My Favorite Recipes of 2019

My husband and I are adventurous eaters. I could not be married to any other kind of man, because I quickly get bored with the same few recipes, and I have an insatiable hunger for trying new ingredients and recipes. Rarely a month (or a week) goes by that I don’t try something new. Sometimes I try two or three new meals a week!  

As much as I love cooking and trying new dishes, I am not that creative. I rarely invent new recipes. Instead, I am constantly scouring magazines for recipes that look good, or searching online for how to use a certain ingredient. (Thus my “go-to” favorites are constantly changing.)

Here are six of our favorite discoveries from this past year. These are ones we decided are keepers and have become regular parts of our menu. I’ve included a few comments along with links to the websites where they were originally published. Enjoy!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclaimers on the FYI page.

6. Soup

Turkey Meatball Soup with Kale

• Healthy, hearty, and satisfying
• Naturally gluten-free
• Great way to incorporate leafy greens into diet

I discovered this soup last winter when I was scrounging for healthy recipes that all three of the foster children then in our home would eat. Two of them had a really hard time with vegetables. This soup amazed me. The very pickiest child, who up to this point had refused any vegetables, ate this soup (with kale, of all things!) without complaint. He even asked for more!

Now that it is cold outside—soup weather!—I pulled out this recipe again. Though the meatballs add an extra step (and extra time), this delicious soup reminded us how much we loved it. The meatballs are hearty, the broth is tasty, and the kale is tender, nicely balancing the meat so the soup is not too heavy.

Note: Eating leftovers the next day, I stretched the soup by tossing in extra cooked quinoa. That was good too!

5. Salad

BLT Salad with Buttermilk-Parmesan Dressing and Buttery Croutons

• Fresh and delicious
• Great use for fresh garden tomatoes
• Some components can be made ahead of time

This summer we had an abundance of tomatoes from our garden—not enough to can, but just enough that it was hard to eat them fast enough. My 5-year-old helped me scan recipes online for ones she would like. She chose this one. It makes a delicious meal, and we all loved it!

The dressing takes some time to make, but it adds amazing flavor to the salad. (Indeed, this dressing MAKES the salad). However, I found it to be very rich. So each time I prepared this recipe, we ended up using about half the dressing for the salad and saving the other half for later use.

Note: I substituted plain Greek yogurt for the buttermilk, and it tasted great.

4. Baked Goods

Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

Note: This post contains affiliate links. See disclaimer.

• Moist and flavorful
• Good use for zucchini
• Gluten-free adaptable
• Freezes well

This recipe comes from a blogger (Lindsay from Passionate Homemaking) I have followed for years. I’m all about hiding vegetables in good food my children will eat, so this recipe caught my eye.

The day before our daughter Portia was born, I made a double batch—some to take to a friend’s house and the rest to freeze for later. Just yesterday I pulled some from the freezer. Our 5-year-old had one for her morning snack and raved about it, shouting from the other room what a good cook I am (thank you Lindsay!). In my opinion, defrosted is just about as good as fresh.

These muffins are also adaptable for those with dietary restrictions. I substituted Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour for the wheat flour in this recipe, cup for cup, with fantastic results. The muffins were moist and tender and not too crumbly.

Note: Don’t make the mistake I did the first time I tried these. To save time, I dumped all the wet ingredients, including frozen blueberries, into the dry ingredients before mixing. I should have known better. The frozen blueberries instantly chilled the melted coconut oil, turning the entire mix into a solid block. I had to stick the whole mixing bowl in the oven to re-melt the coconut oil before I could stir the ingredients together. Lesson learned: follow the directions. Combine everything else first, and add the blueberries last!

3. Snack

Skinny Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

• Fast and easy
• Healthy
• Thick and creamy

As much as I know I should include more veggies in our diet, they are not my normal go-to for snacking. When I have this dip on hand, however, I can easily down a bowl-ful of any sort of veggie…along with half the bowl of dip.

I love the flavor of this dip, plus the fact that Greek yogurt provides a good amount of protein and probiotics for a healthy gut. The cayenne pepper adds a pleasant little kick, but can be reduced for those with spice-sensitive palates.

2. Ethnic

Keema Matar (Ground Beef and Pea Curry)

Note: This post contains affiliate links. See disclaimer.

• Fast and easy
• Simple ingredient list
• Inexpensive

Both my husband and I have a special eagerness to try all sorts of ethnic food. We both love Indian food, but I seldom make it because authentic recipes intimidate me with their long lists of ingredients and many steps. This recipe, on the other hand, is simple and easy. I have made it countless times for my family this summer and fall.

My cousin’s husband, whose family is originally from India, cooked this for us when we visited them this spring. They served this curry with rice (also really good with Naan), a vegetable on the side (roasted asparagus), and Garlic Pickle. It makes a simple meal.

Priya Garlic Pickle is not a pickle as we think of it. This Indian condiment is a red paste made of garlic, chili peppers, and other spices. It adds both spice and flavor. For me—I like spice but not too much—an 1/8 teaspoon MAX is all I need to flavor an entire serving of rice and curry. (An Indian grocery would be the cheapest place to find garlic pickle, but if you don’t live near one, Amazon does carry it.)

Note: To make this curry palatable for our spice-sensitive child, I use half the cayenne called for in the recipe. It is just as good. Anyone wanting additional spice can add a dab of Garlic Pickle.

1. Legumes

Marinated Lentil Salad

• Cheap
• Easy
• Meat-free protein
• Make ahead of time

This is my family’s all-time favorite recipe from the year, which I have made more times than I can count. I tried several lentil recipes, but this was by far our favorite. All of us love it—even our sometimes picky 5-year-old who doesn’t always like lentils. The flavors are perfectly balanced between earthy brown lentils and bright lemon, bitter parsley and salty feta cheese, sweet grape tomatoes and aromatic oregano.

Several times a month, I prepare the Marinated Lentil Salad for an easy, light meal, served alongside oven-warmed French bread and butter. This dish has been well-received at potlucks, as well, and leftovers are still good the next day or two. It is definitely a keeper!

If you are looking to try something new in the New Year, why not start with one of these recipes?