Best of 2013 Reader’s Choice WINNERS!

Thank you again to everyone who voted in my 3rd Annual Reader’s Choice Awards! I’m so thrilled to have you all as readers and whether you’ve been cooking with me since the beginning or you just discovered my blog today, I really appreciate you.

Just a few days ago (on Christmas Eve) was my 3-year “blogiversary. It’s incredible to me that I’ve been doing this for three years. It has flown by! Last year I recapped some readership, social media and posting stats, mostly for me to look back on. While I certainly don’t blog for the numbers (hopefully this doesn’t come across as tacky), it’s fun for me to look back year-to-year and see how much my blog has grown. Here we go again:

Three years. 286 posts. 10,100,000+ page views (according to Google Analytics). 22,089 Facebook fans. 25,264 Pinterest followers. 1,849 Twitter followers. Plus, you can now follow me on Instagram!

I can’t say this enough: It overwhelms me that so many of you out there read my blog, make the recipes I post here and give me such great feedback, encouragement and inspiration. THANK YOU! 

I am also so thankful that many of you took the time to cast votes for your favorite recipes. It was so fun for me to see what all your favorites were this year! The results are below and for each category I’ve pictured the winner and then listed the runner up along with my own pick (which didn’t count in the standings, I’m just listing it for fun).

Want to check out the winners from previous years? Check out the 2012 winners and 2011 winners! It’s also funny to see how far my photography has come (though I still have a lot to learn).

Without further ado, here are the winners of your 2013 Reader’s Choice Awards:

1.Best Appetizer Recipe: Pizza Logs

Runner Up: Tie between Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts and Chicken Egg Rolls

Emily’s Pick: I’m a little torn between the pizza logs and the bacon water chestnuts but I’m going to go with the Pizza Logs because they’re so easy and so, so good.

2.Best Dip Recipe: Spinach Artichoke Dip

Runner Up: Caprese Dip

Emily’s Pick: I’m picking the Beefy Enchilada Dip because I could not stop eating it

3.Best Breakfast Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal Singles

Runner Up: Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

Emily’s Pick: I’m picking Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes (I love lemon)

4.Best Dessert Recipe: Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Runner Up: Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cups

Emily’s Pick: Gah, I’m so bad at picking (this is why I ask you to make these decisions). Cherry Cheesecake Cups or Dark Chocolate Orange Cupcakes. The cannoli cups are right up there too.

5.Best Soup Recipe: Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice

Runner Up: Spaghetti & Meatball Soup

Emily’s Pick: This is by far the most difficult category for me, because all of these soups were amazing. If pressed, I guess I will choose the Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice, but it’s a tough call.

6.Best Pasta Recipe: Spicy Sausage Pasta

Runner Up: Mexican Lasagna Roll-Ups (close one – this lost by only one vote!)

Emily’s Pick: Spaghetti Pie

7.Best Slow Cooker Recipe: Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken

Runner Up: Slow Cooker Sweet & Tangy Chicken (this was actually tied for first place so I had to play tiebreaker)

Emily’s Pick: Slow Cooker Meatballs & Marinara (meatballs are my favorite food)

8.Best Side Dish Recipe: Oven Fries

Runner Up: Zucchini Casserole

Emily’s Pick: Zucchini Casserole (love this stuff)

9.Best Chicken Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Runner Up: Pretzel Coated Chicken Nuggets

Emily’s Pick: Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas OR Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce…I give up on choosing

10.Best “American” Recipe: Deep Dish Sloppy Joe Casserole

Runner Up: Pizza Cups

Emily’s Pick: Deep Dish Sloppy Joe Casserole

11.Best “Ethnic-Inspired” Recipe: Enchilada Wonton “Cupcakes”

Runner Up: Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Emily’s Pick: Thai Chicken Pizza (I love that PB2 sauce)

Great choices, everyone! Glad you’re willing to make the touch decisions so I don’t have to.

Thanks so much again to all of you for reading my blog, cooking my recipes and encouraging and inspiring me with your comments. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2014 and I hope you’ll stay tuned for more lightened up recipes in the new year!