My favorite recipes from 2010, just 12 of the best recipes of the year. Made without processed food, these are everyday recipes, ones to make again and again. They are recipes that express the hallmarks of the Kitchen Parade style, "fresh" and "easy" and "flavor-forward" and "seasonal". I Thank You ... Earlier this month, I received a letter from Patricia, a Kitchen Parade reader. She wrote, "At this time of the year, especially as we become older, it is important to count our blessings and tell those who have touched/and are touching our lives." She went on to thank me for making her life better. (Wow. Yes, I cried.) But honestly, Kitchen Parade may come from my heart but without readers like Patricia – without YOU as a reader – and without your encouragement whether in comments, Facebook "likes" or an e-mail subscription, this website would be a much lesser place, it might not exist at all. So let ME thank you , ...

Healthy habits, they're good to hone, worthy of practice. And most of us (myself included) would benefit from eating more vegetables. Let me tempt you with the best vegetables recipes from A Veggie Venture in 2010. Not finding what you like here? Check A Veggie Venture's famous Alphabet of Vegetables ! Enjoy! ~ Alanna (hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe) More "Best & Favorite" Recipes ~ My Favorite One-Pot Supper Recipes ~ ~ My Favorite Apple Recipes ~ from Kitchen Parade ~ Twelve Favorite Tomato Recipes ~ from A Veggie Venture, my vegetable food blog More Vegetable Recipes (from my fellow food bloggers, updated regularly) (more recipes like this at Vegetablespotting ) Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite vegetable recipe that ...

Cold wintry days, aren't they just made for steaming cups of hot cocoa? Here's how to make homemade hot chocolate mix from scratch, either a large batch that's tailor-made for conveniently serving hot chocolate for a crowd (with tips for serving outdoors) or naturally, a small-batch home-size recipe too! And as a bonus, how I make hot cocoa with chocolate milk! Grab your favorite mug ... Hot Chocolate Mix, an Easy DIY and a Long-Time Family Favorite. Fun Winter-Camping & Winter-Tailgating Food. A New Addition to The Homemade Pantry , a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Budget Friendly. Great for Holiday Food Gifts & Winter Meal Prep. How to Feed a Crowd. Potluck & Party Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. So Good!!

Many parents wonder how to instill their children with the true meaning of Christmas, how to compete with the excitement of Santa, the jingle bell rocks, the "stuff" that Christmas has become. This is the story of how my sister sidestepped all the hustle and bustle of Christmas when her boys were young. Merry Christmas, All. May your season be filled with traditions that light up the faces you love!

Serving a holiday brunch? Planning a special breakfast for Christmas morning? Consider adding the recipe for this unusual sausage, apple and onion (oh! the onions! all dark and slightly sweet) dish to the menu, either as a side dish or the main course. Make it ahead of time, then pop it in the oven for serving hot or slightly warm. Your family or guests will say, "What smells so good?" This one's a keeper! My family shrinks geography by shifting time. When my sister’s boys were young, many years we celebrated our family Christmas a day or two before or a day or two after December 25. “What day is Christmas?” we’d decide, thereby setting the night before as ‘Christmas Eve’ when Santa would visit, planning our ‘Christmas Day’ dinner with all its trimmings. One year we shifted New Year’s Eve’s stroke of midnight too, setting the clocks ahead by two hours. We started the festivities early, too early as it turned out. When the party began to lag well before our ‘...