Fifth Year of Retired Introvert – In the Kitchen

Even though I include recipes in some of my posts, I don’t consider my blog a recipe blog. So it’s funny that the posts with the most views are recipes!! I’m guessing that’s because recipes are a common thing people go to the Internet to find. I do it myself.

I thought I’d present In the Kitchen in two parts. First, are the recipes that have the most views. Second, are my favorites that didn’t make the “most views” list. I will include the top ten in each category.

Recipes with the most views

For the longest time, my top post was Pioneer Woman Rice Pilaf. But then in April, there was a surge of interest in Erin French and the Lost Kitchen. Since then, Lost Kitchen – Dad’s Meatloaf has greatly surpassed the Pioneer Woman.

Here are the top ten with the number of views for each:

Lost Kitchen – Dad’s Meatloaf 20,014
Pioneer Woman Rice Pilaf 8,501
Disneyland’s Peanut Butter Cookies – Mickey Mouse Birthday 2,623
Kringla 1,596
Pioneer Woman Meatloaf 751
Gluten-Free Chicken and Noodles 496
Ham Balls 436
Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (Panera Copycat) 376
Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones 306
German Chocolate Brownies 304

These are all great recipes and if you haven’t checked them out, you should. If you want a great gluten-free main dish, you have to try the chicken and noodles. You would never know the noodles are gluten-free and they’re so easy to make.

Two of these recipes I make consistently – Kringla and Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones.

Recipes that are my favorites

Unfortunately, I think I published my favorite recipes early in the life of Retired Introvert, before I had more followers. So this is a good chance for me to point these out and for you to make them!! However, some are also very recent and you may have just missed them.

Carrot Muffins in Paradise 2,628
Gnocchi Chicken Soup 211
Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp 158
My “Go To” Oatmeal Cookies 150
Chicken Pot Pie 110
Potato Salad 99
Apple Crisp 86
Avocado Black Bean Enchiladas 48
Hot Crab Dip 37
Frosted Ginger Cookies 22

I just recently made the Hot Crab Dip and plan to make the Avocado Black Bean Enchiladas tomorrow night. Next week, I’m making Potato Salad. I always make the Oatmeal Cookies and typically add chocolate chips. Even though I love chocolate, I can’t get enough of the Frosted Ginger Cookies. I typically make those in the fall.

But the best one? Chicken Pot Pie. It is SO good. I even like the leftovers and don’t mind if the crust isn’t quite as flaky. It’s the sauce that makes this dish so good. You must try it!! It makes me sad that it’s only had 110 views!!

Non-recipe In the Kitchen posts

I also wrote three posts about cooking that don’t include any recipes.

The first is when I tried to make Lemon Meringue Pie. I was making it for my mom, because it was her favorite pie. It was a disaster. I tried to blame it on the funky ingredients (my mom had to have dairy and soy free and my dad is gluten-free) and I vowed I would try making it again, but with normal ingredients. I’m afraid I haven’t tried it yet. You can read An Epic Fail in the Kitchen to learn more.

I also blogged about cooking in general, wondering if people cook much anymore. Is Cooking Alive and Well? talks about how much people do (or don’t) cook these days. I even had a poll and share the results in this post. Things haven’t changed much for us, except that now Tim is cooking more. I do like those nights!!

One year around Christmas, I was thinking about everything I wanted to make and my challenges in getting it done. I had another poll and shared the results in this post. It was all about our biggest struggles when preparing for the holidays and baking. Christmas Baking Challenges.

Ok, if you’ve tried any of my recipes, let me know what you like, or if you didn’t like something. Most of the recipes I post are not my own, but good recipes I’ve found and want to share. I also include the source in the recipe notes. And even if something didn’t make either Top Ten list, know that I think all of the recipes I share are good!!