Our 2013 Most Popular Recipes Review

Our 2013 Year In Review!

I thought it would be fun to create a post that reflects on our 10 most popular recipes in 2013... here's the count down, from our 10th most viewed recipe to the #1 winner of 2013!

#10

Pineapple Lemonade Punch

#9

Asian Style Noodle Pancakes

(this recipe is a personal favorite)

#8

Oreo Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

#7

Indiana Easy No Bake Cookies

#6

Pumpkin Spice Fudge

(I love everything pumpkin!)

#5

Pumpkin Spiced No Bake Cookies

#4

Sensational Taco Pie

(one of my family's favorite dinners)

#3

Vanilla Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

#2

Coconut Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

And the #1 most popular recipe, for a 3rd year in a row is  (drum rolls please...) our

Diet Coke Brownie's

I also found a few interesting and fun facts about the people who visit us.
Microsoft Windows is the top operating system for browsers while the iPhone is the top mobile platform.

The biggest driving factor that bring visitors to our blog is Pinterest (no surprise here), while Facebook was only the 9th largest website to bring viewers to our blog ( I was surprised here).

Visitors from around the world are ranked by countries with the most visitors in the following order;

#1  United States
#2  Canada
#3  United Kingdom
#4  Australia
#5  Germany
#6  Russia
#7  France
#8  Mexico
#9  Philippines
#10  South Africa 

And finally, as of December 31st 2013, Aunt Peg's Recipe Box has had 2,293,788 visitors (that's 2.2 MILLION!).  Wow!

Thanks to each one of you for making this a fun year for me!  It's amazing how we can be connected globally by simply sharing a recipe.

Wishing you all the best for a fun, peaceful, prosperous 2014!

Crock-pot Creamy Chicken Taco Soup

As I promised this is a delicious soup that will use up any leftover chicken mix that you made using my recipe for  Crockpot Creamy Chicken Taco's and Nachos.
It's incredibly easy to make and uses common pantry staples.
You'll be in love with this soup, it's so easy to adapt to your family's particular likes.

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Taco Soup

3-4 c. chicken broth

2 c. left over Creamy chicken Taco meat

1-2 Tbsp. taco seasoning mix

1 (14 oz.) cans black beans or pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, cubed, at room temp.

1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

Suggested garnishes:

diced tomatoes

diced avocado

sour cream

additional shredded cheese

Dorito's style tortilla chips, lightly crushed

In a 5 qt. slow cooker, pour in the broth, add the chicken mix and stir until the chicken has distributed throughout the broth.

Stir in the taco seasoning and canned beans.

Cover and cook on HIGH 3 hours, or on LOW for 5 hours.

Place the softened cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, or until the cream cheese is very soft and almost liquid-ey (I know that's not a word, but I like it).

Stir in the cream cheese and 1 c. shredded cheese into the soup, cover and continue to cook about 1 additional hour.

When ready to serve, garnish with all of your favorite toppings! 

This recipe is pretty flexible.  You can add more canned beans, corn, canned tomatoes or whatever you think sounds good.  

The quantity of the broth is simply a guideline measurement.  Adding more will make the soup more broth-like, less will make a thicker dish. 

On the taco seasoning, simply use these measurements as a guideline for your family's personal tastes.

Helpful hint: a taco seasoning packet generally has 6 Tbsp. seasoning mix in it.

January is Slow Cooker Month!

JANUARY IS FOR CELEBRATING CROCK-POT COOKING!

I love the idea of celebrating slow cooker's (I still call them crock-pot's, I'm from THAT generation) all month long.

So far I've used my crock-pot 3 times this month, and today is January 6th...
I've been wondering for quite a while what the correct spelling for the term crockpot, and it turns out I've been mis-spelling it forever according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct spelling is Crock-pot (with the hyphen).  Sheeesh.  Another new thing to remember... 

With all of that rambling being said, I wanted to create a post linking back to  some of my personal favorite crock-pot recipes, as well as other popular recipes found via my Crock-pot Crazy Pinterest Board.
You will definitely want to create a link to this post, you'll want to come back often!

Crock-pot Beef Stroganoff

(This is our family favorite!)

Crock-pot Refried Beans

(from our blog)

Amber's Chili

(from our blog)

Six Sisters' Stuff~ Crock-pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken


Paula Deen's~ Crock-pot Macaroni and Cheese


Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen's~ Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

Better Home's and Garden's~ Creamy Tortellini Soup

The Little Kitchen's~ French Onion Pot Roast

Bubble Crumb's~ Rootbeer Pulled Pork

Creating Through Life's~ Crock-pot Lasagna

Family Fresh Meals'~ Slow cooker Scalloped Potatoes

Plain Chicken's~ Slow cooker Ham and White Beans

Six Sister's Stuff~ Parmesan Honey Pork Roast



Inspired Housewife's~ Gluten Free Bread in the Crock-pot

Crockpot Ladies'~ Carrot Cake w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Six Sister's Stuff~ Crock-pot Apple Cobbler

Life As A Lofthouse's~ Crockpot Chocolate Lava Cake

Plain Chicken's~ Crock-pot Creme Brulee French Toast

The Gingerbread Blog's~ Sugared Pecans

Crockpot Refried Beans

This was a recipe I was pretty anxious to try.  I love refried beans, and always make a pig of myself at any restaurant that serves them, but I have never, ever attempted to make them on  my own.
You all know my love of crock pot cooking, so this recipe had major appeal.
And the result of my attempt? I loved them. I mean I LOVED them, and they were a big hit with the rest of the fam too.

Easy Slow Cooker Refried Beans

1-2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

2 c. dry pinto beans, rinsed

1/2 a fresh jalapeno or other hot pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

one large pinch ground cumin

6 c. Water

In the bottom of a 5-6 qt. slow cooker, place the quartered onions (I broke the onion sections up and left an onion just halved to put on top of the beans).
Combine all ingredients and pour into the crock pot.

Cook on low for 8 hours, or overnight if desired.
Remove the bigger onion chunks, and drain the left over liquid into a bowl. Save the juice to use to make the mashed beans the right consistency for your tastes.
Mash the bean mix with a potato masher, adding reserved liquid a little at a time until your happy with them (I used all of the reserved liquid by the time I was happy).

Done!!!

I omitted the fresh jalapeno pepper, and used a couple of tablespoons of canned, diced jalapeno peppers instead.  I'm such a sissy when it comes to spicy stuff, and I think the next time I make these, I will substitute canned diced green chilies instead!

Note: This recipe makes a lot of beans. We had left overs for days, (we made burritos, hot bean dip, layered bean dip, quesadilla's, tostada's, taco's, and whatever  else we could think of) so if you have a smaller family you may want to cut the recipe in half.  However my girlfriend made this recipe and froze her extra's and said they freeze great!

Recipe adapted from: 100daysofrealfood.com

Twisting Chicken Casserole

For the last 6 weeks or so my life has been crazy busy.  I think I have cooked about 4 meals for my family.
My parents who live in an apartment on my home have needed extra care these past few weeks while my mother has been trying to get past some health problems, and although I cook for them 2-3 times a day, the meals are simple and small so I haven't had much to blog about.
However, I did make this dish for my parents and then for my own family and it was a winner with everyone!
Simple and fairly inexpensive it is quick to put together and very tasty~ give it a try!

Twisting Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced.

2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

About 1/2 of a 12 oz. bag of tortilla chips, slightly crushed

2 (10.25 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup

3/4 c. water

1-2  (4 oz.) cans diced green chili's (personal taste)

2 drops tabasco  sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the soup, water green chili's and Tabasco sauce.

In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish layer 1/2 of the lightly crushed tortilla chips, 1/2 of the chicken, 1 c. shredded cheese, and 1/2 of the sauce mix. Repeat the layer with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheese on top with this layer.

Bake uncovered for 45 min or until bubbly. Serve with sour cream.