It's a Pasta Party #Celebrate365

March is National Pasta Month so my Celebrate 365 co-hosts (Carlee from Cooking with Carlee, Ellen of Family Around the Table, Jan of The Tip Garden and Nicole of Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom) and I thought that sounded like a great reason to throw a blog party full of everyone's favorite pasta recipes!

20 Homemade Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Soup Recipes

Today is National Homemade Soup Day and what better way to celebrate than by making any of these homemade soups in your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker.

Tailgate Time! 20+ Game Day Recipes

Fall has arrived which means Football Season is here.  No matter if you're cheering on your high school team on a Friday night, your alma mater on Saturday, or your favorite pro-team on Sunday (or Monday), these recipes have you covered for a great tailgate with family and friends.

#Celebrate365 Farmers Market Inspiration

Did you know that this week is National Farmers Market Week?  My Celebrate 365 co-hosts (Carlee from Cooking with Carlee, Jan of The Tip Garden and Nicole of Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom) and I were so excited to find out about it that we decided to host a blog party full of garden fresh and farmers market inspired recipes!

Grilling Bucket List

If you aren't new to this blog, you know I'm all about the Bucket Lists so I figured after being inspired by so many great recipes from the Celebrate 365's Grilling Time Blog Party that I'd make a Grilling Bucket List for this summer.  What a great way to try new things and to kick off the first day of Summer!

Listed below are a mix of main dishes, burgers, side dishes and even desserts to make on the grill.  Since first checking out these recipes on the Celebrate 365's Grilling Time Blog Party, I have already made a couple of these recipes: my family and I give the Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches and Grilled Sweet Potatoes a double thumbs up 👍👍

Get Ready for Easter with #Celebrate365

Easter is just two weeks away, so to help you get ready, I have partnered with my Celebrate 365 co-hosts (Carlee from Cooking with Carlee, Jan of The Tip Garden and Nicole of Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom) to host an Easter Recipes Blog Party!

I'm looking forward to celebrating Easter this year with my Mom, sisters and their families, my in-laws, my sister-in-law and her family, and a couple close family friends.  I feel lucky that we all get along so well and that we are able to celebrate together.  We enjoy sharing food and fellowship together, and we have a lot of fun doing our annual Easter Egg hunts (both children and adult versions).

On this year's menu we're having both ham and pork loin.  (Would you expect anything other than all pork from my family and I 😉)  I'm going to smoke the pork loin with my All-Purpose Pork Rub.  The rub is spicy with a little sweetness and is perfect on the outside of pork loin.

As for a side dish, I love making my Overnight Salad for gatherings of family and friends.  This recipe makes a huge salad and one of the best parts is that you make it the night before!  All you have to do the day of, is mix the layers around five minutes before serving.  And another great part of this lettuce salad is that it has bacon in it!

For dessert, I can't wait to share my Easy Lemon Pie with everyone.  The bright flavors of this pie will make everyone excited for spring.  I love the layers of lemon and cream cheese, which make each bite sweet and zesty!

So how about you?  I want to see what you're planning on making for Easter this year.  Bloggers are welcome to link-up all of their favorite spring foods perfect for Easter.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone share their appetizer, salad, main dish, dessert, and brunch recipes.

What are your favorite Easter recipes?  Remember to Comment for a Cause and link up your best recipes!

An InLinkz Link-up

Summer Dinner Idea #Celebrate365

Fresh veggies and fruits, grilling, salads, ice cream.  What do all of these thing have in common?  They are all things that make dinner time in the summer special.

I don't know about all of you, but I love the variety and flavors of fresh vegetables and fruits available during summer from my garden, local farmers market and grocery store.  My family and I can't get enough of the juicy watermelon and sweet peaches right now as we wait for one of our favorite summer staples - corn on the cob!  During the summer I also love to either grill or make salads for supper.  Anything to keep the heat out of the house!  And ice cream!  We not only make it at home, but we travel around the state for it.  It's the perfect, cool summertime treat.

What do you look forward to when it comes to summer dinners?  I want to hear your ideas in the comment section, and I want you link up your favorite Summer Dinner Ideas to our new Celebrate 365 Blog Party.  I've joined up with my other Celebrate 365 co-hosts (Carlee from Cooking with Carlee, Jan from Tip Garden, and Nicole from Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom) to throw our newest blog link-up!  Feel free to share any of your favorite recipes that you love making in the summer.  I can't wait to get some new ideas and get some meal time inspiration!

Also be sure to check out our Celebrate 365 Pinterest Board to pin any and all of our past blog party linked posts!

What are some of you favorite summertime flavors?  I want to hear from you!  Be sure to Comment for a Cause!

An InLinkz Link-up

How to plan Mother's Day Brunch

Mother's Day is in one week and I don't know what it is about the holiday, but it makes me hungry for brunch!  Maybe it's memories of my sisters and I making breakfast in bed for my Mom, or the fact that Mother's Day is on a Sunday.  But it just feels like the perfect fit to indulge in some eggs, pastries and something a little extra to celebrate.  Check out some of my favorite brunch recipes to help you plan and host your Mother's Day Brunch!

Eggs - A brunch isn't complete without an egg dish or two!

Ham & Cheese Omelette Roll - Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids

If you're entertaining for Mother's Day Brunch then this egg dish should be on the top of your list.  It's creative, eye catching and delicious!

(photo courtesy of The Pork Diaries)

Biscuits & Gravy Casserole - The Pork Diaries

This egg casserole has everything you'd ever want in one bite - biscuit, sausage, egg, and cheese!  Top that with gravy and you'll be scooting your fork all across your plate to make sure you get every bite of this "liquid gold" as my friend Alicia calls it.

Farmers Market Quiche - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids

How about another eye appealing egg dish that will be sure to impress at brunch?  I love the creamy and rich flavor of this quiche and the bacon lattice brings it up a notch!

(photo courtesy of Learning As I Go)

Pepper Jack Egg Bake - Learning As I Go

Are you a hashbrown or bread egg bake person?  Well, if you are a hashbrown egg bake person like me you're going to love my friend Katy's Pepper Jack Egg Bake filled with hashbrowns, eggs, ham, bacon and pepper jack cheese!

Green Chili Egg Bake - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids

This cheesy, buttery egg bake is a family favorite of ours.  And I love the unique flavor it has from the green chilies and cottage cheese!

Pastries - Pastries are the perfect appetizer and dessert for brunch so you better make more than one!

Easy Pecan Sticky Buns - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids

I love how simply these sticky buns come together.  And these will be sure to cover your sweet tooth for brunch, especially with ice cream as one of the ingredients!

(photo courtesy of Food & Swine)

Champion Cinnamon Rolls - Food & Swine

There is something special about cinnamon rolls.  Maybe it's the knowledge of how much time goes into making them, or the memories tied to cinnamon rolls.  No matter the case, my friend Cristen's is sure to be a treat.  Afterall, they are award winning, so have a blue ribbon brunch with these on your table!

Six Week Muffins - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids

These bran muffins are a tried and true favorite of our family.  They are a hearty muffin with a slightly sweet flavor.  For brunch they would be perfect to make as mini-muffins.

(photo courtesy of Cooking with Carlee)

Strawberries and Cream Skillet Roll - Cooking with Carlee

This sweet treat would be perfect if you're hosting brunch for Mother's Day.  My friend Carlee says this is a combination of a sweet roll and strawberry cheesecake.

(photo courtesy of Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats)

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins - Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats

Mom deserves a little chocolate, right?  Then you better add my friend Ally's Double Chocolate Banana Muffins to your Mother's Day Brunch Menu!  I love the flavor combination of chocolate and banana, and what makes these even better - they are simple to make!  This would be a great opportunity to get in the kids in the kitchen to help make brunch for their favorite lady.

Something a Little Extra - Every Mother's Day Brunch needs that little something extra - afterall, we're celebrating Mom!

4 Ingredient Sunrise Smoothie - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids

Brunch is a great time to make something a little extra special to drink.  This Sunrise Smoothie is a hit for all ages and only has 4 ingredients so it is super simple to make!

(photo courtesy of Family Around the Table)

Hash Brown Potato Pie - Family Around the Table

This hash brown potato pie has simple flavors and ingredients, but yet is everything you want to go along with your brunch.  I also love how this recipe has a special connection to my friend Ellen and her Mom!

(photo courtesy of Prairie Californian)

Onion Tart - Prairie Californian

This onion tart is pretty much a french onion soup in a pie crust - sounds perfect to me!  I love how my friend Jenny got inspired to create this unique recipe after meeting an onion farmer.  This post not only gives you a delicious recipe, but an inside look at an onion farm!  How cool is that! 

(photo courtesy of Cooking Up Cottage)

Baked French Toast - Cooking Up Cottage

Mother's Day Brunch is a great excuse to indulge and have that something a little extra and my friend Lisa's Baked French Toast fits the bill!  It is simple to make and you can throw it in the oven while you're working on getting other things ready for your company.

(photo courtesy of The Tip Garden)

Cherry Breakfast Cobbler - The Tip Garden

I love how this cobbler uses simple ingredients, yet looks like something that you slaved over.  My friend Jan always comes up with great recipes and I love her story that goes along with it!

So what are you going to choose for your Mother's Day Brunch?  It is going to be a hard choice but I hope I helped you come up with some ideas.  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Top Posts of 2016

When people ask me about what my blog is about, I say that it is a lifestyle blog.  I say that because I share about my farm, I share about my family, I share about living in North Iowa, I share about different causes and organizations, I share recipes, and then sometimes I just share.  I feel like my blog can't be just nailed down into one category, so I put it in the category of lifestyle because I'm truly sharing about my life!

And now that it is the end of 2016, it's a great time reflect on the past year.  I felt like I couldn't just give a simple "Top 10" list or something like that.  I wanted to share with you my top 3 posts from each "aspect" of my blog.  I hope you enjoy looking back over the last year, as much as I did putting this post together 😊

Top 3 Farm Posts

1. Harvest of Thanks to our Farm Family:  This post not only shared a recap on this fall's harvest, but it also introduced you to some members of our "farm family".  We wouldn't be able to accomplish everything on our farm without help, and in this post I introduce you to three of our helpers.  I also share that we are a finalist for the Iowa Young Farmer Achievement Award in this post and I'm excited to report that we won this award and now will be representing Iowa in the national contest next month!
2. Knee High by the 4th of July:  Every year we take a family photo next to one of our corn fields for our annual "Knee High by the 4th of July" photo.  This post is always a favorite of mine and obviously for my readers too.  Check out our "over head high" corn from this past 4th of July.
3. What it means to be a FarmHer:  This is a post I wrote this fall in response to a conversation I had in the grocery store.  I am proud to be a woman farmer and I'm working hard, along with others, to ensure that my daughters can be women in agriculture too.

Top 3 Family Posts

1. A Week's Worth of Blessings:  My top family post was the post I wrote after our youngest, Miss R was born.  This was obviously a highlight of our family's year, so it makes me smile that this post is the top family post of the year.
2. Back to School Farm Kid Style with Carhartt:  I had a lot of fun partnering with Carhartt this summer to share their new line of children's backpacks.  Mr. K loves his Carhartt backpack and had a lot of fun helping me write a review for this post and giveaway.
3. When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Farmer:  My next top family post also involves Mr. K.  In honor of National Ag Day this Spring, I interviewed him on why he wants to be a farmer when he grows up.  This post makes me smile so much.  It's a lot of fun to take a look through a 5 year old's eyes on what being a farmer means.

Top 3 North Iowa Posts

1. 5 Family Winter Fun Activities in North Iowa and Beyond:  It probably isn't a secret, but I actually love the winter time!  There are so many great activities my family enjoys going to during the winter in our home area that I wrote a post about our favorites, so hopefully more people would enjoy and embrace the fun that winter brings to North Iowa!
2. Farmers Market Quiche:  This post could have fallen under a couple of categories but I decided to include it in my top North Iowa posts because it shares about my local Franklin County Farmers Market.  I love going to our local Farmers Market as much as possible during the summer and in this post I also share a delicious quiche I made with some of the fresh produce I picked up.  I actually made this quiche just last week for Christmas Eve brunch and it was a hit with our extended family!
3. Oh, what I'll do for charity - Cupid's Undie Run:  This post recapped my first experience running in my underwear for the Cupid's Undie Run this past February in Mason City.  I must have had a lot of fun, or I'm crazy, because I'm signed up to do it again this February!

Top 3 Comments for a Cause Posts

1. What it means to be a "Blue Family":  This is a guest post that one of my younger sisters wrote as a support piece towards my Comments for a Cause efforts for Iowa C.O.P.S.  This post has come into play a couple times I'm afraid this past year.  I encourage you to take some time to read this post to better understand and have empathy to know what it means to be a police officer family.
2. Lullaby Lane:  Lullaby Lane was such a neat local project that raised money to create a prayer pathway and memorials for those who have had a miscarriage in North Iowa.  I'm proud to say this project was completed in time for its dedication in October of this year on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.
3. Make Our Day:  Sometimes you never know how a simple email and conversation can lead you to getting to know someone new and wanting to share their story.  That is how I got to know Katie, founder of Make Our Day, and shared her story of moving to Thailand and eventually creating this organization.  You'll have to check out the post to get to full story. 😉

Top 3 Recipe Posts

1. Back to School Caramel Crispix Mix:  I literally hear from people each week that they have tried this recipe and now are addicted to it like my family and I.  This is a great snack to make for any gathering.  If you're having a kid-friendly New Year's get together (or even if it is adults only) you should make a batch!
2. 3 Ingredient Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet:  Everyone must have been looking for something simple and refreshing this summer because this 3 Ingredient Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet using AE Dairy's Reduced Sugar Lemonade fits that bill.  Even though strawberries aren't in season, I'm thinking maybe I should get some frozen strawberries and make this soon!
3. #AppleWeek 1 Minute Caramel Apple Dip:  I had a lot of fun participating in Apple Week with some of my blogging friends this past September and my 1 Minute Caramel Apple Dip is my favorite recipe I shared.  So simple, good, and obviously fast!

Top 3 Can't Fit in Another Category But Still Want to Highlight Posts

1. The Influence of Millennials on Food Trends:  This Winter I was interviewed for an article on the topic of millennials and their influence on food trends.  As both a millennial and farmer I found this topic very interesting.  In this blog post I shared some of my thoughts from the article and more, and I guess my readers found the topic interesting too since it was my top viewed "other" post from the year.
2. New Year Goal - Making a Daily Routine:  What a great post to revisit just a couple days til the start of 2017.  I have to admit, I went through waves of being really good at my daily routine and times of just flying through doing whatever needed to be done.  I always feel better myself when I can do my daily routine and I plan on concentrating on this again in the New Year.
3. 5 Gardening Tips for Beginners:  I think more and more people are interested in planting their own garden every year, but a lot of times they don't know where or how to start.  I put together several tips for beginners so hopefully their first garden won't overwhelm them and be successful at the same time.

What post was your favorite from 2016?  Did you discover any new posts from the top 2016 lists?  If you want to see more "top lists" recapping 2016, check out my #2016bestnine on Instagram or my Facebook page.  Remember to Comment for a Cause!