This turned out to be a week of bread and jam.  Thursday, I posted a tutorial for making whole wheat bread by hand.  And Wednesday, we linked up recipes for jams and jellies.  Here are a few of your recipes that caught my eye.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars from The Sweets Life.

Split Second Cookies  from Picture Perfect Cooking sound easy and delicious.

Pear Honey from Cooking with K – amazing!

Jam Tarts from Cookin’ In Our Bubbleworld would make good use of my mini muffin pan.

Make your own Strawberry Fruit Roll Ups with this tutorial from Life Currants

Sweet and Spicy Crockpot Chicken from Amee’s Savory Dish looks like a good dinner.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Animal crackers and English Breakfast tea with International Delight Southern Pecan creamer has been my snack of choice this week.  We’ve been talking about favorite snacks in the Coffee Talk community.  Pop over and join us!

Lots of sunshine goodness was shared in this week’s Ingredient Spotlight: Oranges & Orange Juice.  Here are a few that caught my eye:

Blueberry Orange Bread  from Hoosier Homemade sounds like a perfect snack with coffee or tea.

These orange bbq chicken kabobs sound like a marvelous way to chase the winter blues, from The Sweets Life.

Cranberry Orange Snack Mix would make a yummy munch with coffee or tea, from Grandma Loy’s Kitchen.

Good for you Orange Creamsicle Smoothie from The Better Baker is a snack with no guilt.  She’s got some weight loss tips listed in that post too.

Cranberry Orange Scones? Yes, please!  From The Galley Kitchen

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Disclosure: I am compensated for my role as Community Leader for the International Delight Coffee Talk Community.

I have paid for quite a few.  In my defense, they’ve all been cheap and I’ve used gift card money for them.  And some of my most loved apps are free.

Here are 6 of my favorite apps:

Kindle - My favoritist app of all!  It’s fantastic to always have my books with me.  I’ve been able to read so much more since getting my Kindle and the app allows me to turn those unexpected waiting times into reading times.  Perfect!

Cuptakes – See that cute background I have set as my lock screen?  It’s part of the Cuptakes app.  99 cents of fun! They update each month with more backgrounds for the lock screen and home screen.  I change it out every few days to give my phone a new look.  *happiness*

Living Earth – A beautiful weather app with a world clock and forecasts for cities all over the world.

Craigslist – So much nicer and easier than browsing craigslist online.  You can see the photo of the item, along with the description instead of having to click to see the photo.  And you can email sellers from inside the app.  Handy.

Hipstamatic – This camera app is so much fun.  It’s also the app I’ve spent the most money on.  $1.99 gets you started with several lenses, films and flashes.  But there are more available and I’ve given in and purchased several times.  Fun stuff!

1000 Gifts – This free app goes along with Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts.   I’m only part way through the book, but it is excellent.  The app is a way to collect and record your own 1000 gifts.  1000 things in your life to be thankful for.

Winner!

Meagan has something to be thankful for!  She winner of the eBook, Plan a Fabulous Party!

Here’s Meagan’s comment:

i am always throwing a party for something and loving every minute of it. i would love to be more organized!!! To save my sanity, I need this book!

Congratulations to Meagan!

You can still get the book for 1/2 price (just $2.50!) by using the code SUPERFABPARTY.  The discount code is good through Jan. 22.

This post contains affiliate links.

Super Bowl parties.  Baby showers.  Birthday parties.  Graduation parties.

I love them all, but it makes me completely nervous to host a party.  If you feel the same way, then this book is for you.

My friend, Mary (her blog is called Giving Up on Perfect) has written about party planning for real life people.  She’s got:

• 50+ pages of advice and encouragement
• Party planning templates from ListPlanIt
• Survival stories
• Last-minute cleaning tips

Plan a Perfect Party is on sale through Jan. 22.  Use the discount code SUPERFABPARTY to get it for 50% of $4.99.  That’s just $2.50!

And Mary has 1 copy of Plan a Perfect Party to give away!

Leave a comment here telling me why you need this eBook.  Winners will be chosen Friday evening and announced Saturday.  If you win, but have already bought the book, Mary will give you a refund, so you still get it for free.

This post contains affiliate links.

Before we get to the bacon links, I wanted to tell you about a new place you can find me online.  International Delights has a wonderful Coffee Talk Community and I’m very excited to be one of the Community Leaders there.  We chat about coffee (of course!), food (always), fashion, decorating, parenting and whatever else may be on our minds.

On Tuesday January 10 at 8pm Eastern, Liz from Hoosier Homemade and I are hosting a live chat about budget friendly meals.  Pop over and join us if you’ve got some free time Tuesday evening.

Bacon-fest!

Over 75 recipes are linked up for this week’s Ingredient Spotlight: Bacon-fest.  If you like bacon, you’re going to love all of those links.

Here are some of the links that caught my eye:

These Loaded Chicken Philly Sammies from Siggy Spice look amazing!

SmokeHouse Melt Chicken from Big Bear’s Wife sounds fantastic. You can’t go wrong with bbq, bacon and cheddar.

I have no idea what Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn would taste like, but I’d like to try it. From The Sweets Life.

Smoked Fatties from Mancave Cuisine are sausage, stuffed with onion, peppers and cheese; the whole thing wrapped in bacon and then grilled. Wow!

Andrea at The Green Backs Gal has a video tutorial on making Bacon Bundles.

Is this the ultimate in sweet/salty combos?  Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies from Debbi Does Dinner.

Enjoy your first full weekend of the New Year!

Disclosure: I am compensated for my role as Community Leader for the International Delight Coffee Talk Community.

Smokey, crisp strips of bacon sizzling in an iron skillet.  Does it get any better than that?

For me, yes.  It can get better if the bacon takes the starring role in a classic BLT sandwich. Toasted bread, iceberg lettuce, garden-fresh tomato, bacon and Miracle Whip.  Fantastic!

I cannot wait to see all the recipes you’ve got for bacon!  I’ve already started a Bacon Board on Pinterest with my bacon recipes.  I’ll be adding many of yours as we go.

Share your recipes!  Link up any recipe that uses bacon.  Feel free to link as many as you like.  Be sure to link back to Eat at Home in your blog post.  You can use the button below, if you like.

Does this ever happen to you?  You know dinner is going to be chicken because you’ve got a pack of boneless breasts/thighs/tenders or bone-in legs/breasts/thighs.  But you have no desire to think up a recipe to turn them into dinner.

You don’t need a recipe.  You just need some ideas.

Here are 10 ways (plus a few cooking methods) to get you started.  

Cooking method 1:  Slow Cooker

This is my favorite way to cook.  Throw it in the crock and bam – hours later, dinner is ready.  Obviously, this method works best if you have plenty of time.

Cooking method 2:  Oven

Thawed boneless pieces should take about an hour to cook, less if they’re thin (like breast tenders).  Bone-in pieces I give an hour and 15 minutes or more if they are thick.

Sprinkle or Pour on Flavor

1. Salsa  – Any type.  Try black bean and corn or chipotle lime or another style for a fun variation.
2. Bbq sauce – Any type.
3. Salad dressing – French, Catalina, Italian etc.
4. Stir fry sauce, orange sauce, mandarin sauce etc.
5. A sweet (like honey or jelly) with a sour/tart (like ketchup, cocktail sauce, chili sauce, bbq sauce) use up the bottles in your fridge.
6. Taco seasoning – shred and serve in tortillas
7. Spaghetti sauce – add mozzarella or provolone slices during the last few minutes of cooking
8. Crushed tomatoes/diced tomatoes/tomato sauce with Italian seasoning
9. Jar of gravy
10. Cream of…soup, add onions and/or other veggies

What’s your favorite way to fix chicken?

I had fun digging into Google Analytics to determine the top 10 posts for the year.  There were a few surprises and a few I predicted.  Here’s the list:

Top Posts for 2011

1.  28 Muffin Recipes You’ll Want to Try – This post went nuts on StumbleUpon.  I first noticed traffic several weeks after I posted it, but it just kept building.  Every few weeks a new burst of traffic hit again.  It just keeps stumbling along.

2.  Homemade Chicken and Dumplings. It’s Easy. Really. – Everyday people search “Chicken and Dumplings” and land on my blog.  I posted this less than a year after I started blogging.  I added it to Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen (where it’s got 5 oven mitts and 29 reviews).  A few weeks ago, the Tasty Kitchen Blog picked it up.  Pinterest loves that recipe too.

3.  Bowtie Pasta with Roasted Red Peppers and Grilled Chicken – Another that did really well on StumbleUpon.

4.  The Original Menu post (Week 1) that I posted way back in August of 2009.  With nearly 11,000 menu/grocery list downloads, this post remains the most popular of all of the menus. I guess most folks like to start at the very beginning.

5.  The No-Bake, No-Cook, No-Time Gift Solution – 4 Snack Mixes in a Jar – This has quickly shot to the top.  Everyone needs a last minute gift.  And Pinterest loves jars. Amen.

6.  36 Recipes for Restaurant-Style Meals at Home – Another that owes it’s spot on this list to StumbleUpon.

7.  Low Cost Menu/Grocery List/Recipes post from August ’09.

8.  Baked Spaghetti – I knew this would make the top 10.  People search for it every day.

9.  Printable Menu Planner – This is actually a page, not a post, but I’m including it anyway.

10.  Menu Week 5 – It’s near the top of the list on the Menus page in the Nav bar.  It just sits in a good location so it enjoys a lot of traffic.

Top Referrers in 2011

StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Facebook and Google are my top referrers, in that order.  But I want to talk about the blogs that send me traffic.

1.  The Organizing Junkie – I link to Menu Plan Monday each week.  Laura puts together an amazing linky party every Monday.  She’s got a fantastic blog all about organizing.  You’ve got to check it out.  It is nearly January, after all (resolutions and all that jazz).

2.  Disboards – It’s not a blog, but it is one of my favorite places online.  Disboards is a forum (many forums) for all things Disney.  I especially like the Budget Board.

3.  Crystal & Co. – I love Crystal.  If you haven’t checked out her blog, you should pop over there now.  Even her blog design and logo make me happy when I see them.

4.  My Life Scoop – This blog included Eat at Home in a list of “Top 10 Weeknight Dinner Blogs”.

5.  Hoosier Homemade – Liz and I have worked together on several projects over the past year.  She’s one of my best blogging friends

6.  Mommy’s Kitchen – Tina’s blog is similar to mine, in that we both cook “regular” food for families.

7.  Tasty Kitchen – This is mostly from the Chicken and Dumplings recipe, but I’ve got a few other recipes over there as well.

8.  Real Mom Kitchen – Another great blog for “regular” people food.

9.  Sprinkle Bakes – I love this blog.  She’s always making beautiful desserts.  Amazingly beautiful desserts.  And she was so gracious to add a link to my version of her Blue Velvet Cupcakes post.

10.  $5 Dinners – Erin Chase is fantastic and her blog is a wonderful resource for frugal cooking.

I love the work I do on my blog, the people I’ve met and of course all the food.  I am so thankful for all of you who read, comment, email, and share this space with me.

I pray you have a blessed New Year and I’m looking forward to sharing with you in 2012!

Merry Christmas!

I pray you have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.

I won’t be posting much through the end of the year.  I’m planning to take time off to enjoy the Christmas season.  I’ll also be working on some back-end things to improve Eat at Home  and writing new content that I think you’ll like.

Winners!

Diane is the winner of the Taste of Home Cookies and More Cookbook.

DavetteB and Teresa are the winners of the Sister Schubert’s prize packs.

Have a blessed Christmas!

This is our last Ingredient Spotlight for 2011.  I’m working on a new list for the first few months of 2012.  You are going to love the first ingredient on the schedule!

If you’ve got ideas for ingredients you’d like to have featured, leave a comment here and let me know.  I try to go for common ingredients that many of us have recipes for.  I love seeing what you link up each week!

The new schedule will be posted next Wednesday.

Now for coconut!  Something about it reminds me of Christmas.  Here are a few of my recipes that use coconut: 

• Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Coconut Macadamia Ice Cream
• Double Chocolate Coconut Cake Mix Cookies

Share your recipes!  Link up any recipe that uses coconut.  Feel free to link as many as you like.  Be sure to link back to Eat at Home in your blog post.  You can use the button below, if you like.