Countdown to 2026: My Favorites
Counting down my favorite recipes of 2025 to ring in the new year!
Happy New Year! This is pretty much my favorite day of the year because I like sharing my absolute favorites of the past year. It’s sometimes pretty difficult for me to narrow down because I feel like I love most things. But I finally narrowed it down.
Angel Food Cupcakes - My grandma always had angel food for everyone’s birthday and even if it is not my favorite kind of cake, it’s really high up there. I loved them in cupcake form.
Taco Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing - I’m not sure what it is about taco salad but my goddess, it’s so good. This has a homemade cilantro lime dressing too.
Chicken Shawarma Mediterranean Salad - I really loved this salad because it had all my favorite things in it. Plus it’s a copycat for a place I will probably never go in Arizona.
California Burritos - Nick used to travel to Cali for work and he had one burrito and then it was all over from there. We had to have the Cali burrito which is steak, pico, and fries. So good.
Crunchwrap Burgers - These reminded me of the Quesadilla burger at Applebee’s just a little bit. Easier than I thought to make too.
Carne Asada Fries - My oldest likes carne asada fries, so this recipe was made with him in mind. Again…pico de gallo on top - I feel like anything with pico is going to land its way to my favorite list.
The Best Chocolate Poke Cake - Another dessert for my favorites list…poke cakes are the best! This has a fluffy chocolate whipped topping that is out of this world.
Jalapeno Chicken Salad - I have eaten a lot chicken salad in the last few years. It’s really the perfect lunch to pack for work. Not surprising at all, but jalapeno chicken salad was SO fantastic.
Arty Bread - No favorites list is complete without a Pioneer Woman recipe and I love when they start with a premade something so it’s a little cheat that gets churched up for the final product. This one starts with frozen bread dough and ends with a great foccacia like bread with herbs and tomatoes.
Easy Homemade Naan - Even though I love all the other recipes on the list, this one is probably my absolute favorite. It’s so easy and they are ridiculous. Buttery, salt, chewy! You cannot eat just one.
Way back when I used to let Nick and the kids pick their favorite foods I posted in the year too. I was able to get my older two kids (18 and 17) to tell me their faves. So I present to you my oldest’s favorite recipes, in no particular order:
My middle child’s favorites, in no particular order:
In case you missed it…
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