel Cheesecake Shooters This one makes me laugh. I totally named this dessert the wrong thing because I got lots of emails from very disappointed people saying that they were under the impression that these contained alcohol. So, all you mixologists out there- this idea’s on me.

4. Biscoff Mousse Late in 2011, we found out that our son had a peanut allergy so 2012 brought us lots of changes in our house. My inaugural experience with this deliciousness was in my first post of 2012 so I guess you could say this is the Year of Biscoff. Biscoff Bark

3. Rainbow Swirl Cake Controversial or not, this was a fun cake to make and eat.

2. Layered Drinks Again, looking back is always fun because there are surprises along the way. I had NO IDEA that these were my second most popular recipe of 2012. I distinctly remember talking about this post the day before I published it. I was kind of on the fence about it. It was one of those recipes that isn’t really a recipe, and you are sure that everyone already knows how to do it anyway, so why even bother posting it? I certainly didn’t invent it but I hope the post cleared up some of the reasoning behind why it works. I was so happy when pictures started pouring in from readers who made it at home with their children!

1. Cadbury Cream Cookie Cups Born out of sheer laziness the popularity of these cookie cups took me by surprise. I set out to make homemade Cadbury eggs and things got way too messy and involved for my patience. So I stuffed the creamy filling into a chocolate chip cookie cup. Sugar overload? Yes. Bliss? Yes. I admit that I kind of get a giggle when people pin my recipes with a swear word as explanation.

These little guys were so popular that they even made a television appearance without me. As in, my words and exact instructions were copied and pasted onto a website and made live on morning TV. That was…umm…interesting. It would have been cooler if I were invited to speak the words myself, but that is neither here nor there. I’m glad you all liked them—or hated them. But thanks for looking anyway.

So, if you are new here, this is what you can expect more of in 2013: lots and lots of calories. It’s time to go for a run.

The post Top 10 Recipes of 2012 appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

It’s time for the 2nd annual I’ll Bring the COOKIES virtual blogger event here at In Katrina’s Kitchen- a new cookie recipe every day leading up to Christmas! {Named because every holiday gathering I’m invited to I always say, “I’ll bring the cookies!”} There is something about the whole process of making cookies that I find joy in- the preparing, the rolling, shaping, baking, packaging, and especially the sharing!  The best part is that I get to open my virtual kitchen up to some of my favorite bloggers. And of course what is a blogger party without lots of fun prizes? Get yourself ready for some serious cookie business and some awesome, unique giveaways throughout the month of December.

This is how it’s going to go down- every day I’ll be featuring a new guest blogger and her cookie recipe. My hope is that you come back every day and show these ladies how fabulous they are by commenting and/or sharing their delicious cookies. You can come straight to my homepage or if it is easier you can bookmark this roundup page. I will be updating this page daily with links to each recipe and giveaway so you won’t miss a thing!

You can get involved too! If you have a blog you can share your cookies on Twitter/Instagram with the hashtag #BringtheCOOKIES and tag me @katrinaskitchen, or tag me on Facebook.

If you do not have a blog and want to share your favorite holiday cookie recipe (please do!!) feel free to share it in the comments section of this post.

So, who is bringing the cookies this year?!

December 1 Chocolate Coated Marshmallow Red Velvet Cookies from I am Baker

December 2 Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from Hoosier Homemade

December 3 Gingerbread Cookie Rings from The Decorated Cookie

December 4 Mini Oatmeal Crème Pies from Gimme Some Oven

December 5 Oatmeal Peppermint Cookies from Baked by Rachel

December 6 Peanut Butter Cup Cookies from Glorious Treats

December 7 Christmas Magic Cookie Bars from Love From the Oven

December 8 Small Batch Snickerdoodles from Dollhouse Bake Shoppe

December 9 Peppermint Shortbread Cookies from Shugary Sweets

December 10  SweetSugarBelle’s Favorite Gingerbread Recipe by Sweet Sugarbelle

December 11 Peppermint Buttercream Cake Mix Cookies from TidyMom

December 12 Peppermint Stick Cookies from Munchkin Munchies

December 13 Gingerbread Madeleine Cookies from Fake Ginger

December 14  Peppermint Meringue Cookies from Lila Loa

All my love and prayers to those who spent last night without their babies. My heart is still breaking for you. In light of this tragedy in Connecticut, cookie posting at In Katrina’s Kitchen for #BringtheCOOKIES has been postponed through the weekend as we all (hopefully) step away from our computers and spend time cuddling and laughing and being present with our friends and family. My love to all of you- Katrina

December 18 Black Forest Kiss Thumbprint Cookies from Pass the Sushi 

December 18 Holiday Funfetti Shortbread Cookies from Rachel Cooks

December 19 Cinnamon Clove Coffee Cookies from Bake Your Day

December 19 Eggnog Cookies with Eggnog Glaze from Baked Bree

December 20 Low Carb/Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Bars from All Day I Dream About Food 

December 20 Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Chocolate and Carrots

December 21 Peppermint Snowball Cookies from Inside Bru Crew Life

December 22 Sweet and Salty Buttered Popcorn Cookies from Dine & Dish

December 23 White Christmas Pie Cookies from Created by Diane

The post I’ll Bring the Cookies 2012: A New Cookie Every Day in December appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

  I have been spending my evenings in bed tucked away with my Xyboard tablet browsing Pinterest. {{I’ve already talked about how Pinterest on Android = winning}} Be jealous. Anyhoo- I started noticing that my Creepy Peepers Halloween Jell-O was popping up a lot while I was browsing. In fact that little recipe is being featured in an upcoming edition of The Times- Britain’s oldest newspaper! Sweet! Want to keep an eye out for that for me? 😉 I don’t think they deliver to Ohio.

 I am working on some fun new fall recipes but I thought I would round up a few of the oldies but goodies here in one place for you. Click on the picture or the link to be taken to the recipe post.

Creepy Peepers Halloween Jell-O

Oreo Candy Bars

A Cute Hoot Open Faced Whoopie Pies

Fruit and Veggie Bread

Monster Mash Popcorn Mix

Hey Turkey! Pops

Peanut Butter Buckeye Pie

Soft, Chewy, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Homemade Butterfingers

DIY Jack-O-Lantern Cookies

Pumpkin Pie Candy Cups

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Wireless Midwest Savvy Gourmets program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product. I was not compensated for a positive review.

The post Fall Favorites {Recipe Rewind} appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

In those first couple of weeks I was smitten with the encouragement and welcome I received in the food blogging community. I have since met some very funny and talented people and I’m happy to say that I now have internet friends to add to my real-life friends. Woot!<

I really didn’t want this post to be all about me -boring!!- so I invited some of my favorite food bloggers to share their first (or early) posts with you. We all start somewhere!  Six of the bloggers featured today are either already published or are soon-to-be published.

{Click on any image to be taken to that blogger’s post.}

Sweet Pepper Relish Dip Since the pictures in my first post aren’t too too horrible I thought I would highlight a particularly cringe-worthy photo and post with you from my first few weeks. This dip is so yummy! But seriously, have you ever seen anything less appetizing than that photo? I can’t even pretend to be remotely interested in eating that. ~Katrina

All Day I Dream About Food

Homemade Yogurt It’s actually a favourite post because it was the first time I made yogurt at home and it worked so well.  The pictures sure aren’t anything to write home about, though! It was my 4th post ever and it didn’t get a single comment.  But homemade yogurt in your crockpot is so easy, it’s definitely worth a read! ~Carolyn

Bake at 350

Give Thanks Decorated Cookies When I started my blog 4 years ago, I wasn’t even sure what a “food blog” was.  My cousins and I all had “family blogs” and I had seen a few crafting/home type blogs from there.  I got the wild idea that I could start a blog and share how to decorate cookies.  As you can see, I was scared to say much of anything (not a problem anymore), and my pictures (well, picture) were (was) teeny-tiny. ~Bridget

Baked By Rachel

Easy Meatloaf I chose what I felt was one of the worst picture posts early on. This was posted in February of 2010, my fourth post ever. Who doesn’t love bland looking slabs of pressed meat by evening kitchen lighting? I think meatloaf might be one of the hardest items to photograph even in good lighting. ~Rachel

A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis

Clams with Linguini I shudder to share this post with you, but it was one of my first posts after joining Foodbuzz, which really was the beginning of my blogging for other people…lol,  before then I didn’t even include images (as bad as they were). Here is still an entrée that finds itself on our table at home almost every week! ~Chef Dennis

Glorious Treats

My first post is the cream cheese frosting recipe I use, and I still link back to it all the time.  It’s one of my favorite recipes, and I use it often. The post is from Feb 27th, 2010.  I had a little “head start” because pre blogging I was sharing my photos on Flickr for quite a while… don’t make me show you some of those first photos! 🙂 If you were really looking for sad/bad photos, I did share a couple of my earliest food photos in this post entitled The Glorious Truth (2010). I guess we’re checking our pride at the door with this one!  ~Glory

I am Baker

Christmas Cake

{Amanda is super-busy meeting a deadline for her COOKBOOK this week! She was kind enough to let me poke around on her blog and share an old post with you as we all celebrate our blogging beginnings. I seriously could have spent HOURS staring in amazement at her gorgeous creations. I made it all the way back to 2009 and thought I would show off her cheerful Christmas Cake. Look at that smooth white surface. In true I am Baker-style there is a delightful surprise for the lucky person who cuts the first slice!}

Pass the Sushi

Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta

Oooh shudder….. lol! This was not my first post on my domain, but this was the first time I actually started posting regularly and made a hobby of it. The pasta really is killer, both for your weight and in flavor and I am hoping to make it again soon to update the recipe with some real pictures. ~Kita

Picky Palate

Creamy Chicken Italiano This post is from October 2007, the first month I started blogging.  This was a recipe of mine that was in a Gooseberry Patch Cookbook.  I remember taking that photo with my  little point and shoot camera at night under my microwave light, lol!  It’s so fun to see  how far we’ve all come and how much we’ve learned over the years 🙂 ~Jenny

Recipe Girl

Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce Jan, 2008. I set up my blog on a whim via blogspot.  I didn’t really know a whole lot about how it all worked, but soon I became absorbed in the wonderful community of food bloggers by visiting a zillion blogs and getting to know everyone.  In those first few months, I blogged every. single. day… and I wonder what the heck I was thinking!!  That was a lot of work.  Nowadays I’ve mellowed it out to 2 or 3 times a week.  I love this blogging thing just as much as I did when I started (or dare I say MORE?)  ~Lori

The Decorated Cookie

The Endless Possibilities of Cookies This is my very first post ever from September 6, 2008. The picture of Elvis is from my first book, Cookie Sensations, published way back in ’07 which is near impossible to find now. I started “the decorated cookie” as a platform for my web biz, Chic Cookies, which sold cookie decorating kits that I designed. Back then I was all cookies cookies cookies. Scroll through those early posts, too, for a glimpse of some groan-worthy photographs and clearly-novice blogging. Fast forward to today, and the web biz is gone and blogging took me far beyond cookies to marshmallows, cake pops, cupcakes, cakes and more. Now my next book, Sugarlicious, out next month has all of those things, thanks to my blogging journey. Another blogging bonus? All the sweet friends I’ve made. ~Meaghan

I really want to say a huge thank you to you all for reading and trying my recipes. I love to hear from you so I appreciate when you post notes or pictures on my facebook page and send me your emails. And thank you so much to all of the bloggers who took a walk down memory lane and were brave enough to let me share their first posts! Here’s to 2012!

The post Celebrating My First Year with YOU appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

Even if you are a regular around here I thought I would take you behind the scenes and reveal some of my thoughts about the Top 10 recipes of 2011 here on In Katrina’s Kitchen. Let’s go behind the apron…

This popcorn snack mix was inspired by the googly edible eyes I saw one day at the store.

What kind of person sees googly eyes and thinks I need to buy those and put them into my popcorn?

Also this is how we found out my youngest son was allergic to peanut butter. The sneaky little toddler swiped a fistfull of the cereal and broke out into a rash. He’s since been tested and confirmed and we are now proud card carriers of the epi-pen club.

This is a new-to-me frosting technique that I used this year. The name was born as I realized it literally took me 5 minutes to pipe a whole tray of these pretty cupcakes.

Who knew that my teenage brother’s camo cupcakes would make it into my Top 10 list?

If you would like to see the most unappetizing picture of frosting ever (no, seriously) click here.

These Mounds Brownies went crazy over on Pinterest. It was shocking because this happened weeks after the original post.

The best part about these brownies is that they start with a box. {Shh!} And end with a can of frosting. {Gasp!} But the middle is totally homemade. You could even go cut down your own coconut and shred it if that would make you feel better.

This cheesecake was a Happy 10 Year Wedding Anniversary to my husband!

We are high school sweethearts though, and have actually been together since 1995.

He is 6’5″ tall and I am 5′ tall. People point and stare at us.

You guys like brownies. And peanut butter. Win.

This was back in the first few weeks of my blog.

My 4-year-old son was literally inches away from me the whole time I was taking the pictures for this post. He was snapping his own pictures with his camera that he got for Christmas. Adorbs.

I made these Cookie Monster cookies to soothe my conscience after buying my son’s first birthday cake.

There was blue frosting all over my house after that party.

First Foodgawker acceptance. First Tastespotting acceptance. First Foodbuzz Top 9.

A few weeks into blogging and these Thin Mints are what made me fall in love with it.

I hoarded candy corn this year so I ended up having to melt a bag in the microwave and mix it with a half-eaten jar of peanut butter.

These Homemade Butterfinger Candies were re-blogged many times and even got some love from Food Network Canada. Everyone who tried these LOVED them.

Except my husband’s co-workers who were absolutely disgusted by them. They hated them.

Grandpa crackers. That’s what these are called in my house. My dad looooooves him some Cheez-Its, so as a toddler my son described them as Grandpa Crackers.

I wasn’t even sure if other people even knew what Cheez-Its were. But you people came out of the woodwork. You looooooooove yourself some cheesy crackers too!

I absolutely adore the dish I put these crackers in to photograph. I got it at a Goodwill store for under a dollar. Score!

Hilarious. Scandelous. This cheesecake was not supposed to happen.

My husband wasn’t crazy about the flavors going on here so I just never got around to posting it. A few months later I needed to post something so I threw together the old pictures with a few words of explanation then hit publish.

Wowza. I’m glad I did!

Those were your favorites. Some of my favorites this year were:

Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream
Giant Soft Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Creepy Peepers Halloween Jell-O
and
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hard Shell Ice Cream Topping

The post Behind the Apron: Top 10 recipes of 2011 appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

I want to give a HUGE Thank You to the bloggers who participated in I’ll Bring the Cookies this year; I have had so much fun! I am honored to have your beautiful and unique cookies on my blog. Also, thank you to all of the sponsors who gave everyone chances at some really great giveaways. I hope you all will come back Monday for a big grand prize giveaway. It’s BIG.

Mark your calendars, people. BIG

An it’s-okay-if-Santa-didn’t-bring-me-what-I-asked-for big.

{**Hint: It starts with a Kitchen and ends with an Aid**}

!

White Thin Mints, In Katrina’s Kitchen

The post I’ll Bring the COOKIES 2011 Wrap Up appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

Click here for instructions on Rice Krispie Snowmen

I hope you didn’t miss a thing, but in case you did…

Gingerbread Men Sandwich Cookies, Munchkin Munchies

Cranberry Molasses Cookies, Baked by Rachel

Peppermint Bark STUFFED Cookies, Love From The Oven

Chocolate Frosted Cupcake Tops, What Megan’s Making

Chocolate Espresso Wafers, Not Rachael Ray

What a week! If you are just now joining us for the virtual cookie party be sure to check out all of the cookies here. We have one more week to go so I hope you’re not sick of cookies yet! As promised I have 2 more baking giveaways for you today.

Or how about $25 to Sweet! Baking & Candy Making Supply? Yet another company I am honored to work with. Think of all the edible googly eyes you could buy! Or Sprinkles! If you are ever wondering what to buy me I assure you that you can’t go wrong with sprinkles. Just saying.

There you have it- two generous companies, two winners!

This Giveaway is CLOSED. A winner has been chosen and the prize(s) have been fulfilled.

Please use the Rafflecopter entry form below. You will be entered into both of the giveaways. There are LOTS of ways to enter so I’m sure you can find a few that suit your fancy. All entries must have a US mailing address and must be over 18. Winners will be announced here on Friday, December 23rd. Winners will be contacted by email and must respond on/by December 26th to claim your prize. I was not compensated in any way for these giveaways and as always opinions expressed are 100% my own. Good luck!

The post I’ll Bring the COOKIES Week 3 Wrap-Up and Giveaways appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.

Spritz Cookies, Fake Ginger

Praline Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

Cinnamon Roll Cookies, The Country Cook

Peanut Butter Bliss Bars, From Apples to Zucchini

Peanut Butter M&M Bark, cookies and cups

Don’t forget to catch the full recap here. And I just want to draw your attention to the sidebar for a minute where you can now grab the {I’ll Bring the COOKIES} button for your blog and follow along if you want!  Okay, as promised here are TWO more fabulous giveaways just in time for Christmas!

Giveaway #1

How does a $25 gift certificate from Off The Beaten Path sound? Use it yourself or give it to a baker in your life. I have spent far too long looking at their cookie cutters. They even have a sweater cutter (you’re going to want that to make ugly Christmas sweater cookies)! This is a wonderful company and I’m so happy to introduce you if you aren’t already familiar with Off The Beaten Path.

 

Giveaway #2

Speaking of cookie cutters, how about TWENTY of them? Sweet Art Factory is giving one lucky reader their pick of 20 cookie cutters! Isn’t that dreamy?! It’s going to be hard for you to choose though because they have over 500! I have really enjoyed working with Sweet Art Factory and I know you will too.

This Giveaway is CLOSED. A winner has been chosen and the prize(s) have been fulfilled.

Please use the Rafflecopter entry form below. You will be entered into both of the giveaways. There are LOTS of ways to enter so I’m sure you can find a few that suit your fancy. All entries must have a US mailing address and must be over 18. Winners will be announced here on Friday, December 16th. Winners will be contacted by email and must respond within 48 hours to claim your prize. I was not compensated in any way for these giveaways and as always opinions expressed are 100% my own. Good luck!

The post I’ll Bring the COOKIES Week 2 Wrap Up and Giveaways appeared first on In Katrinas Kitchen.