This Blog Turns 10 + Giveaway to End All Giveaways
As the holidays were in full swing a few months ago, my blog hit a major milestone.
In the quiet of a cold night late in November 2017, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (formerly My Kitchen Cafe) turned ten.
TEN YEARS OLD!
I mentioned it briefly in a few posts through the holidays, but I wanted to wait until life calmed down a bit to really celebrate.
And today’s the day!
I’m not going to lie, I’ve shed a few tears (seriously) getting this 10th anniversary celebration post together.
Dramatic?
Maybe.
I guess it’s hard to sum up all the feelings I have regarding this huge milestone.
But since it’s my birthday (both my blog birthday AND my big 40th birthday next week!!), I’m taking a little personal license today to talk candidly about what all this means to me and my family.
When I hit publish on that first post back in 2007 (I think it was a recipe for cheesecake pops that has since been deleted; in a fit of insecurity several years ago, I unfortunately deleted many of my first posts*), I had no idea that ten years later, I’d still be blogging.
*Don’t worry, I still have some of those “beginning” gems up. Like my mom’s homestyle stew. Get a load of those pictures. And that clever writing style. Hahahahaha.
It doesn’t help my tender emotions to look back and realize this is what my sweet family looked like in November 2007. It seems like another lifetime looking at those cute, chubby-cheeked little boys. I’m pretty sure I was holding that chubba wubba on my lap when I published the very first recipe.
Little did any of us know where the next ten years would take us! I was so young (29!!). So naive. With so few wrinkles.
And this is us today. Ten years later.
Two more kids. And a whole decade of laughter and trials (and of course, FOOD!) behind us to make a multitude of memories.
And yes, I have a lot more wrinkles now.
Many, many of you have been here since the beginning! That’s crazy to me. And kind of makes me get all weepy again (WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??).
If you remember when Mel’s Kitchen Cafe was My Kitchen Cafe (over on blogspot, no less), then we are bonded for life. That very classy web design that you see below is courtesy of yours truly. #sotalented #hahahaha
When I finally moved from blogspot to a real, live dot com in 2010, I also got a spiffy new web design.
Some of these other logos may look familiar as I’ve gone through a few design changes here and there over the last seven years.
And if that doesn’t get us all nostalgic, let’s have a moment of silence for how far I’ve come in the picture taking department. Let’s call this:
Then and Now.
I am by no means anything special when it comes to taking pictures of food, but I think we can all agree that time and upgrading from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR camera kind of, sort of made a huge difference in the pictures I posted in the early days of blogging.
The funny thing is, even though it’s been nine or so years, I distinctly remember thinking that carrot cake shot was such a good picture. I mean, look at the texture and the detail! Oh boy.
I think there’s some kind of really great object lesson here: like, when you step back and refocus, looking at the bigger picture, things look clearer and more beautiful (and a heck of a lot yummier).
On that note, cookies never looked so…I don’t know. Blurry? And thank goodness I tagged that picture with my web address in case someone wanted to steal it and republish, because it’s such an amazing, award-worthy photograph!
And hello, spaghetti sauce. I’m sorry I did you such a terrible disservice all those years ago. I’m glad we were finally able to make up and get you a more flattering look for the world.
I’m sorry, I just can’t stop.
Stew, anyone? Honestly, it shocks me anyone ever made the recipe with a picture like this. The trust many of you put in me in the early days (and still today) is…flattering…and frankly, kind of surprising.
Ok, enough with the pictures.
These last ten years have been filled with so many ups…and yes, some downs thrown in there, too. Both personally and in blogging.
We’ve moved our family across the country multiple times, struggled with the loss of a pregnancy, found ourselves dealing with health issues (cancer + radiation + skin cancer), and managed to weather many other challenges that at times have seemed to rock our small world.
But through it all, my family and I have also been incredibly blessed. Brian has a wonderful job (and we benefit from a nonstop supply of applesauce because of it), my healthy kids are growing into fine young people (except when they’re not, ha!), and year after year, I find our lives naturally swaying toward being more firmly rooted in love for Jesus Christ and love for each other (even if that means my house is loud, chaotic, rowdy, and sometimes irreverent).
Real life, man.
Family really is everything. I know I can be a bit lighthearted here on the blog and I don’t always delve into serious matters, but at the end of the day, I hope the one thing you would say about me if you left is that “Mel loves her family.”
That’s really all that matters to me (even above my love for dark chocolate), and even though my blog has seen tremendous, unexpected growth over the last ten years, I’ve turned down many opportunities that have come my way because of this crew right here. And I don’t regret any of those missed chances, not in the least.
Blogging has been the most wonderful journey for me.
I started with a handful of readers (oh hey there, mom!) back when blogs weren’t really a thing. I mean, there were a handful of us blogging a decade ago, but not many, and if you would have told someone back then that you were a “blogger,” they would have looked at you like you were saying something incredibly inappropriate.
I still remember when I got the first comment from someone other than my family. At first I was creeped out (ack, a stalker!), but then I was like, “hmmm, maybe this is awesome!”
Fast forward to today when I am visited by millions (!!) of people each month and filtering through hundreds of comments and emails a day (hence the hiring of the virtual assistant as outlined in that timeline below!).
That is completely insane to me. Millions of people here? On my blog? Reading me wax poetic and ramble on and on about food??
If you would have told me ten years ago I’d be managing a full-time business from the comfort of my home day after day, I would have laughed in your face because that would never have been possible in my mind (and it wasn’t at all my intention).
I feel incredibly fortunate and honored to still be here.
My extremely talented friend, Catherine, put together this clever and cute one-glance timeline of what my life has been like the last ten years.
There are a few blog details sprinkled throughout, but there are also a lot of personal details, some of them I never really talked about on the blog. I love this visual summary so much.
{Click HERE for a closer view of the graphic!}
I really feel like I have the best readers in the world. I think of so many of you as legit friends! I know that means I probably need to get out more, but I don’t care.
I look forward to seeing your comments pop up, and I appreciate your loyalty and support so much. You have made my life more fulfilling than I can explain – your stories, your friendship, your comments. Thank you.
I literally wouldn’t be living this food blogging life (which I deeply love, even on those days that I want to run far, far away and never blog again!) if it weren’t for those of you that come back time after time, that find me via google, that stumble on a Pinterest pin and manage to get over here.
Thank you for being here. It really means everything to me.
While I make a good financial living from this food blog, it’s never been about money (it took me years to even think about putting ads on my site at all, but having done so, I appreciate your patience with the ads and very occasional sponsored post, as it is a justification and reward for the hard work that goes into this blog, as well as a way to pay for the tremendous amount of backend, 3rd party, technical support this site needs).
I truly am only posting new recipes to this day (and spending a lot of late nights working behind the scenes to keep it all running) ten years later because of you.
What does the future hold for Mel’s Kitchen Cafe? Well, as always, you can look forward to tons and tons of new, foolproof, best-ever recipes.
Of course.
I also have some projects planned this year (an upcoming YouTube cooking course, as well as a few out-of-the-box projects that I’ll tell you more about in the next few months) that I think will rock your world. I’m sooooo excited for what’s to come!
Ok, now on to the good stuff!
Since I only do a giveaway, like, once every decade (ha!), I wanted to give back to you guys in a big way.
You already know I rave about tons and tons of my favorite kitchen equipment. I have deep and abiding passions about things like Bosch mixers and wheat grinders, and I subject you to those opinions a lot. #sorrynotsorry
So today, I’m giving TEN readers a chance to win one of my favorite, favorite things!
And the potential prizes are pretty epic, I must say.
{FYI: This giveaway is not sponsored; I’ve been saving up my pennies to personally provide all the prizes as a way of saying thank you!}
{GIVEAWAY OFFICIALLY CLOSED! I’LL ANNOUNCE WINNERS MONDAY! }
To enter:
1) Make sure you are following me on Facebook and Instagram and have signed up for my email newsletters (you’ll want to do this anyway, as this is where I’ll be launching the upcoming projects + blog news + first access to recipes, and you don’t want to miss out on those things, trust me!)
2) Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite recipe you’ve made from my blog AND in your comment, include the number of prize you would choose if you are a winner (see picture and list below). It may take a few minutes, or longer, for your comment to show up. Please be patient and DON’T POST MULTIPLE COMMENTS.
Of course, I’m not going to be able to tell if you are some giveaway lurker pretending to have made a recipe of mine, but my goal is to reward my loyal readers, so if you haven’t made a recipe yet, you better run into the kitchen and do that. 🙂
Additional rules: one entry per person (multiple entries will NOT be counted and will most likely result in all entries being deleted); giveaway open to Canada and US residents only (due to shipping costs). So sorry about that!
#2: Vitamix Blender
#3: Bosch Universal Mixer (with dough hook and whisks)
#4: Cuisinart Multi-Clad Cookware Set
#5: KitchenAid Professional 600 Series Mixer
#6: Blendtec Blender
#10: The Almighty Instant Pot (can choose between receiving the 6-quart or 8-quart model)
I love your guts!
Thanks again for being here and for making this blog (and giveaway) possible!
{PS: my blog anniversary and 40th birthday gift to myself, because you know I had to do something, is a new set of pots and pans, and honestly, I couldn’t be more excited! It’s about time to put my 20 year old Farberware pots and pans to rest. RIP}
2,792 Comments on “This Blog Turns 10 + Giveaway to End All Giveaways”
Hey guys (ok, mostly gals!!) This giveaway is now officially closed! Thank you, thank you for all your comments. You have made me laugh, cry and everything in between. I wish I could respond to each of you individually. You have no idea how your love and comments and excitement have bolstered me up this week!! I’ll announce winners Monday! Love all of your guts SO MUCH!!
Instant Pot Lentil Chili is one of my favorite recipes. Number 3.
Hi, Mel. I save so many of your recipes! Some older ones have a blue kitchen spoon icon, and the newer ones have a fancy “M”. My predictable favorite that I make almost every week is sweet and sour chicken! But I also love your recipes for turkey chili, chocolate caramel pecan pie, and what my family calls *THE* pancake mix. <3
I would love to try InstaPot cooking, so # 10!
Congratulations on 10 years, that’s amazing! I just started following your blog in 2017. I became a stay at home mom and we couldn’t afford to eat out anymore so I was trying to keep things exciting in the kitchen! So many of your recipes are amazing, I make your alfredo sauce and pizza crust weekly. My favorite, favorite, favorite thing to make though, is your french bread rolls…so amazing. My son is 1 now and I keep them stocked in the freezer because he eats so many of them it’s almost embarrassing. We bribe him to eat his vegetables with your rolls haha. If I won, I would love to have #1, the wheat grinder.
Love your recipes! It’s soooo hard to choose a favorite…they’re all good!
The most recent “favorite” I made was the Perfect Fluffy Sour Cream Pancakes. It took a bit to talk myself in to making them because there was no oatmeal, whole wheat flour, or other such “healthy” ingredient in them. My kids were very impressed and agreed they were the best pancakes I’ve ever made.
And I would choose #1
Happy anniversary and birthday! Hard to pick one favorite, but one recipe I make a lot and everyone loves is the peanut butter caramel chocolate chip cookie bars! I would love #2!
Baked ziti is our family’s favorite for sure! I would choose #6.
Hooray for 10 years! I’ve been a devoted follower for about 8 of them. 🙂 I pretty much only use recipes from this site, so picking a favorite is tricky, but I think I’m going to have to go with your Double Chocolate Mousse Torte. It’s what my husband and I both request for every birthday/special occasion. And if I won, I would love #2!!
I make your “Best Cornbread” recipe and honey butter all the time and I get so many compliments on it every time I bring it to share with friends or family. I swear I’ve sent hundreds of people to your blog not just for that recipe but I always tell them that every recipe I’ve tried from your blog has been a hit and that’s the honest to goodness truth. From your list I would choose #5 or #6 but I’d be happy with anything. Thanks for sharing your talents with the world!
Are you kidding me? Pick a favorite recipe? AND pick a favorite kitchen gadget? That’s like being asked to pick my favorite child! My absolute most loved recipe on your blog…your menu plans! They technically are a recipe right? I follow them religiously and they always turn out. You have seriously added 10 years to my life by doing menu plans. thank you thank you thank you for YOU, your blog and for bringing happiness to millions of people by sharing your love of good food! PS I pick #1 because adding some whole grain flour to anything containing chocolate makes it an instant healthy super food.
This is such a great post because I’ve been reading through other peoole’s Comments looking at what recipes they love mentally noting ideas for future meals! My favorite recipe I’ve made is your roasted maple-glazed pork tenderloin. It’s so juicy and delicious! If I were chosen I would want #7! Can you ever go wrong with ice cream?!?!
I make your delicious recipes all of the time Mel, but our favorite has to be the Sweet & Sour Chicken. Oh, and I would pick prize #2!
Hi Mel, 2 of our favs are The whole wheat blender pancakes and the Amazing Shrapnel Dip. If I won I would def. get the Bosch Universal Mixer.
I have made dozens of your recipes over the past few years, but my family’s favorite ones are your lime Curry chicken with coconut rice and the Korean beef eaten as lettuce wraps. My husband’s favorite is the Philly cheese steak sloppy Joe’s. So many good ones…
I would LOVE to win the ice cream compressor.
Happy Birthday. and also Happy Anniversary! Your blog is the greatest!! I have made so many of your recipes, but our all time favorite is the chipotle chicken skewers. That is in our regular meal rotation. The dipping sauce is so good, we use it on other thing too.If I win I would like #3 Bosch mixer. I seriously don’t know what I would do without your blog!!
I love your guts! My friend introduced me to your blog several years ago. The first recipe that I made was the Smothered Sweet pork burritos. Since I have discovered your blog there is no turning back. Your recipes have made me into the great cook that I am today. When my family asks where I get the great recipes I say from my friend Mel. Keep up the good work. Happy 10th Anniversary and Happy Birthday! Luv ya and God Bless.
9
#4 the multi clad pots and pans, because I, like you, have 20+ year old tired faberwere pots. My favorite recipe right now is “the best broccoli beef,” so delicious! Thanks for all the good recipes!
Our family loves your Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup!! I make it after a day of skiing/snowboard with my husband and 4 boys! So fast and easy and AMAZING! And I have the wheat grinder (thanks to you) which I love!!! I inherited my Grandma’s BOsch but it is very old and is falling apart so that would be my wish if I win (#3)! Thank you Mel! I have been reading/making your dishes from the moment your Cousin, Camille mentioned your blog to me which was soon after you had your boy #4. Which was soon after I had boy #4! I have made so many dishes from your site so THANK YOU!
I have enjoyed so many of your recipes, but the ones I LOVE are New England Clam chowder and the potato dill soup. Oh my—they are outrageously good and NEVER fail. I’d have a hard time picking between #3 and #7 (both have been on my “to buy” list for some time. PS—you are the reason I finally had the guts to bake my own bread from scratch. Nowadays, I’m a bread baking machine and I am so grateful for your step-by-step photos and thorough instructions. Your dependable recipes gave me the confidence I lacked. THANK YOU!!!
Congrats Mel! Hard to choose one favorite…..but today I would say your Peanut Butter cookies. Just the plain ones…..the ones that taste like HEAVEN from the freezer. Oh MY I have never been a huge fan of a plain PB cookie until this one! Thanks for all the hard work you put into every post and recipe. We can all tell you love your family to the moon and back…but you sure do put a lot of your heart into this blog too:)
Happy Anniversary! My family and I love Lemon Cream Cheese Crumble Muffins!! And I’d choose #2. Thanks!
You are AH-mazing!! I have been here since the beginning and you are my only recipe blog, thank you!! Honey almond granola is a weekly staple around here-so good!! I would choose #3 Bosch-large quantities of bread are in my future:) Hope you have a great birthday!!
Happy Anniversary Mel! Your blog ROCKS and I love your recipes. My fave at the moment is the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Delicious! And they come out perfect every time. I look forward to another 10+ years of your blog, family photos & stories, gift guides, and fantastic recipes. Thank YOU! #8
Mel, I’ve made so many recipes from your blog (I make at least one a week!), and it would be impossible to narrow it down to just one. But seeing how cold and snowy it is here in Canada, I’m going to say my current favourite is your Amish style apple baked oatmeal. So delicious!
If I won, I’d have to choose the Instant Pot (10), as I need to see what all the fuss is about! Congrats on these wonderful milestones!
i’m about to embarrass myself by offering proof that i’ve made many of your recipes over the years. embarrassing because i started my own blog in 2010 which is still floating around somewhere out there in internet land and housing several links back to your blog. now i use it as my recipe “box”! mynutritiousdish.blogspot.com … visit and you can hear the crickets. anyway, i found at least 5 of your recipes that i made and linked back. each one i’ve made over and over again since:
1. white bean chicken chili SO GOOD
2. homemade spaghetti sauce
3. sweet potato fries
4. balsamic chicken pasta
5. kansas city sue’s slow cooker chicken
i also frequently visit your pinterest and every sunday morning, while i’m sipping my coffee, i check out your blog to muster some inspiration for the coming weeks’ meals. you’re amazing! congrats on your well-deserved success. your family is darling.
your fan,
emily
p.s. – i’d choose the knives or the bosch mixer, for sure:)
Happy Anniversary!!! Just love your site and all the recipes over the years. I have made many of them. Our favorite is probably the homemade pizza dough and pizza sauce. Sooo delicious!
Lol…..I also have trusty Faberware cookware. It has been in use for 36 years and still does a great job but a new set of cookware would be fantastic! I would choose #4.
Thanks Mel!
Darcy’s Whole Wheat Bread is my favorite recipe. It is the best bread in the world :). How heavenly to grind fresh whole wheat! I would choose #1
Hands down it’s the yogurt recipe—however, whenever I want a recipe for anything at all, I always check your recipes first. I would love to have a new kitchen aid mixer (#5) because mine has quit working and I really miss it.
Congratulations on the anniversary. My daughter introduced me to you years ago and we are both great fans. So glad you took this leap so long ago…..
Hi Mel. I’ve tried a lot of your recipes. It’s all been super yummy. Your moms chili recipe is so good with lots of flavors. Thank you for everything. Your amazing Prize #1.
Honestly. I don’t know if I can pick a favorite recipe. Your blog is just my standard go to place when I think of something new I want to make but don’t have a great recipe yet. Many of your recipes like sweet potato black bean burritos and broccoli cheese soup I have made so often, that I even forget that they are yours because they have become ours. You know what I mean? I think I have made all your cinnamon roll variations (a girl can’t just have one favorite cinnamon roll!) and cookie recipes too. Nom Nom. I always need a secret stash of cookies in the the freezer. For emergencies of course. I appreciate your practical approach to feeding a family healthy and delicious meals that don’t require a whole lot of fuss. And I have come to trust that when you say, “You NEED to try this” that in fact I do NEED to try it soon. Congrats on 10 great years! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got coming next. And if I was a giveaway winner, I would choose #8 the food processor because mine is too small and I would LOVE to upgrade.
The Spelt Berries Pancakes, they are great! I made the plunge and returned to making our daily bread again, and we pretty much use spelt exclusively. Of course where your family has grown, mine had gotten smaller as the kids married and moved away. Cooking for two is still fun and it has taught me to up my creativity. I have no doubt you would be a success, you are a delightful mom, wife and woman. It has been fun to see the changes in your family during these past 10 years, I have enjoyed every post! I would appreciate #2 the Vitamix Blender so we could keep enjoying those pancakes, and so much more! Thank you!
So many good recipes, but I love making the pumpkin chocolate chip bread for my kids. I would like to win #3 or #10. Both are on my kitchen wishlist!
Mel, you’re a household name! We make the butter syrup almost every week because it is the only syrup my kids will eat now. (Thanks a lot!) We just bought an instantpot (your “roasted” chicken turned out divine) but I am ever wishing I had a food processor so, number 8 would change my life.
Also your cousin Katie is in my ward.
I commented yesterday but forgot to include that I would choose prize 8. Thank you for the awesome giveaway!
So glad to have found you some 6ish years ago! And still kicking myself for completely forgetting to hang around after the half marathon to meet you *facepalm*. Not sure I could choose a favorite recipe…possibly Gloria’s cinnamon rolls, which make an appearance every Christmas morning (and most birthday mornings too!). For neighbor gifts for Christmas this year, I made many batches of your oatmeal pancake mix and divided them into 2 cup portions, put in cute baggies and delivered to some 40 people. It was a lot of fun to make and very well received! If I won, I’d go for the Cuisinart set or instant pot . Thanks for all you have shared over the years!
I love your tuna Casserole recipe! In fact it is on the menu this week. I would love a new KitchenAid as mine has been on the fritz for a while now. I would also love an instapot so I can jump on that bandwagon
I love your guts too! You are like a sister to me. I love making desserts and sharing them with the people I love just like you! Some of my family favorites are Skillet Cookie and Sweet and Sour Chicken! I love reading your website because you are such a great writer and make things fun and exciting. I am always willing to try out any new recipe ideas. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into the website! I would enjoy #3, because I am trying to master bread making. I just need more practice. Thanks again.
I love your baked ziti recipe and it has become a favorite with friends and family. I would like #10. THanks Mel, here is to another great 10 years ! Pam Wilkinson
Happy anniversary, Mel! This blog was a total game changer for me. I’ve been cooking your yummy recipes for about 5 years and am always excited when we find another fave from here.
My personal favorite is the lemon blueberry cake. And my families favorite is Spaghetti Pie, baby. Making it right now!
– Kirsten
I forgot to pick a number!♀️ Either #8 or #5! Oy.
Love your recipes. Skillet Swedish Meatballs may have to be my favorite because every time I make them my whole family gobbles them up. Gotta love those nights when you can actually please everyone. I already have #3, The Bosch, after following your blog for a while and loving the idea of making 5 loaves of bread at once. So my choice would be #2 (or #6 for that matter.) I would love to have a high powered blender.
Oh wow! It’s hard to choose just one recipe, but the one I (probably) make most often is the Creamy White Chili.
I would love the knives, #9
I love so many recipes! Soups, muffins, crockpot. So I’ll choose what’s on the menu tonight…skillet baked spaghetti. I couldn’t eat spaghetti for years…post-college. But my kids love it. This recipe cured me and I can eat spaghetti again. Actually, my 15yo son is making it tonight! Thanks for amazing, easy recipes!
I have also been making kefir every day since your post!
Definitely #1. My wheat grinder is so NOISY!!!
Happy Anniversary & Happy Birthday!!
I don’t think I’ve been a reader since the very beginning, but pretty darn close.
I don’t think I can pick a favorite recipe, most nights what I’m making for dinner has come from your blog. Or if I’m searching for a recipe, your blog is my first place to look. However, I will say my 4 kids request Chicken Curry in a Hurry regularly.
All the prizes are amazing, but if I had to choose, I think it would be #3 Bosch.
Thanks for helping make me a Rockstar in the kitchen! ❤
My favorite recipe would have to be your Alfredo sauce! Yum!
I would pick #9–you can’t get far in the kitchen without some good knives!
Happy (blog) birthday!!!
Congrats Mel! Your site is the first one I go to when I’m looking for a recipe. I have so many favorites, but if I had to pick just one, it would be the chocolate cream pie – sometimes with a graham cracker crust, and sometimes with a pretzel crust! Thank you for sharing your kitchen and your stories. (Oh and if I win, I’d totally pick the Vitamix. I’ve wanted one for years but can’t justify the cost when I have so many other small appliances that can do a sufficient job. So…fingers crossed!!)
Hi Mel,
I love pretty much everything on your blog, but I probably make your French bread the most.
Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday! I have been a follower for many years – not sure if it has been 10, but darn close! I have enjoyed watching your family and your blog grow. One family reunion years ago I discovered that two of my aunts and half a dozen cousins all love your blog too!! I have many many favorite recipes. But I would say the recipe I love and use the most is the French Bread Rolls! They are my favorite go to recipe. I hope that you keep sending out more great recipes. I would love #3. I have the same Kitchen Aid but I would love to make more bread. Thanks Mel!
Trying to pick a favorite recipe from your blog is like trying to pick a favorite child (I have four boys and girl, just like you), but a couple of my favorites lately are the Honey Almond Granola (I made some for Christmas gifts last month and multiple people have asked me for the recipe) and Quinoa Parmesan Stew in the Instant Pot. I love how easy and comforting this dish is. I can prep dinner in less than five minutes. It has all the comfort of a bowl of spagetti-o’s without any of the disgustingness. I use your blog as my number one source of recipes and I don’t know how I ever functioned without you. Thank you. I would choose #8.
Happy Anniversary, Mel! Thanks for being here this past decade. Loved your post. I felt like I was taking a walk down memory lane right there with you. I have been fan since your early days (but didn’t comment much in the beginning because I didn’t want you to think I was a stalker…hahaha) thanks to my awesome step-sister who turned me on to you. I’ve never looked back.
Having a favorite recipe from your site is like having a favorite child (or niece in my case since I have soon-to-be seven)…it’s just too hard to commit as my favorites change depending on the season and/or craving. In the summer, I love your peaches and cream (which my family now calls peach dream because it’s so dreamy). We had your “the best ground beef tacos “for dinner last night and my husband and I were professing our love for you and your ability to help us get a tasty meal on the table in 30 minutes or less. I made your Swiss cheese ground turkey sloppy joes Monday night, and my husband declared it was the “best sandwich” he had ever had. I make your pumpkin bars (the original recipe from way back when) every Halloween. I love LOVE love your vanilla bean cheesecake (that cheesecake helped me win a cooking contest at work). Oh and who can forget the grilled pesto chicken (yum!)? Your peanut butter bars moved me to rock star status at a family gathering this summer. I love your brownie pudding and vanilla pudding cakes and your chewy chocolate chip cookies. The IP mashed potatoes were a game changer when Thanksgiving rolled around. I fell madly and deeply in love with my husband all over again when he made me your IP creamy potato soup (YUM!) as a surprise dinner.
I guess if I had to choose just one, my current favorite might be your Greek pork roast. My husband planned a date for us and made me meet him at Harmons. When I arrived, he handed me an envelope. When I opened up the “card,” it was a homemade gift card that read “You, me and a date with Mel.” He even photo-shopped a cute photo of you into a picture with us. He listed several recipes for me to choose from. Ironically, I had pulled out a pork roast earlier that day to thaw for your Greek roast, so it was an easy choice and a perfect date.
Clearly I could go on and on. The thing I appreciate most about you is I never have to “test” a recipe first before trying. I just know it’s going to be good. So thanks again for being amazing and for having great taste in food. You truly are a rock star in my world.
p.s. Your before and after photos had me laughing out loud!
p.p.s. #3 please (a Bosch has been on my list of wants…yay for you and your new pans)!
Congratulations and Happy Birthday!
Narrowing it down to one is a difficult task. The Perfect Cinnamon Rolls – (Gloria’s Famous Recipe) is a favorite in my household and loved by extended family too. All the prizes are amazing. This is also a difficult choice, #3 Bosch.
Happy anniversary and happy birthday, Mel! My favorite recipe of yours is the Broccoli Beef. I make it at least three times a month. I would choose prize #2!
A favorite recipe. That is like choosing a favorite child.
I made your buttermilk rolls Sunday. Loved them. Your Oreo cheesecake bites are sinful. I love your coconut curry lime chicken. I have made big batches of your garlic lemon chicken two weeks in a row for my lunch. I love your salads, especially the Thai chicken.
I really love them all. I have a Pinterest board devoted to you. I tell all my friends about your blog. In fact, I’m sending your link to a neighbor who is having a fondue party because I heart your cheese fondue…We too have adopted the “kiss if you drop the food in the pot” rule.
Thank you for your behind the scenes work and for so generously sharing your talent with us. For free nonetheless. My family thanks you too.
#5. I have always wanted one. I am sorry if I double posted.
My favorite recipe is chicken cordon bleu with that parmasean sauce. Yum……
My prize choice is #3
Congratulations to you for ten special years and for loving your family and Jesus….you are a true role model we need for today!
Happy Anniversary Mel! I’ve been around since the “My Kitchen Cafe” days and I can’t believe everything you have been through (what you never discussed on the blog). You are such a rock star and I wish you nothing but good health and happiness!
Unfortunately, I don’t cook as much as I used to, but I’ve made a lot of your recipes over the years and one of my favorites that I make almost weekly is your stove top macaroni and cheese!
What a generous giveaway! Thanks for the opportunity to enter. I would love a new cookware set as well and would love #4!
A favorite recipe. That is like choosing a favorite child.
I made your buttermilk rolls Sunday. Loved them. Your Oreo cheesecake bites are sinful. I love your coconut curry lime chicken. I have made big batches of your garlic lemon chicken two weeks in a row for my lunch. I love your salads, especially the Thai chicken.
I really love them all. I have a Pinterest board devoted to you. I tell all my friends about your blog. In fact, I’m sending your link to a neighbor who is having a fondue party because I heart your cheese fondue…We too have adopted the “kiss if you drop the food in the pot” rule.
Thank you for your behind the scenes work and for so generously sharing your talent with us. For free nonetheless. My family thanks you too.
I absolutely LOVE your carrot cake! I plan to make it every year for my birthday and Easter.
If I had to choose one giveaway item, it would be #5, the mixer. I think my current one (not the professional model) is on its last legs.
Thank you for all your great recipes!
My favorite recipes are your bread recipes. Maybe my most favorite is the artisan no knead bread. When I need bread I always turn to you! I’d choose #6, the Blendtec. Thank you and Congrats on the big anniversary!
Love your French Bread!! #4
Happy, Happy Birthday Mel! And congrats on 10 years of food blogging! Thanks for inspiring me in the kitchen through your amazing recipes and sense of humor.
Your blog is hands down my most favorite food blog I have ever come across. I try a recipe from there at least once a week. I also have a collection of your recipes printed out. They replace many of my growing up recipes…sorry Grandma and Mom! I do still have some of my most favorite recipes from my childhood in there…but I appreciate the healthier and fresher approach to your recipes. When I tell people about your website, I tell them how I love how fail-proof your recipes are, how beautiful the photography is, how easy the website is to use, and how yummy the recipes are!
It is hard to choose a favorite recipe. But I would say the most made recipe at our house is the Healthy Banana Oat Snack Bars, or what my two year old, who is now 7, fondly named “Banoatlets”. He asks for them for at least one birthday meal every year, be it breakfast or dinner.
I think if I won the contest, I would love #3, the Bosch, or #1, the Wheat Grinder so I could make some delicious and nutritious bread for my family on a weekly basis using different kinds of grains. I love the idea of making homemade bread but don’t have a simple way to do it with 4 kids.
Anyway, thanks again for everything! And Happy Birthday.
Hi Mel! I’ve visited your blog a million times even though i was just introduced to it last year! I’m Asian and i absolutely LOVE your asian recipes, especially the 30 minute meals 😉 My favourite recipe is – the Banh Mi sandwiches!! My family LOVES it And everyone i’ve made it for, or shared the recipe with loves it too! All the different flavours in the meatballs, and the crunch from the relish…. urghhh it’s making me hungry! Thank you so much for all the time you’ve put into the recipes and blog! It really does make cooking a lot easier for me. I’ve never cooked when I lived with my parents and when I got married I was utterly lost, so your blog really helped increase my repertoire of food I make! I’d love to have #4, #9 or #10. It’s so hard to decide!! Congrats on making it to 10 years and looking forward to the next 10 years with you!!!
We love so many! Fajitas, slow cooker stroganoff, lava cakes, smores cookies… I would want the benders or the Bosch
My fam loves your blueberry lemon cake, our daughter even requested it for her high school graduation party! I would love 2!
What an incredible blogging milestone! It was WAY too hard to pick just one recipe, so I picked a bunch, then narrowed it down, then picked a few more, then narrowed it down. And now I have 3: Creamy Swiss Cheese Chicken Bake (we love eating it with veggies on the side), Peaches and Cream Sensation, and Magnolia Lemon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust. Mmmm! I would want number 1 if I won 🙂
I love your blog! It’s my favorite for good recipes my family loves. I don’t know if I have a favorite but I really love your double chocolate muffins and make them often! I’d choose the knives.
I recognize/remember all of those logos! It’s hard to choose one recipe! As I look through my tried and true recipe board for a favorite, it’s filled with Mels Kitchen recipes. Your site helped me overcome the fear of yeast breads.
I can’t choose one recipe! Recently I loved the Apple Crumble Pie. We just added the Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup to our board. We always make the french bread rolls.
My kids favorite banana bread is the cream cheese banana bread. It’s ridiculous to just choose one!!! If I was lucky enough to win…. I would choose anything from 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9 (I have a Bosch and Instant Pot). I’m so happy for you and your success (with the blog and life). By the way, I’ve bought a ton of games off your lists! Love those posts too!
Too many good recipes that have saved my bacon too many times. This week I made your classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, mmm! I’ve also used your Hawaiian haystacks recipe to feed a mega family party! I would love either #9 or #10.
My family favorite recipe is, hands down, your sweet and sour chicken!!! Love it!!! My choice would be the Kitchenaid (#5).
I love so many of your recipes its hard to pick a favorite. Love your cheesecake, chocolate chips cookies and so many dinner recipes. Thanks for all your hard work. I guess if I had to choose just one I would pick your whole wheat quinoa bread! I love it and that recipe really helped start making homemade bread more. If I could pick one gift it would be #5 the kitchen aid.
Happy 10th! I love all your recipes, but really like the barbecue sauce. #8 or #5
Our favorite recipe to make is the Coconut Curry Soup! I would love #9. Some new knives would be awesome!
Congrats! Thank you for ten years of reliable recipes and fun-to-read posts! Here’s to ten more.
I’d pick #2- the vitamix 🙂
Congratulations & Happy Birthday Mel! And thanks for gifting us in return!
I’m not sure what my fave recipe would be, hmmm…I’ve tried and loved so many. I guess the most used would be Hawaiian Haystacks. It’s a long time fave (made w cream of chicken soup) but when my hubby was diagnosed with celiac, it was one among many to disappear. Until you revolutionized it for me, and I can make it gluten free! Happy dance! That’s been the case with many more and my family is all so grateful!
#9 prize: I’d pick the knives, pretty please… my 20-yr-old wedding has had it.
Thank you for all the delicious food in our lives!
Happy 10th Anniversary (and Happiest of birthdays)! I love your blog, and I love you!❤️️ My favorite recipes are Honey Lime Enchiladas and Stuffed Chicken Marsala (but I seriously love them all!). Thank you! (#6 or #7).
The best Chocolate Cake 😉 It is moist and delicious! Just the way I like it!
#4
Mel- I am so thankful for your site! So many breakfasts-lunches-dinners come from your blog and I often get asked for recipes and send people to you. It is hard to say my favorite, but what we make the most is your oat pancakes and Taquitos. I never win on these things, probably bc I don’t enter much, but I really like the wheat blender or the food processor. Thanks for being a part of my family!!
One of my favorites is your Broccoli Cheese soup. It is the best I have ever made. I been a fan for the last 6 years. I suppose the prize most wanted would be #8 because my current one is on its last leg..
My family loves the spaghetti sauce but we love almost every recipe I have made from your site. My preference would be 5 or 8.
So hard to choose just one favorite but the one I’ve made time and time and time again would be the no-bake peanut butter bars. I’ve used them at potlucks, employee meetings, christmas gifts, new neighbor gifts, family treats and the list is endless. They are delicious.
I guess if I had to pick one, I would choose #6. The blender. Always wanted one but just can’t justify the cost when my $50-$60 Oster is working just dandy
Congrats on 10 years! I think I found you around 2009.
I LOVE your puppy chow. When I make it everybody fights over it! Thank you for all your recipes!
#7, but I already have #10 and #6. Thanks again!
Congratulations on ten years! While we make your applesauce muffins almost weekly around here, I think my favorite recipe is the knock-off boxed brownies. So good! I would choose #2 or #6.
I love your guts and the rest of you too! I have been with you almost from the beginning. I make something from your site daily (if not multiple times a day) you truly are my virtual bestie and I know we would be friends in real life. Your cousin Brad used to live in our neighborhood and whenever his mom would visit I would be star struck . I love too many of your recipes, but the ones I have made over and over would be Alfredo sauce and skillet Mac and cheese. I hope you have a wonderful birthday! Welcome to the 40 club! (I just turned 40 last month). If I would choose one of your fabulous prizes I would choose #7. I hadn’t ever heard of it and now I want it haha. You are the best! Thanks for making me a kitchen rock star. ♥️
What’s my favorite recipe from your site? It’s like picking a favorite child! Probably the peanut butter blossoms. We called them brown eyed susans as kids and your recipe is my favorite with those peanuts ground up in the dough. So good. My mom made them for me when she came out to help me with my first baby. So they’re nostalgic too. Love ya Mel! Thank you for all your hard work and for being awesome. And I’d love the Bosch mixer!
Classice Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies come out great every time! Love them! Plus I don’t feel as guilty eating so many because they have oatmeal in them! I would pick #6 because I’ve always wanted one.
I was brave on Sunday and tried your original chicken cordon blue yesterday and absolute yummy loved it! So did everyone else. It’s definitely going to be a recipe to make again and again. If I won, I’d love #5. A KitchenAid!!
Wow! Happy birthday and happy blog anniversary! I love everything I make from your blog, seriously yummy fool-proof yet impressive food. Our favorites are the Chinese cashew chicken (let’s hear it for delicious 30 minute meals!!) and the best chocolate chip cookies, so easy, so perfect every time. For the giveaway I would choose #8 and second is #3 what an amazing giveaway! Thank you!
We make your Chicken Tortilla soup in in the instant pot at least once every other week and I LOVE the Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps. I basically end up pinning every recipe that you publish! It’s so nice of you to do this giveaway and the prizes are all awesome. If I had to choose, I would probably pick #5 or #3 as I don’t have a mixer. I need one to make some of your recipes! Thanks for all you do Mel.
So fun! You are my go to blog for feeding my family dinner. My favorite is the vanilla bean white chocolate cheesecake! I also have four boys followed by one girl and I just turned 40 – I feel like we have so much in common! haha
I love checking out your blog for gift ideas for the kids and book recommendations.
Thanks for keeping this going for the last 10 years, I will be forever grateful to you! My first choice would be #8 followed by #3
Thank you for many recipes that our family loves! WE love. The sweet baked ham !! We also love the chicken fajita recipe!
Congrats on 10 years! I’ve been following your blog since near the beginning. I was thinking about it, and I don’t know exactly when I found out about your blog, but it was definitely in 2008 when my husband and I moved 2000 miles away from home to start grad school. We didn’t have a lot of money and needed to eat cheaper (i.e. start making food from scratch, which I had not done often before), and your blog was a lifesaver. You are my main source for recipes (and Christmas gift inspiration for my kids!) and in the past week I think more than half our meals have come from your blog.
As for my favorite recipe….I don’t know…I’m cooking your Banana Bread as I type this, we had your Ham and Barley Soup for dinner, I’m a sucker for your Outrageous Eskimo Bars, my husband loves you Curried Lentil Soup, my kids love your Sour Cream Muffins (I add blueberries), and your Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Stacks is my go-to meal whenever I need to take dinner to someone, (the list goes on and on)……but I think my all time favorite is your Ham and Pasta Skillet Dinner. It is light, flavorful, and easy to make when I’m in a hurry.
I could definitely use #4 (I really need new pots and pans, too) or #10.
How could I pick just one recipe?! I’ve read nearly every post of yours since 2009 when I made your basil chicken curry and I was hooked after that! I feel like I know you, my family knows who mel is and I’m not lying when I say 80% of the meals I make are from our site! Thank you so much for all you do! Is it weird I may have gotten teary eyed reading that timeline? Haha. Ok but my favourite recipe is….slow cooker beef stew? At least that’s what I’m craving right now.
Oh and I definitely want #1 – the komo!!!!
It’s a tie between the black bean sweet potato burritos and the whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I would choose #2 Or #6.
How do I pick a favorite recipe? It’s *almost* like picking a favorite child, it can’t be done. 😉 Lately I have been making your cinnamon swirl bread. It is a great gift for people during the sometimes dark and rainy Oregon winters. As far as a choice from your giveaway, they are all fabulous, but I could probably easily make use of the #8 food processor.
So so many amazing recipes you have shared. Your blog is the only food blog I always come back to. Your favorite cookie recipe is the bomb! We also really like your ginger crinkle cookies, your instant pot lentil chili and your whole wheat rolls. I tried your Greek pork recipe on chicken last week with your tzaziki and flatbread. Amazing! I’d choose #1.
The best recipe is the one for orange chicken.
Going for item number 5 because I don’t have one yet.
I have been following your blog for over four years now. I honestly don’t think I could choose a favorite! So many of your recipes are staples in our home and I often recommend your site to others because I can always count on the recipes being perfect! Seriously, it is my go-to when I am learning new things (like apple pie last Thanksgiving). Yogurt, sandwich bread, sweet and sour chicken, and fudgy chocolate brownies are some of our family’s favorite recipes. Thanks for sharing your recipes! Love your site! (If I were to win, I would love #4… I’m in serious need of new pots and pans! :D)
Your quick and delicious chicken noodle soup is very good! #5 kitchenmaid mixer would be wonderful (mine is starting to die)!
Most of my “recipes” for dinner, dessert, and will pretty much every meal are really your recipes. Our family favorites include Southwest eggrolls, spaghetti pie, Apple cheese chicken cranberry salad, chili, and will pretty much everything I’ve ever made from your blog has been a favorite. ! I have been a loyal daily reader of your blog since your blog spot days, so I feel like we are best friends too. I sometimes wonder how you’ve gotten to be such an amazing cook well I’m still about the same as I’ve always been. I always appreciate your tips and wisdom! All of the prizes seem amazing, I would especially love the wheat grinder, or the vita mix or blend tech. Happy birthday!
How do I choose a favorite recipe?? Your recipes are about all I make. It always feels weird when I’m not making something of yours. One Pot Asparagus and Bacon Pasta is probably one of my favorites right now. It feeds my pregnancy cravings.
Do I really have to choose between prizes? I’d say #3, the Bosch, would have to come first. I got a Kitchen Aid when I got married and am more of a bread maker and have regretted not trading it in for a Bosch ever since I opened the box. (But 2nd place would go to #8 the food processor. Someday I’ll own more than my tiny one!)
I have made your pizza sauce recipe many times. We love it! I’d choose the Instant pot.
Congrats on your 10 year blogging anniversary.
Happy 10-year blogiversary! I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. I’ve been a long time reader – probably for 9 years or so – but I remember your blogspot days and your blog has always been a favorite of mine. My favorite recipe of your is your Sugar Cookie Bars! They are my go-to treats for parties, potlucks or just a snack to have in the house. Congrats again! Looking forward to many more years.
Congratulations on 10 years! This really is a huge accomplishment. I’m trying to think what I have stuck with for 10 whole years. Other than my husband and kids probably not a whole lot. I started following you back in 2011. Your recipes have been on our meal calendar weekly ever sense. You really do have tried and true recipes that have become some of our family favorites. I have Mel’s Kitchen Cafe on my dash board and check it regularly. You are the go to for recipe searches, FHE treats and holiday preparations! (I also LOVE your gift guides can’t tell you how many games, gadgets and Amazon purchases you have inspired!) Thanks for sharing your life with us through food! Our #1 family favorite recipe is your Creamy White Chicken Chili. If I were picked I would be thrilled with a new set of Cuisinart pots and pans #4!
Happy Birthday, Mel! I do feel like we are friends although I’ve never met you. I love your bog and your recipes. You make me smile. I feel like you have traveled with me down a similar life path with babies, kids, moves, etc. My first recipe of yours was the Creamy Chicken Taquitos (still a favorite). I make a hundred of your recipes and you are always my go-to when I’m looking for something new. The one recipe I could never live without is the Giant Double Chocolate Cookie.
I would love the Bosch. My kitchen aid hit 20 years and still chugging along, but my daily baking is taking its toll.
You’re asking me to pick a favorite recipe??? Impossible. I guess I have to pick your Gluten-free, Chocolate Quinoa Cake with that delicious chocolate cream frosting. My hubby is not a big cake guy, but he LOVED that cake….like it was a serious love affair after the first bite. And I don’t feel guilty making it…cause you know, quinoa.
And I’d choose 5. Definitely 5.
Congratulations and THANKS for sharing! I love your guts, too! Unfortunately I am unable to limit my favorite recipe to 1! Crispy Southwest Chicken with the delicious Cilantro lime rice is a favorite at our house (requested by my daughter as the comfort food I leave in her freezer after her last 2 babies) but I also love the Grilled Coconut Lime chicken with Coconut rice too much to leave out! I would love the Bosch, #3! Happy Birthday!
Buttery Cornmeal Crescent rolls are a family favorite. And all your chocolate recipes. #3
Happy happy birthday Mel! And 10 years! That’s is wonderful. Congratulations. We are so lucky to have your amazing blog. I love too many of your recipes to even be able to pick just one. But I’ll say the sour cream pancakes are what I make almost every week and my family can’t get enough. My choice would be#7 because ice cream ❤️.
I have made many of your recipes over the years — the fluffy potato rolls are on our table at Thanksgiving every year now and your chicken enchiladas are a favorite . . . but our most favorite is . . . and you may be surprised at this . . . the Cheesy Quinoa Bites. Not sure if that’s even the right name any more . . . we have claimed this recipe as our own. I add the bacon and cheese the way I first remember, but sometimes now I add steamed, chopped broccoli. We love them. Even the dog loves them . . . he ate a whole batch that was cooling once and I had to start over and make the family a batch to keep everyone happy.
So, I started reading your blog around the time of your move to WI — so I guess that was 2009. Congrats on so many good years! And here’s hoping the next 10 are as fun for you. If I win this give-away I’d like #3 — my very old Kitchenaide is starting to make silly noises, but I’m really not entering to win . . . just to say thanks for so many good recipes. Actually, I should have said the potato rolls were our favorite — many friends get bags of those during the holidays. They would vote for the rolls.
Favorite recipe? Where do I even start? First of all your favorite cookies are my favorite too! (The coconut- yum!) Your lemon blueberry cake wins at the church bake-off every year. Easy stroganoff and lighter alfredo sauce have been game changer for busy weeknights with my picky eating kids. My friends and I always ask “Is this Mel’s?” when someone makes something delicious – and it usually is! 🙂
I would love #7, I’ve never made home-made ice cream before!
I have never made a bad recipe from your blog and it was hard to choose a favorite but I think the lemon crinkle cookies are the best.
And I would pick the Breville food processor.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been following your blog, but my kids have learned to just check here first when they need a recipe. You are a household name and provide the recipes for the majority of the food we eat. Thank you for taking the time to share your talents with the rest of us!
Favorite Recipe: the first thing that comes to mind is grilled honey and chicken kebabs (but I just pulled your whole wheat chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and they are a favorite as well).
The prize I would choose: #7 the ice cream maker
Favorite recipe… that is so hard. We make the super soft chocolate chip cookies weekly and the french bread rolls for basically everything, but I think my favorite is the perfect pot roast, all because of that gravy. I could seriously just eat it like soup. Its divine.
I would have to go with #7, I am an ice cream snob and making my own would be amazing.
My family has come to love so many if your recipes! But if have to say our favorite is the creamy green chili chicken enchiladas. This recipe got me excited about cooking and making things from scratch instead of using cream of chicken in everything. It is the most requested dinner at our house. Thanks Mel for 10 years of fantastic family friendly recipes. I am yet to make a recipe off your blog that I don’t like. I would love the #5 Kitchen Aid or #1 Wheat grinder. Happy anniversary!!
Wow Mel, you are the kindest and most generous person out there! What kind of person gives away 10 huge gifts for her birthday?! Congratulations on 10 Years!! That seems to have gone by so fast— for me— because I’m not doing any hard work, other than making your amazing recipes. 🙂 I have been here with you through most of the 10 years! I’ve mostly stayed quiet, but try most of your recipes, and always refer my friends to you. I get compliments on my cooking, and I always tell them to head to your website! 🙂 I’m so happy for your success! You have blessed so many people’s lives with your talents and your kind heart. Thank you for continuing this website for me, for us all.
As for the giveaway, how can I chooooose!!! If I were to be a lucky winner, I think would go with the Vitamix.
Thank you Mel, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
It’s me again – oops – forgot to post my favorite recipe of yours! So many to choose from, but I’ll say the Kicked Up Ramen Noodles – Kung Pao Style… this is such a yummy, quick, easy meal, and my kids absolutely LOVE it! Now that’s saying something and definitely a keeper when the kids are happy!!
Thanks!!
This is a hard decision 🙂 I don’t have just one favorite recipe, I have a ton of favorite recipes!! But if I had to choose I would say your instant pot refried beans. They are so fast!! But we make your quick and easy pizza crust at least twice a month too. We love your cinnamon rolls, your cookies, I could write a book there are so many good ones!! hahaha Maybe I”ll leave that to you. 😀 Often I come to your blog and go to your menu for the week and choose something from that. I figure why should I have to think too much? Mel’s done the thinking for me!! I would love to have #7 if I could choose it. I love frozen treats! Yummm!!
I had such a hard time picking one! I’ve made several of your recipes and loved them all! My recent favorite is Hoisen shrimp with rice noodles. I would love #5.
Happy 10 years! My all-time favorite recipe is the Slow-cooker Butternut Squash Tortellini. That sauce is to die for! Yum! I would love to win the food processor, #8!
I credit you for causing me to check my skin after your post on Skin cancer. I found a melanoma that was developing on my back while I was pregnant. I never had skin cancer on my radar, but after reading your post, decided to look a little closer. I caught it early, so thank you for saving my life!
You’re my go-to when I recipe search. Thanks so much! Tonight I’m making beef stew – the one with sweet potatoes and corn and green chili’s. Yum! I’m going to try to get it to work for my insta-pot.
Crossing my fingers for the prizes – The knives #9 would probably be my top choice. Then the ice cream maker #9 , then the food processor #8. Ooo…I could keep going. So many fun things! Happy 40th!
Your recipes grace our table multiple times a week! Thank you for all your work and willingness to share with us. The most requested recipe in my family is Korean Beef. If I added Pretzel Bites and Sugar Cookie Bars, they would be in heaven,
I love your blog! My favorite recipe of yours is the French rolls! I have always been afraid of making rolls but these ones turn out perfectly every time. Thanks for the wonderful recipes! If I were to win I would love the Bosch!
Happy 10th – here’s to many more! Picking a favorite recipe is like picking a favorite kid…I’ll go with the Magnolia Lemon Pie.
#6
Favorite recipe? Easily Brown Sugar Crackle Cookies. Prize I’m drooling over? That amazing wheat grinder. Thanks for giving us so many great recipes to try and so many reasons to go burn calories at the gym.
Oh that’s easy … its the Best White Sandwich Bread. I’ve made plenty of your other recipes, but that one revolutionized my kitchen. Its a no-fail recipe that has literally never failed, and prompted me on a journey to start making all our breads from scratch. While I’m not to that point yet, I can tell you I haven’t bought a loaf of bread since that first batch of BWSB. I would choose #8, the food processor, because a lot of bread and baking recipes call for one. Congrats on 10 years and thanks for the opportunity at such a generous giveaway!!
Happy 10 Years!! I LOVE YOUR BLOG and share it with anyone who stays in my space for more than a few minutes! Thanks for getting my mom and I out to run (well, my mom and Jody walked, but whatever) the Provo Half Marathon (in fact, running it this year with some friends for my birthday present-what?!)
I have made ever so many of your recipes. I find myself making sweet and sour chicken, or orange chicken at least once a week (picky kids!) Your newest post for chocolate chip cookies made.my.life.
I actually discovered your giveaway because I pulled up your blog to make myself some “healthier no bake cookies”.
Thank you so much for all of your blood, sweat and tears over the last decade. You rock!!
I forgot to pick what I’d love:#6, # 9 or #10
I need a serious blender & yours looks awesome! Knives are always a bonus. After almost 13 years the wedding gift knives are looking pretty sad. An instant pot? Well, you’ve converted me!
It’s pretty amazing that you’re giving away prizes out of your own pocket. Wow, wow and SUPER WOW!
My family LOVES the Monterey chicken with pics de Gallo! I want #5!
Mel, I so appreciate your dedication to this endeavor. These days, my friends and I just say “this is from Mel, right?” when we make a recipe! My favorite??
Savory is the beef and barley stew – it is perfect.
Bread – whole wheat quinoa (we can go through a loaf every couple of days, so x3 at a time is awesome).
Sweet – caramel apple cheesecake streusel bars. They take a fair amount of work, but people RAVE about them every single time I make them for an event.
I would choose the Bosch, as my professional KitchenAid is really wearing out from the bread unless I get a new motor.
Happy 40th! I’m excited to turn 40 this year too. Lots of great things ahead!
I have made lots and lots and lots of your recipes! Huge fan. The slow cooker carnitas are probably my favorite – well that’s not fair but I make them the most, I think. My family loves love loves when I make that and they beg me to make extra for breakfast to go with their eggs. I’d pick #4 Cuisinart Multi-Clad Cookware Set because my pots are 30+ years old and it shows. LOL. Thanks for the great recipes.
The Chocolate Mousse Torte with Raspberries is our favorite … we always request it for birthdays and valentines. #6.
I’ve been following your blog since back when it was My Kitchen Cafe. I love it! I think my favorite things to make are the pizza pull aparts and your pizza recipe. My kids’ favorite is probably the skillet Mac and cheese. Every time my husband has to go on a business trip we put that on the menu (I think he ate too much Mac and cheese on his mission and now he refuses;)). If I were to win I would choose, I would choose #6, the blendtec. Looking forward to your projects:)
Happy 10 years! My husband loves your sweet and sour chicken and the firecracker chicken. A family favorite is your Korean beef, so easy and quick and always have the ingredients on hand and everyone eats it! I don’t even know what my favorite is though. I want to try all your cheesecake recipes and I have a goal to try my hand at bread making this year. I would love to win #6 the blendtec blender but I am intrigued by the Bosch mixer. I have a KitchenAid and love it but your live for the Bosch has me wondering!
Happy 10th Anniversary!! Every recipe I have tried is always delicious, the most recent one being the Sweet Orange Rolls!!! Oh my goodness, those are so amazing! If could pick one I would choose #1. That would make grinding wheat so much easier! Would be nice to have an ice cream machine though, haha. Congratulations again!
This is so dumb of me, but I was on the verge of tears reading through your timeline. Honestly, I can’t remember when I first started using your site, maybe back in 2010? And you are my number one source for recipes, because of you I am a confident cook in the kitchen that can hold my own, bc of your delicious recipes and directions. Thank you SOOOO much for continuing to blog and share. I wish I knew you in person, (I have plenty of friends who do have connections with you, waiting to join that personal club, ha!) but honestly feel like i do in so many ways I do when I tell my friends “You’ve heard of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, right? That’s where I get ALL my recipes, Mel’s the best (cue hairflip)”.
Favorite recipe? Are you kidding me?! Such a hard choice! Toss up between sweet potato tacos, tomato basil soup (got my wisdom teeth out last week and literally been living off this soup for 6 days now), and BBQ chicken salad. That’ s just the main dish category! I could go on and on from there from dessert to bread. Oh wait let’s just mention the cinnamon rolls. Oh your cinnamon rolls! Overnight or pudding ones I get the BIGGEST compliments on. I need try get on those potato ones stat!
Thank you thank you again for being who you are and sharing. It’s made a world of difference to me and my family!
I would literally die to have #3 or #4!!!!
I’d be lost without your blog, Mel! I’ve only commented once before but I cook probably 90% of my meals from your recipes. Which makes it really hard to narrow down to one favorite, but since I’m in a dessert mood I’d have to say your double chocolate mousse torte is about the best thing in the world. Thanks for all your work in making my search for good recipes so easy! I’d definitely go for #1, I’ve been wanting a replacement for my super old wheat grinder!
Hi Mel!
My favorite recipe is your broccoli cheese soup, because it is so delicious and easy to make, plus it is inexpensive (I am a college student). If I won, I would be thrilled with any of the prizes, but especially the Instantpot, Blendtec, or KitchenAide.
Thanks for all of the yummo recipes! xoxo
Congratulations and happy birthday! My family loves your firecracker chicken! I would definitely choose the ice cream compressor!
Every single recipe I’ve made from your blog has been delicious (I LOVE your Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake). But, my very favorite recipe of yours that I’ve made many, many times is the Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars. SO delicious and easy to make, and they’re always a hit wherever I’ve taken them. If I win, I would love either #3 or #7. Thanks for the giveaway and congrats on MKC’s 10 year anniversary!
Happy 10th & 40th!!! I use your recipes weekly. I love your breakfast burrito and sugar cookie recipes. I would love #10, #5, #7, #8, or #1. Thanks!
This is my go to place for recipes! There are countless things I have made and have loved but a couple of my favorites, teriyaki meatballs, super soft chocolate chip cookies, creamy confetti corn, baby back ribs with root beer…really I could go on and on.
I would love to win #2
My favorite recipe is Sweet & Sour Chicken. But those cornmeal crescents are pretty awesome too. I’ve made SO MANY of your recipes. This is one of the first food blogs I ever followed religiously. I’ve been here since late 2008 or early 2009. So, Happy 40th birthday (I just turned 40 in September myself-it’s not so bad) and Happy blog birthday too! I’d love to have that Bosch! It’s been on my wishlist for such a long time!
Mel I love any recipe that I get from your site, and I have so many that I still haven’t tried yet! It’s so hard to pick just one favorite, but definitely one of my favorites is your peanut butter caramel cookie bars! Every time I make those, they just disappear, because the whole family loves them! And of course, who wouldn’t? I would love any of your prizes but if I win I would pick the KitchenAid mixer! I bought the most basic one years ago and I am still using it every day, but it would be so nice to have a newer and nicer one! Thanks for all of the time you put into the blog, our family has been benefiting from it for years and we look forward to many more years to come!
I love your blog-your recipes never fail me, and your posts always make me smile! Thank you!
so hard to choose one…but lately we have been loving the white chile creamy enchiladas and the power energy bites .
if i won i would choose #4
thanks for all the delicious meals.
Congratulations Mel and happy birthday next week! Thank you for all your hard work, wonderful recipes and for always being a bright spot in my day (when I receive a post from you). Your recipes and instructional videos have helped me place many wonderful meals on my table and my family and I both appreciate you sharing your talents with us. (Just writing this to congratulate you and wish you a happy birthday. I’m not entering the giveaway. )
I have loved your blog/website for years when I am in the mood to try something new this is my go to place. I love your recipes and appreciate all of your time to make it available to us. I have won our ward chili cookoff year after year from your creamy white chili recipe. I always sending people your way when they want the recipe. Thanks for all you do!! I would love to try the ice cream compressor:)
I love your Creamy White Chicken Chili! It is the best! #10
I don’t do Instagram so I hope you don’t judge me for it. I do follow you on Facebook and I get your newsletter which I look forward to. If I had to choose a favorite recipe of yours (and there are so many my family loves) it would have to be your beef enchiladas. The meat falls apart in your mouth and the flavors are perfect. The recipe I use most often is your quick and easy pizza dough. It took my pizza to “a whole new level of yum!” To quote my 14 year old son. He loves pizza night because of your recipe. Thank you Mel!
I forgot to add which prize I’d like to win is the Breville food processor. I have never owned a food processor and I would love to have one.
How exciting! You have no idea how many times we (my husband and I) visit your site per week. Your site is our go-to for cooking because all of the recipes turn out great! It’s quite difficult to pick ONE favorite; however, the Korean beef and rice is always a winner. We even made this recipe for a small family gathering once. The flavor is amazing! If I had to choose one item from the giveaway, it would be #2, the Vitamix blender. We have a blender, but it never chops everything up all the way, and ends up getting clogged, so I stopped using it. We have a small Nutribullet, but when I’m making smoothies for the whole family, I have to make them in several batches, so the Vitamix blender would be amazing! Thanks for doing this!
Happy blog and real life birthday! Thank you so much for your recipes and all the other goodness you share with us! You inspire me both in and out of the kitchen. So hard to pick a favorite, but I’m not sure we could survive without your homemade pizza rolls. I’d love to win #6 or #7. Thank you!
We love so many recipes of yours. But probably the most frequently made would be your french bread rolls; we use them for so many different meals. If I won I would choose #3.
You rock and I feel like we are long lost friends in so many ways! You have influenced my cooking in so many wonderful ways. Some of my favorites are your pizza sauce, enchilada soup, portillos chopped salad, and practically everything else I’ve tried on your site!
Thank you for the time you put into your blog. You make my need for new recipes incredibly do-able!
I suffer from a lame blender, so a Vitamix has been a dream of mine for a long time (#2).
Seriously, thanks again and I wish you the best of the bestest type of success!
Hi Mel. I don’t do Facebook or Instagram but I am signed up for your newsletter. I rarely comment because I just don’t in general but I am currently making your weekday spaghetti which we love and have made dozens of your recipes over the last few years and love them all. I tell everybody in my life about your blog as if I’m giving them a million dollars 🙂 If I win number 3 or 5 would totally rock my world. Thanks for everything!
I have loved you for 8 years & you influenced me to get a spot checked on my face that was skin cancer!!! Now you are my go to website for MINDFUL Christmas presents … especially GAMES!! I haven’t met a mel recipe that I don’t love. My favorite is your Cornbread and our weekly family favorite meal is Sweet & sour Chicken! Thanks for all the work you put into helping me feel like a rock star feeding my family of 7! I would love to WIN #3 so I can make more then 2 loafs of bread at a time!!!!
Your Magical Layered Brownies are the BEST!!!! My daughter had them at your house and immediately wrote to me about them. Ever since I’ve been following you everywhere! Thank you for all of the time you spend doing this. My choice would be #3. My Bosch died a couple of years ago and while I love my KitchenAid, it doesn’t do bread like my Bosch did.
I have been following you for a few years now and I am having a hard time deciding on a favorite recipe–they are all so good!!! I think I would have to say your whole wheat bread recipe tops the list. I can make all kinds of yeast dough recipes, but always struggled with wheat bread, until I tried your recipe. My kids love it and so do I!!! As for the prizes, I would say the 8 qt. Instant Pot–dying to try all your pressure cooker recipes!!!
Mel, you never let us down. I make your recipes multiple times a week. My current favorite is the chicken tortilla soup. I use the crock pot and don’t cut up the raw chicken, just shred it when I’m done. I often throw in extra chicken and then shred it to use in the chicken enchilada skillet or something else (last week it went into pot pie). Thank you so much for your time and dedication, my family loves you. If I were to win, I’d pick number 10. Congratulations!
Congratulations on your blog-iversary! It’s hard to pick a favorite recipe of yours, but one that I make over and over is your Coconut and Cashew Granola! If I should be lucky enough to win a prize, I would be happy with any one of them, but ecstatic if I were to win #5, the KitchenAid Professional Mixer!
Thai coconut milk grilled chicken (and many, many more!) Your blog has saved dinner at our home many nights-it is not easy feeding my 5 boys (three now teenagers!) plus husband. I’d love prize #9 (’cause I’ve got a house full of boys and my other ones are frequently being used for various other non-cooking activities like whittling or cutting cardboard for huts). Thank you!
Oh Mel there are way too many favorite recipes to just pick one!! The most recent chewy chocolate chip recipe you recently posted graced my mixer Monday and it is definitely the best I’ve ever made. We have your oatmeal chocolate chip on repeat but I’m glad I branched our I would love #6 because my blendtec is trying to
Bite the dust or #7 because Ice Cream Compresser!!!
I love finding recipes on your site because I know they’ll be made with fresh healthy ingredients and that someone has tried them. I trust your opinion on food. It’s honest and real. A couple of my favorite recipes are the Mel’s favorite ch. chip cookie and the BBQ Chicken Salad Cilantro Lime Rice Bowls. They are so good. I also love your Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. So yummy! I’ve been wanting to make your fontina chicken recipe, but can’t yet find fontina cheese in my area. I’m still looking. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge! If I won, I’d love the wheat grinder. Drool….
I’ve been here all ten years! You’re my favorite blogger and choosing my favorite recipe is impossible since almost everything I cook/bake is from you. One of my kids all time favorites is the chocolate sour cream bundt cake. If I win I would choose $5. Congrats on 10 years. Can’t wait for 10 more!
Happy Anniversary!
I love your recipes! I use them ALL the time. My husband always says “This is from Mel’s , huh?” because it’s so yummy. I can honestly say everything that I have tried, I have loved! I have tried a ton of recipes too. My favorite is the Oreo Cheesecake bites. I leave it as a whole cheesecake though. I always take it to family gatherings and someone always ends up asking where I bought it and there are never any left overs! If I won, I would love #1
Hands down the no-bake cheesecake!
All prizes are amazing but I have been wanting a wheat grinder so #1 for me
Mel, you’re the best! Congrats on 10 years! I’ve been a consistent reader and fan for at least nine years. So happy for your success.
Talk about an awesome giveaway! I’d love #4, although I’d be happy with any of them.
And choosing a favorite recipe is like choosing a favorite kid. Some of my favorites are sloppy joe’s (and I hate sloppy joe’s!), perfect cinnamon rolls (amazing!!), pizza dough and sauce…and so many others. You’re a rock star!
Do I have to pick just one recipe!!! I have loved them all! One of my all time faves is vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls. Thank you for all your work! People always compliment my cooking, and it is you they really are sending compliments too. It is all your tips and recipes!!! Happy Blog-day and Birthday!
My favorite recipe of yours is the Lemon Blueberry Cake with Whipped Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting! I’d pick #3.
Do I have to pick just one recipe!!! I have loved them all! One of my all time faves is vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls. Thank you for all your work! People always compliment my cooking, and it is really they are sending compliments too, it is all your tips and recipes!!! Happy Blog-day and Birthday!
So I’ve never actually commented on here before but I visit your blog literally everyday because I make 90% of my meals from here and frequently share your recipes – I’m kind of a big fan. And I was estatic when you came to BYU to do a presentation last year! Thank you for the endless hours you put in to saving so many of us! I have become such a better cook over the last 3+ years following you and am so grateful you are willing to offer this to us for free. Happy birthday and happy ten year! My top choice would probably be #10 or #1 but your blog is more valuable to me than any of those items so seriously thank you so so much! Oh and it’s really hard to pick a favorite recipe but my two year olds favorite is you’re classi chile recipe, your spaghetti sauce is kind of a staple for me and the chocolate cake with chocolate mousse you posted before valentines last year was one of the most divine desserts I have ever tasted!
Congratulations Mel! I’ve been around for a long time and we love many of your recipes. Spaghetti sauce perfected is always in our freezer, along with the freezer beef and bean burritos, although the vanilla bean cheesecake is to die for…crispy chicken wraps, quick, easy and delicious! Thank you for always inspiring me and many others to try new things that we may not have otherwise. I would choose #6.
Gosh, where to begin with my favorites. I cook pretty much exclusively from your website and I have oh so many favorites. I made you Greek yogurt muffins yesterday, your balsamic and asparagus noodles on Sunday. (And thanks to you I now know how to brown butter). Your cheesecakes are And I would have to say my favorite recipe is your vanilla bean cheesecake! Thanks for all your hard work and delicious recipes. I have learned so much from your blog and it has opened up the world of cooking to me.
I would love to win #1 or #2.
Congratulations on 10 years! The two recipes I can think of I’ve made recently and enjoyed were Instant Pot mashed potatoes and Korean beef. If I were to win, I’d choose #8 – I’ve been really fed up all the issues I’ve had with my Cuisinart lately.
Mel-You are awesome! Thank you for so many great recipes. Ones I make all the time are your whole wheat bread, energy bites, and triple chocolate torte (I usually always request this for my bday). I would love love love #3 because my kitchenaid just bit the dust yesterday when I was trying to make bread. I know how you love your Bosch.
Thanks for the opportunity. Also, I’m not on Instagram, but I am following you on facebook.
Mel! Congratulations and happy birthday! This post made me teary too (??), haha. I’m 29 with 3 little ones and it’s amazing to see how life can change in 10 years.
I can’t say I’ve been here since the very very beginning, but at least for the last six years. You’re my go-to!
Favorite recipes are banana blender muffins that I literally make weekly and always have in my freezer, and oven baked ribs. I don’t make those weekly (I wish!) but oh man, they are delicious.
I would love, LOVE, a food processor. I’d choose #8!
Thanks for doing what you do!
My favorite recipe of yours is the whole wheat applesauce carrot muffins. I love them and so do my kids and I feel like I am awesome because my kids get veggies in their bodies.
I would pick number 6 because I have never had a blender that actually blends how I want it. This would be wonderful! Fingers crossed!
I’ve tried many of your recipes but I’m always a sucker for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe – Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chips Cookies. And I now use your mixing method for other cookies – thanks! I’d love to try making them in the Bosch mixer (#3)
My favorite recipe is your Brown Butter Banana Bars! Holy smokes are those delicious! I can eat a whole pan of those in a day! Congrats on 10 awesome years! I really look forward to the blog! 1st choice would be the Vitamix. Thanks!
One of my fave recipes is the gluten-free chocolate quinoa cake with chocolate whipped frosting…YUMMY!!! But I can’t say that I’ve been disappointed with any of the recipes that I’ve tried. If I win, I would love #9…desperately need new knives!
Congrats on 10 years! I have been devotedly following along for several years and my family cooks your recipes ALL the TIME! My family’s favorites are probably chewy chocolate chip bars or the biscuit cinnamon rolls, favorite dinner is chicken mango tacos but we have a lot of regulars from your site including pineapple meatballs, banana oatmeal muffins, hulk muffins, oven tacos, overnight cinnamon rolls, Asian Salad and the list goes on. Even my kids go to your site and cook from it. Yours is a common household name around here. Thanks for all your time and your recipes and for saving us all from starvation.
If I had to pick just one thing it would probably be a mixer. Whichever one makes the best cookies. 😉
I think it’s mean you want us to choose just one! But I’ll do it because all I want for your birthday is the ….aaaahhh choices again! Ok favorite recipe is “Grilled Asian chicken with peanut noodles and cucumber sambal.” If you haven’t found this recipe, find it, make it! And, I’m going for number 9, the high end knives!!! Wahoo!
I love making your broccoli cheese soup! If I win, I would like #5. Congrats on 10 great years!!
Pick a favorite recipe!?! That’s like picking a favorite child! ….an impossible question. This site is the first place I look when I’m doing my weekly menu plan, I’ve cooked/baked/sautéed/dumped in the crock pot/steamed up the IP soooo sooo many of your recipes. I feel like I need to change my name to Mel, then I could embark on cooking every single recipe on your website Julia & Julia style… but then I would need to blog about it… and I’m simply to lazy for that. So just thank you Mel for making menu planning & cooking for my family very much more delicious and enjoyable. And for the purposes of the drawing requirements…I would have to say your Sweet Baked Ham has forever changed Easter and Christmas Dinner in our family, love love love it. And if I happen to win this amazing giveaway, I’ve been purposefully dropping my blender in hopes that it will die so I can get a “fancy” one. So I would choose #2 or #6, which ever one you recommend!
My family loves the blueberry lemon cake with the cream cheese frosting. Yum!
I would choose #5
Congratulations on 10 years of blogging! I absolutely love your blog and make almost daily visits to your site for dinner ideas. It is hard to pick a favorite from all your delicious recipes. However your White Chicken Chili and your 1-hour bread sticks are high on my list. So good! I make your bread sticks quite often and they always receive rave reviews. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful recipes and for offering this giveaway! If I were to win I would love to have #7!
Congratulations on your blog anniversary! I am a relatively new follower of your blog but every recipe I’ve ever made of yours was outstanding! My favorite has been the Cuban sandwiches but the cream cheese blueberry muffins about stole the top spot!
If I won, I would love prize #2 – the mixer.
You are totally my go to gal!! My most recent fav is your Lentil Chili! Thank you for the endless inspiration!
My favorite recipe, though it’s a tough choice because I’ve been cooking with you for years and love all of your recipes, is the decadent chocolate cheesecake. It’s better than Cheesecake Factory!
If I win, I’d like #5, the kitchenaid professional 600 series mixer. Thank you Mel for great recipes and for being a wonderful role model and a delight to read! I hope ten is just the beginning.
Well, I’ve never made a bad recipe from your site, and it’s hard to pick a favorite! I think I have to go with two recipes simply because they’ve made it into my regular rotation and because I usually serve them together – Pesto Marinated Grilled Chicken and Simple Skillet Green Beans.
I would love #2, the Vitamix, if I won.
Happy anniversary!
I love love all your recipes! My family’s favorite is firecracker chicken. It’s been the requested meal for birthdays and even Father’s Day! Thank you for all your hard work and making my life easier!
#1 would be amazing!
Happy 10 year blog anniversary and happy 40th! My all time favorite is your pumpkin white chocolate mousse cheesecake! It’s now a thanksgiving tradition. I would choose #4 🙂
Congrats on 10 years, whatta milestone!!! My 40th b-day was last week & it’s really not sooooo bad. Choosing 1 favorite recipe is seriously difficult, but my recent fave: your peppermint cheesecake! It didn’t turn out the 1st time around (I think b/c my peppermint extract was mostly oil?) but I had faith in your recipe so I tried again & everyone LOVED it. Especially me! And if pressed to choose from the awesome prizes above: I think it’s time to upgrade to a Vitamix 🙂
Love your blog! Loyal reader for about 5-6 of those 10 years, so picking a fave is super hard, but I’ll tell you a few of your recipes that I use the most often (recipe names probably not exactly right though, lol). The best chocolate cake, slow cooker stew, thai noodles with peanut sauce, Tuna noodles (kids love this!!), fluffy whole wheat rolls (Made hundreds of times), chewy brownies, nearly every 30 minute and slow cooker meal you’ve got, and probably about 80% of your desserts!! Also love your board game and gift recommendations.
If I won I think I’d choose the food processor, as I don’t have one. Thanks Mel!!
I’ve made so many of your recipes and finally convinced my family, to follow you as well, after serving your pretzel sausage stuffing and chocolate caramel pecan pie for Thanksgiving last year. Your blog helped me to learn to cook and have the confidence to experiment on my own. If I were to win I would love to win the food processor since we’re currently OBSESSED with your energy bites and my hands hurt from making them by hand.
I’ve been trying to think up what is my favorite dish – I make so many from your site, it’s hard to pick! Just this last month I got asked for two of your recipes by people (the chocolate chip cookies with melted butter and the butternut squash and black bean enchilada skillet) – I sent them to your site, so now they will know and love your food too! For myself I have loved using the instant pot spaqhetti squash (basic, I know, but I never would have thought of doing it without you) and your other instant pot recipes. You actually inspired me to get an instant pot. But for most decadent I love your chocolate cake recipe, made with dutched processed cocoa. It is soooo good!
For winning, I would love to get 1,4, 7, or 8
I have made so many of recipes over the years I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite. I currently cook for other families as a second job and deliver meals to their homes. Many of your Creations have made it onto their favorites menu. I also have recommended you to my family and friends and you have many more devoted friends from that. I think your mini meatloaves are probably the thing I make the most. But I have a soft spot in my heart for any cheesecake. If I were to win a prize I would love the Bosch mixer. Because mine is from the late 70s and may be giving up on me soon since I make bread once a week
It is hard to choose a favorite recipe. I’ve made so many! Firecracker chicken is a big family favorite. And buttermilk banana bread. and Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. and Butter Cornmeal Crescent Rolls, and Pretzel Bites and the on and on….. My twin BYU student daughters are regular users of your website, and I shared your site with a couple other young women who are headed off to BYU.
I will definitely choose the 8 quart instant pot if win a prize.
It’s hard to choose just one favorite recipe but I’ll say Chipotle Chicken Tacos! I would pick #1 the wheat grinder.
Honestly I have loved all of your recipes so I don’t know if I can pick up favorite. but the Korean Beef is a family favorite that is quick for me to make. When I make something my family always asks is this Mel’s? I would choose the #8 or #5.
Congrats on 10 Years!!! My family loves the Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Rolls-so, so good!!! And I would be estatic to win #10!!
Favorites, there are so, so many. Favorite bread = buttery cornmeal crescents/rolls; favorite side = a tie between creamy spinach gratin and cranberry salsa, main dish = San Francisco pork; dessert = deep, dark chocolate brownies; I could go on. Thanks for all the recipes and the work you put into them!!!
I would choose #3
You are my web-site go-to! We love your sweet and sour chicken recipe and sticky coconut chicken. The list could go on! Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday (welcome to the club). Giveaway #2, 6, or 8 -would all be awesome!
So hard to only choose ONE recipe! I love them ALL! Probably the one we eat most often is your alfredo sauce. I would love to win #3…I’ve always wanted a bosch! Thanks Mel!
Happy 10th anniversary!! Mel, you have single handedly made me a confident cook with your amazing recipes. My entire family thanks you!! My husband throws your name around like we are friends (“is this another one of Mel’s recipes?”). I literally struggle straying to other blogs for new recipe ideas because they can disappoint and you never do!! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your hard work. You are benefiting more people and families than you realize. So, it’s tough to choose just one recipe… but I’ll go with your red sauce enchiladas because they are my husbands favorite. The Smokey lentil soup in instant pot is also amazing. And we are making sweet potato and ham hash tonight. Tomorrow’s menu is your slow cooker bbq pulled pork. Ahhh I could keep going. You are the BEST!! Thank you and congrats again on 10 years! And I’d love 2 or 3– both my mixer and blender are on their way out and I’m in need of new ones! But all prizes look amazing!
Favorites, there are so, so many. Favorite bread = buttery cornmeal crescents/rolls; favorite side = a tie between creamy spinach gratin and cranberry salsa, main dish = San Francisco pork; dessert = deep, dark chocolate brownies; I could go on. Thanks for all the recipes and the work you put into them!!!
My go to recipe is your Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry….followed by the crispy southwest chicken wraps, the sweet and sour chicken, and basically any dessert on your blog. I always know I can find something easy and delicious on your blog. I tell everyone to go to your site because the food is so good. Here’s to another 10 years! And I would love #3 if I won.
Favorites, there are so, so many. Favorite bread = buttery cornmeal crescents/rolls; favorite side = a tie between creamy spinach gratin and cranberry salsa, main dish = San Francisco pork; dessert = deep, dark chocolate brownies; I could go on. Thanks for all the recipes and the work you put into them!!!
I’ve been a reader for a few years and one of my favorite recipes to make is the Thai crunch salad with sweet and spicy dressing. It reminds of the Panera version, and although it takes some effort to chop up so many veggies, it is SO delicious! Thanks for all your recipes! I’d pick #8, the food processor, since I don’t have one! I was very excited to get an Instant Pot for my wedding a couple months ago and be able to start making some of your recipes in that!
Wow! Congratulations!
It’s so hard to choose my favorite, because I’ve lost count how many times I’ve said, “another win for Mel!” my boys would vote for your pretzels with homemade cheese sauce, or perhaps your recent creamy stovetop hot chocolate. My favorite RECENT was the Greek Pork, which I paired with your mediterranean quinoa salad. So many wonderful flavors in one meal!
I would definitely choose the Instant Pot 🙂
I have made so many great recipes from your site, but I think my kids would agree that we’ve loved the pizza rolls the best.
I’ve love to win #3, the Bosch Mixer!!
Congratulations on 10 years! Love your recipes – it’s so hard to pick just one! Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies and taco beef are two favorites at our house but there are so many more. I would pick #8.
Cuban street tacos are my favorite, hands down. Anytime I make them for others, they rave and ask for the recipe, which I happily share and direct them here. Thank you! Happy Birthday, both 10th and 40th!
And I’d be happy with 1, 2, 6, 7, or 8!
Favorites, there are so, so many. Favorite bread = buttery cornmeal crescents/rolls; favorite side = a tie between creamy spinach gratin and cranberry salsa, main dish = San Francisco pork; dessert = deep, dark chocolate brownies; I could go on. Thanks for all the recipes and the work you put into them!!!
Congrats on 10 years! This is my favorite blog and you are my go to for any recipe! I would choose the Vitamix blender (but they are really great!).
I love so many of your recipes! We love to make the Mexican Haystacks, Flaky buttermilk biscuit cinnamon rolls, Cheesy skillet chicken & rice with green beans, and the Turkey meatballs with lemon rice!
#8
Mel, You blog has given me and my family a love for cooking and baking. I have loved every single recipe from your blog that I’ve made (and I’ve made a bunch)! Some of my favorite are the green chili enchiladas, licorice caramels, and your rustic artisan bread.
My choice would be #4. I def need some new pans!
Mel, you are my go-to girl when it comes to cooking. I think there was one time I didn’t like a recipe I tried, but probably because I made it wrong.
I think my very favorite recipe is the Best Roast Chicken – love, love, love it and probably make it way too often, but it is a huge hit at our house.
A close second is the frosted brownies. Man, those are good. Mmmmm.
Thanks Mel, and happy anniversary and birthday!!
P..S. I’d love either the cookware or the Instant Pot
First off I want to say, that the majority of recipes I use are yours. They are all amazing!!! Thank you for everything! I would love to win #3 Bosch mixer because my kitchen aid can only hold half of Darcy’s recipe and my family blows through the 3 loaves I make each week. I think your darcys recipe is my favorite but a close second is the buttermilk cinnamon rolls. I made the rolls for my husbands co-workers and one of them said they wanted to come live with us. Lol! Happy anniversary! Oh and I subscribed to your newsletter
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!
I love this site, I talk about you like you are one of my family members sharing recipes with me. I am signed up on your email list, but I don’t have a Facebook or Instagram account, please don’t disqualify me for being in the older generation. My favorite recipe is the one that I’m making, you are always on my menus. But the recipe that makes me Happy is your Caramels, at Christmas time I made 5 batches of them and that was just family, they are divine.
Thank you, truly.
I would love #1 the KoMo wheat grinder.
Mel, Congratulations on 10 years, and turning 40! So exciting! Your love for your family truly does come across. I will find myself thinking about tidbits you’ve said in my own mothering, which have brought me comfort and courage.
I don’t know how I could possibly choose one recipe!!! One thing that I make ALL the time is your giant chocolate chip cookie. I bought a set of 100 boxes that fit the cookies perfectly, and I make them for birthdays for all of our friends, families, and teachers. They are such a fun, unique surprise and everyone loves them! My 8 year old’s favorite meal is the Southwest Chicken Barley Chili with your cornbread. I’m making the Caprese skewers for a baby shower this weekend. I’m making your Chicken Cordon Bleu for Valentine’s Day… and I could go on and on! Thank you SO MUCH Mel.
I feel like we as your readers should be sending you a gift, but I would love #3!
I honestly make 95% of my meals from your blog. Anytime I make something new, my family asks, “Is this from Mel?” And then before I can answer, they’ll say, “of course it is!”. We love your recipes!!
I also bought a Bosch mixer because of you and I can’t tell you enough how much I love it! So thanks for pointing me in the right direction on multiple things. 🙂
I’m horrible at picking favorites, so I can’t pick one recipe. But I will say that I’ve made your pretzel bites three times in the last two weeks, so at the moment, that’s my favorite. And we eat your tilapia tacos often as well. So glad you take time to share your love of food and great recipes with the world! Not sure how I’d manage without them! 😉
And I think I’d pick gift #4, but it’s a hard choice!
Wow, I can’t even begin to pick a favorite recipe. The recipes I have made the most are the ham and pasta skillet, cowboy spaghetti, and your pretzel rolls. You are my go to source for bread recipes (and really any recipe).
I (my husband) would love #7.
You are my favorite food blogger. I always go to you first looking for a recipe. Thank I love your chocolate chip cookies
Mel, I have said it to you tons but I am so grateful for your blog. Every time I don’t know what to make for dinner I hop on the computer (ahem, that’s what I’m supposed to be doing now) and “ask you” what I should make!
Favorites — well, hands down the one thing I am known for and asked to make most often is your pumpkin scones with ginger glaze. So many times . . and they’re still delicious, except to my daughter who doesn’t like pumpkin. What?!
Keep up your great work so we can eat yummy food!! Happy Birthday to your blog and to you. I’m 41 . . . 40 is hard mentally and you pretty much have to stop having seconds, but other than that it’s ok! 🙂
Thank you for all that you do. I don’t think there is any particular recipe that I love. We use your recipes weekly. I’m not kidding. 🙂 I appreciate your willingness to share and to make the cooking night somewhat easier. 😉 I would love #9
Gluten-Free Chocolate Quinoa Cake was life changing. And such a yummy recipe to bring when a G.F. dessert is required. Everyone I’ve served it to is always astounded that it is G.F. because it is one of the BEST. CHOCOLATE. CAKE. RECIPES. EVER. So yummy, rich, moist, flavorful, delicious. I’m not G.F. but I love this cake!
Also, I pick #7, the ice cream freezer. Or anything else because I could use it all!
I love and make your Kicked Up Ramen Noodles- Kung Pao Style all the time, it’s one of my family’s favorite dinners! # 5 would be awesome to have!
Happy anniversary and happy birthday! You are one of my go-to blogs for finding recipes. so thank you for all of the time and dedication you spend on this website. To choose one recipe is difficult — I made the easiest brownies last week for the first time for my sister-in-law’s birthday — SO yummy! But the recipe that I’ve made the most is the Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins. They’re often sent with meals for friends who have had babies–and my kids love them! My prize would be #10 or #8.
Hard to pick an all time favorite, as I have the memory of a goldfish, but the most recent stand out would be the Zucchini Brownies!!! So good. I love dessert that sneaks in veggies. I would go for #9 because a girl can never have too many knives, but would lovingly put to good use any of the 10!
Happy Anniversary!!! Oooh it’s so hard to choose a favorite recipe!!! I make so many of them so often- but if I have to choose, my family loves your Southwest Egg Rolls and Cinnamon Roll Cake. Thanks for being my go-to website when I need a trusty recipe!
#3 or #10
Considering I’ve made 4 of your recipes this week (and it’s only Wednesday!) so far, this will be difficult. Last night I made your massaged kale salad and one-bowl brownies and both were truly epic, so FOR THIS moment, those two are my faves. If I won the giveaway, I would choose #7!!!
Congratulations on 10 years Mel and happy birthday! You’re still a spring chicken!! Have loved your site for so long now and enjoyed the timeline and look back at the past logos and the early photographs! Have made tons of your recipes, but one I love to make a lot is your chicken tortilla soup! Yummy! Thank you for the opportunity to win such great prizes! I would love #9 – the knives! My set is so sad right now! Cheers to another 10!! 🙂
Our LATEST favorite is the Monterey Chicken. Holy cow, my husband cannot get enough of it! And really, it is so good, so I’m not complaining. I would LOVE to win #6, the Blendtec Blender. I’ve been wanting a high powered blender badly for far too long. (But that graduate student budget just gets in the way, you know?) Happy Happy Birthday and Anniversary Mel! Thanks for creating such a beautiful, fun space!
Congratulations on 10 years of blogging and Happy Birthday! Accidentally discovering your blog many years ago was a life-changer for me. Your recipes are a huge part of my cooking and baking. I have read and re-read your posts on wheat grinding so many times trying to justify if I can buy a wheat grinder for myself, so I guess #1 would be my first choice.
But picking just one recipe from all your wonderful recipes? Oh my gosh, that is difficult! I looked through my 3+ binders of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe recipes I have printed out and organized and use all the time and I think I have probably made Hawaiian Haystacks and Skillet Swedish Meatballs most of all. Both are big favorites of my whole family. Thank you Mel for all the work, effort and LOVE you put into this blog! I am so grateful!
Congrats on 10 years of making so many lives easier with your great recipes. I’ve followed you for at least six of those years and I love the new recipes and all of your family updates.
I really love so many of your recipes but lately, my family has really enjoyed the chicken pot pie crumble. Since I’ve been trying to cook healthier, I’ve been sticking with your more simple recipes because usually the more simple, the healthier they can be and still taste good! You also never let me down when I need a good cookie recipe! It’s a big birthday year for you (the big 4-0) and a big one for me too (the big 3-0)….cheers to a happy, healthy year. Ps…thanks for the 5 dark chocolate chip rule that has been hard to follow but helps out when I’ve been craving sugar. Some days, it’s a few more than 5 but still better than I’m used to!
I’d love to win number two as I don’t have a mixer anymore. I think it would be a great way to start making healthy shakes and so many other things!
Wow! I love your blog and want to gobble up EVERYTHING I see on it because I feel I have no time to cook with littles everywhere. You should be my neighbor and I go to your house to eat leftovers. I have managed to make your awesome banana bread recipe many times though. SO YUMMY!!!!
For a prize I wouldn’t mind either 9 or 10. Surprise me!
Anytime I need a recipe for anything I always turn to your blog! I love the divine breadsticks, one pot creamy asparagus bacon pasta, ultimate beef stroganoff, and all of your cinnamon and chocolate chip cookie recipes!! I would love #3 or any of them!!
Congrats on 10 awesome years! Yours is my all time favorite, go-to food blog. Thanks for all your great ideas!
I’m going to have to say that my fave recipe is your foolproof pizza dough because I make it ALL THE TIME and it’s never failed me once. But your chewy pretzel bites is a mighty close second.
You’re the one who convinced me I need a wheat grinder, but I still haven’t gotten one yet, so #1 would be my choice.
My favorite recipe right now are the red sauce chicken enchiladas, which I make a double batch of at least monthly so I can freeze some for later, too. I am trying a new recipe of yours weekly, though, so it is likely to change. This week it will be Alfredo sauce. My choice of the prizes would be number 3. I want to learn to bake bread and this would be so helpful. Thank you for all the culinary inspiration!
Your Peanut Butter Blossom cookies have become a full family tradition every Christmas. They turn out perfect every time and my whole family devours them! I’ve love #2 if I won!!
Double chocolate oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! They are my favorite.
Prize #6 would be amazing!
How can I choose my favorite? Your site is my #1 go-to place to look for great recipes! Turkey and Brown Rice Taco Burritos is definitely one of my favorites, especially since I can freeze more for an easy dinner another day!
I’d choose #8: Breville Food Processor.
You are my go to website for food. I know I can come here and find a recipe my family will love. If my kids ask for something again 9 out of 10 times it’s one of yours. Thank you!! If I were to choose I’d pick #4 the pans.
Forgot the fav recipe. There are so many but the one I’ve used over and over for several years are your overnight bran muffins. So good!
My favorite recipe is the Pao de Quijo recipe. I looked and looked for a recipe for this Brazilian bread and then in 2014 you posted this awesome recipe. One of my favorite quick breads. I would love prize #2.
So hard to pick one recipe some of my favorites are tender grilled pork chops, cheesecake bars , orange chicken but the one I make the most is your French bread rolls. Congratulations on 10 years. #2 The Vitamix
Soooo many of my weekly meals come from your website! I make the french bread rolls at least twice a week! My kids love the bran muffins and banana bread! Thanks for all you do! I would love to give the Bosch Mixer a try, see what the hype is about 🙂
My family’s favorite is your chicken barley chili. It is sooooo good! We serve it with Fritos, and everyone devours it! I would probably pick either #3. I’ve always wanted a Bosch mixer, and it would make kneading dough so much easier than by hand!
I love your website! Congrats on 10 years!!
My favorite recipe is your delcious ground beef stroganoff. It’s a staple around here.
I would love a #3 Bosch mixer!
It’s hard to pick a favorite of all the recipes I’ve made from your site but killer crunch brownies can follow me to the grave! I’d love #8!
I make so many things from your site! The latest thing I have made is your pie crust with sour cream in it and the cute video tutorial with your cute girl. My husband thinks the instant pot would make my life easier! I am grateful that in the blog world of many that try to hide their religious beliefs, that you are not afraid to say what you believe and what church and gospel you live. Thank you for your example to other bloggers in that regard! (even though I am not a blogger, I appreciate those that are true selves!)
My favorite recipe is Creamy White Chicken Chili. Everyone loves and I get asked for the recipe all the time! I would pick #1.
My favorite recipe? It would be a tie between the Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps or Honey Lime Tilapia. My family loves your recipes! A big thanks! I would love to have #3.
Oh man, there are a couple favs! I’ve made the smoky honey chicken a couple times lately, but I also love the shredded garlic beef (not official name) the epic cinnamon rolls and also pretty much everything I’ve made!
I would really REALLY love #3
I probably missed this because yesterday was crazy, but in case I still have a chance. I love so many of your recipes, there are too many to choose. Your sour cream banana bread just came out of my oven and last night we had korean beef and rice and pretty much every week we eat from your blog at least three times. You have seriously blessed my life so much! If I were to choose, it would be either 1, 3, or 8.
Congrats! I LOVE your mango black bean salad-it’s on repeat in this house! I would love a Vitamix blender.
I have made so many of your recipes and I turn to your site almost every day! My family has enjoyed many great meals and desserts thanks to you. Our favorite and most requested is your sweet and sour meatballs. Yum! Thanks for all you do!
I love your bread recipes!! And I want that Bosch mixer!! #3!! Thanks for being my most trusted recipe source!!
My grown daughters sent me to your blog for all their great recipes. We LOVEChinese Chicken Cashew — in and out of lettuce wraps. I keep making it trying to get it to the 30 minute meal time. Not there yet and no one cares! They just want me to keep making it! We are big ice cream fans, so #7 — Ice cream compressor
Alfredo Sauce. That is a go too! So tasty and easy! Perfect Chocolate chip cookies are really the best cookies. Lets say delicious. There are so many recipes that I love from your blog. I tried the pie recipe and it was a flaky crust for sure.
If I were to choose an item it would be the Insta pot I would love to try it. If that wasn’t available I would do the wheat grinder because I love fresh ground wheat.
Thanks for an amazing blog of delicious recipes! Laurie
My favorite recipe is the best broccoli salad. I make it often but I also pull out your Mom’s chili, best beef stew and oh so many others. . . . But broccoli salad is at the top!
Opps forgot to post I’d love #1 if I’m a winner!
It’s so hard to pick just one! But I’d have to go with one we use constantly – The Best Chicken Fajitas! Before your recipe I used a seasoning packet (ack!) from the store. But this recipe transformed fajita night! We eat them a couple of times a month still (and I believe I’ve been using the recipe since you first posted it!).
If chosen, I’d love #7 – the ice cream maker.
Thanks Mel! You really do seem like a friend and my recipe binders are chock full of your recipes!
Eek?! So many to choose from! I think the easiest brownies have been on repeat for years! And I really love all the curry dishes! I would love #8 or #9!
There is no way I could pick just one favorite recipe. Everything I make from your website is amazing! I’ve been following you for over 8 years and you are always my go to recipe blog (and yes I consider you a celebrity! My whole family would be giddy if we ever saw you in real life). Keep up the great work! If I won I would choose prize #9. Good quality knives are definitely at the top of my kitchen Wishlist
I LOVE your recipes! It’s so hard to choose a favorite, but our go-to’s are Korean Beef & Rice and Cripsy Oven-Baked Chicken. You make dinner time awesome over here! I would choose the InstaPot #10. I have heard so many great things about them! Thanks for all you do!
Wow Mel!!!! I am so happy for you!! I love that you didn’t start this with the intentions of growing so big and yet you have!! That just goes to show you’re doing a lot of things right!! I’ve made probably a hundred recipes of yours and you are always my go-to for dinner. Thanks for teaching me the ways!!! You are hilarious and real and so much fun too!!! I have a ton of favorite recipes and I think I need to make me a list so I can pick a little quicker at 5:30 when dinner should be served. #1-Creamy Tuscan pasta sauce. Ham & pasta skillet, chipotle chicken tacos, green chili chicken enchiladas, creamy white bean chicken Chile, taquitos, lemon cream pasta, Cuban street tacos, stroganoff, shredded beef, pork carnitas, bourbon chicken, Alfredo sauce, taco pasta shells, Swedish meatballs, teriyaki meatballs, sweet pork burritos, tomato pesto pasta, and of course, sugar cookie bars. My fave would be the food processor.
I feel weird saying this, since my love for chocolate is right up there with yours, but one of my absolute favorite recipes of yours is your Hearty Beef Stew. I’m planning on trying out the instant-pot version next week and I’m beyond excited for this upcoming meal! But I love so many of your recipes and I kind of assume that if we were ever to meet, we’d totally be besties. If nothing else, the 5 kids in common has to equal insta-friends, right?
If I won a giveaway, I’d probably choose either the Bosch (#3), but I wouldn’t say no to those beautiful knives, either… Happy blogging!!!!
I love your creamy white chicken chili and the honey lime chicken enchiladas! Both are perfect when having company over! I would love #4 or #9.
#4 I have made and loved so many of your recipes, but my favorite would have to be chicken pot pie crumble!
My family loves loves loves your basic white sandwich bread! It’s a breeze to make and it turns out amazing every time…it’s a wonder there is any left for them after I snitch warm slice after slice. Congrats to 10 year! Cheers to many more!
Oops! #8 The food processor
Congratulations on your blog anniversary and 40th birthday!
I’ve made and loved so many of your recipes over the years that it seems a little sacrilegious to pick just one favorite. But if I have to pick just one, I would choose the Berries On a Cloud dessert. And that’s saying lot coming from someone who is not a dessert lover. Oh, and my favorite kitchen gadget would be the Bosch Mixer (#3), followed closely by the Kitchenaid (#5). Thanks for all the great recipes and companionship over the years!
This post made me tear up. I have been following you since the beginning. I don’t remember how I stumbled upon your blog, but I instantly loved it and you and you’ve been my favorite ever since. I don’t even know how to narrow down a favorite recipe – it feels like picking a favorite child. I guess if I had to I would say your Unbelievable Chocolate Cake. (Or Cajun Chicken Pasta. Or White Chicken Chili. Or Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin. Or Lemon Blueberry Cake. Or Glazed Cranberry Lemon Cake. Or Gloria’s Cinnamon Rolls. Or… ) Thanks for all the goodness you’ve contributed to the world in the last decade – not just in food, but in being a good person and knowing what’s important in life.
I would choose #10.
Instant pot Greek Pork with that SAUCE!!! Yummo! #4
How can I choose just one recipe? Every single recipe I make is an instant favorite! And you’ve made me into a bread baker, which I struggled with forever. Choosing just one though, I would say your Calico Beans, it is a family favorite. And I would be extremely happy if I won # 3 the Bosch Mixer. 🙂
Although I have made many yummy recipes from this blog, my very fave is the Classic Black Beans and Rice (I think that is the name) recipe…yum! I actually serve it with your Cilantro Lime Rice and it is the best!
If I win, although I need a new food processor, the Vitamix would be great, too. So, #2 is my choice. 🙂
AHHHHH! How do I pick? I’ve made hundreds of your recipes. The first ones that come to mind are your Fudgy coconut brownie bites, Apple Dapple cake, Double Chocolate Muffins, and the Chopped Taco salad with homemade Catalina dressing. YUM!!!
As far as the giveaway, I’d choose #2!!
Happy 10th Anniversary!
I completely agree…tried & true recipes. Every recipe I’ve tried has been very good. My family likes when I marinate chicken using your recipe for GRILLED GREEK CHICKEN KEBABS WITH SIMPLE TZATZIKI SAUCE. It is always a hit! And your CLASSIC POTATO SALAD is the best potato salad, EVER!! This week we all enjoyed HEALTHY YOGURT OAT BLUEBERRY MUFFINS…I even used gluten free flour. Looking forward to many more wonderful recipes. Thanks!
I would choose #4
It’s hard to choose just one, but my favorite recipe has got to be the fudgy coconut oil brownie bites! They’re seriously so good. Every time I make them for someone else, they’re in awe of how delicious they are. I would love #5 if I was chosen. A KitchenAid would last me forever!
I’ve been a fan since the blogspot days. I used to print all the recipes because I was afraid the blog would disappear! Of course desserts are a favorite (hooray for Sugar Rush!), but the dinner recipes have been game changers. Some of our all time favorites are Italian Meatball Sandwiches and all the pizza recipes, and the spaghetti sauces. I would love to win 1, 4, 5 or 7. Thanks for your hard work!!
Happy Anniversary and Happy 40th Mel! I have been a huge fan from the early years and you are hands-down my favorite and most trusted place to find new recipes. I love that you make your meals from scratch. My family of six (now four teenagers) have benefited from your recipes over the years. I love your transparency and your ability to make your readers feel like we are all your friends.
Thank you for sharing your gift with us, for experimenting and tweaking recipes to share your favorites with us. You are a gem.
I have so many favorites from your site ranging from Smoked Salmon Chowder, Taco Salad with Homemade dressing, Chicken Gyros, Rock Salt Chicken, Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars, the homemade caramels and our new favorite, the Homemade Pepperoni Rolls (I’m making them with every possible item in my fridge now – salami, roast beef, ham – and they are a great way to disguise leftovers)! I loved your Sugar Rush series (and the non-sugar rush appetizer series too).
Thank you again for all your time and investment in making other families’ kitchens and mealtimes delicious!
If picked, for the prize, I’d be thrilled with any but especially #3, #5 or #7! xo
Hey hey!!
Kinda new to your blog and loving it so far my fav has been the sesame chicken asparagus pasta with creamy peanut sauce…yummy ! Thanx for all the lovely recipes and hard work . Joni loewen
Favourite gift would be #2 or #10 I can’t decide 😉
I made your instant pot potato soup and it was AMAZING! Totally trumped the potato soup I’ve been making for years (and yours has less butter too which is always a plus)! Also, your s’mores cookies are my FAVORITE!
Hello! Happy Ten Year Anniversary! I love the Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. As for prize of choice, I would choose #10–the instant pot!
Thanks Mel for all your wonderful recipes. My currant favorite is the Baked penne, broccoli, chicken and smoked mozzarella. Its great. I would choose #10. Would love to try an instant pot and the great recipes that you have for it. Happy 10 years and many more
Holy smokes, favorite recipe? How could you even suggest that there is a “favorite” recipe. I have been a fan of anything I have made of yours. While I will give an example of one recipe, I’m not saying it is better than the rest, just saying what a great example of recipes you provide. I made the key lime cheesecake pie for a pie celebration right before Thanksgiving. I thought I would likely go home with half of the pie because everyone else was bringing pies as well and really who goes for key lime as their number 1 choice in pie? Yeah, as any one that has made your recipes might know, that pie was the FIRST to be gone (and there were a LOT of options) the host RAVED about it and told everyone they had to try it. Of the prize options, I think I’d have to go with #2
I’d have to choose the Yum Yum Rice Bowls. Nutritional yeast was a new one for me, but it takes the sauce to a new level. Also, there are so many variations you can please just about everybody. Thanks again and here’s to at least 10 more years of fabulous recipes.
For a prize I would choose #3 The Bosch Universal Mixer.
I love all your yeast bread recipes but since I first had success with yeast making your French bread rolls they’d have to be my favorite. Loved the tutorial, too on how much flour is appropriate! I would adore a new KA mixer!
Congratulations on 10 and Happy 40. My whole family enjoys your recipes. My daughter has even started sending you pics of what has been made …. so sorry . She is a riot.
Hmmmm …. so because we are making “The Best Sloppy Joes” for supper, I would have to say that that is my favourite today. Yesterday it was something else and tomorrow it will be different again. I have always told my kiddos that I simply do not have favourites because we have been blessed with so much choice,, why choose just one .
Now I must choose again …. how about #3.
I have loved so many of your recipes, but I have made the Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork many times. I have told so many of my friends about your website and how much I love it. I would like #4, the Cuisinart Cookwear. Congratulations!
We love your site and your recipes! You are my go to when I need something new and guaranteed delicious to try. Our favorite and most used recipe is your spaghetti sauce! It is a staple at our house. I would love some new knives so I would pick #9.
Where do I begin? I have so, so many favorites. Why would you create this torture to choose one??? My choice would be the slow cooker beef for enchiladas. The prize number I would chose would be 2. Number 1 & 6 are not far behind. Thanks for sticking with us for 10 years and I am looking forward to many more years to come. 😉
Wow, not sure I can pick a favorite. But the one I make most often is jalapeño popper chili. Sometimes I make it once a week in the winter. A huge thank you to you for so many amazing recipes that save my hide day in and day out. I would go with #3, been wanting one but can’t justify the purchase with a perfectly good kitchen aid on hand.
Love your blog and recipes. The Cinnamon Chip Scones are “Amazing”! Would be delighted to have the Bosch – one of these days I am going to burn up my Kitchenaide trying to knead dough. Thanks again for all the great recipes!
My ALL-TIME favorite recipe on your blog (and I’ve made a lot over the last few years!) is your Molasses bread…as soon as I make it it is gone!! My husband and kids love it!!
If I were to choose one of the girls was at prizes, I would choose #3, the Bosch mixer 🙂
I love your dinner saving Alfredo sauce and basically everything else on your site. I would want to win the #6
This made me tear up. I only wish I’d known about your Kitchen Cafe 10 years ago. I found your blog 5+ years ago after I had my first child (the same spring Cam was born.) Just today I baked your healthy yogurt blueberry muffins with my 4 year old (for the 2nd time since you posted them a week ago, ahem. My 3 kids ate 10 muffins for afternoon snack the first time.)
I’m not sure I could pick a favorite recipe – at least 40% of our meals are straight from MKC. Maybe your best carrot and/or chocolate cake recipes, as they’ve become a staple for my kids’ birthdays. (See, even there I can’t pick 1.)
For appliances, I’d probably have to choose # 5 the stand mixer, because it’s lovely to imagine making frosting or bread dough and not having to hang onto my hand mixer for an eternity (although I probably wouldn’t have room in my small kitchen anyway.) But its lovely to dream! Congratulations on 10 years Mel – your family is lovely and I truly feel like you are part of *our* family.
I love love love the recipe for Indian butter chicken. So delicious! I love reading your blog and browsing recipes for dinner inspiration. Thank you for all you do. (And my pick is #5, the KitchenAid)
It’s almost impossible to pick just one, but my family loves the chicken quinoa lettuce wraps and I love that my kiddos gobble them up, veggies and all with no complaints!
Thank you for helping me find delicious and easy recipes that I don’t mind cooking after a long day at work and everyone enjoys eating.
I’ve had my eye on a vita-mix for a couple years so I’d pick that prize, #2. 🙂
Picking a favorite recipe is impossible since 75% of the recipes I use are yours! But because of you and your detailed (with pictures) recipes and encouragement I delved into using yeast and started making our own bread/rolls/pizza crust. So because of that, if I won I would pick #3 the Bosch, cause I have been doing it all by hand! Thank you for all you do!
Chocolate Quinoa Cake! BEST most fun GF treat ever! <3 but we love everything you post. I've made probably dozens if not hundreds of your recipes and always feel excited about them! Thanks for many years of fun and inspiring recipes!!!! #8 would be my choice.
I would pick #3-Bosch Mixer! I found your blog in 2009 when I had my first baby. I have been following since. 90% of my cooking comes from you. I can’t pick one recipe, but I love your homemade spaghetti sauce, basil chicken in coconut curry, roll up blender pancakes and oatmeal pancakes to name a few. Thanks for all of your time and effort to make cooking enjoyable!!
Our family has many favorites from this blog, but probably our favorite is sweet and sour chicken. It’s one of the few meals that all my people like! Thanks for your faithful, simple, and creative recipes! I can’t imagine all the kitchen clean up you do each day. My family and I are grateful…and less hungry. 😉
Oh! And I’d choose #4. 🙂
I LOVE your blog! You are my go-to when I need ANY recipe. I have lots of favorites, but I have to say your alfredo sauce recipe is somewhere at the top. I would want prize number 1.
Kayla pork I like it in lettuce wraps with mango salsa and rice!
I am making your turkey and brown rice burritos as I read this post and I am just so proud of you and so grateful for the countless recipes you have shared! I truly have begun to love cooking again and eating for that matter! Thanks Mel – I hope to meet you someday – my sister lives in Eagle so maybe sometime I can make that happen (I’m down here in Salt Lake)
I have loved everything that I have tried on your blog! My favorite though is the Cashew Lettuce Wraps! Yum! But honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything from your blog!! If I were to win, I would pick #7. I love making bread and rolls from your recipes, but there is definitely a difference when using a kitchen aid. It just doesn’t do as well as a bosch does. Thanks for all your recipes!
So many to choose from! I use your recipes weekly, but my family all adores your Devine bread sticks!
Favorite recipe is a toss up between basil coconut curry chicken or sweet n sour chicken. We love both of these. If I have to choose 1 I would say #3 the Bosch mixer. Second would be #6 the blendtec blender. Happy 10 years!!!!
We LOVE spaghetti pie at our house! But I also tried your new cinnamon rolls (I used instant potato flakes) and they were TO DIE FOR! Thanks for always helping me answer the questions “What should I make for dinner?”! I’ve been with you from the start and will continue to be a loyal fan. Happy Birthday!!! (Would love #2 the Vitamix Blender)
Congrats on all you have done! Love your recipes. One of favorites lately is the Cuban sandwiches in the pressure cooker. If I win I would want #4 or #7. Thanks for being awesome!
Hi Mel!
Reading your post got me thinking about how no matter what I too hope that if nothing else the world knows I love my family. I also thought about how I can always turn to you for recipes that I can trust, follow clearly, and will satisfy my young family. My husband always sends me recipes from other sites and I’m like no Mel does this better 🙂
Anyhow, just wanted to say thank you. You really are like a sister who doesn’t know me (weird, right?) that I can count on! My all time favorite recipe is the Bittersweet Chocolate Pie – I even managed to make the creme fraiche a few times. And if you picked me I’d like #3.
Desiree
Happy Anniversary! I pass along your website so often and share it at every “favorite things” gathering. My family should be giving you the gift–you’ve made their dinners much more enjoyable. One of your recipes makes it into our line up at least once a week–usually more. Probably the most requested and most made is The Best Sloppy Joes–or Hawaiian haystacks, re-invented! Or….there are too many to pick. If I were to win, I’d love item 7, 9, 1,or 4. But mostly, thank you for blessing our lives.
Favorite recipe!? There are so many! The broiled tilapia tacos have become my go to oh- crap-I-have-to-have-dinner-in-30-minutes dinner and have even served it with multiple guests and get rave reviews every time. Simple. Super fast. Delicious. I love it. I would choose 9,1 or 4 in that order. Congrats on 10 years!! And thank you for boosting my confidence in the kitchen. When I got married, my recipe base consisted of opening a bag of spinach and a can of black beans. Gross. While I got better through practice, it wasn’t until I found your blog a few years ago where I started getting compliments about my cooking and where my confidence increased and I truly felt like a rockstar in the kitchen. I felt like I could cook for company without stressing about it for several days/weeks and was excited to try new things. Needless to say husband has also appreciated your blog! And when you shared a picture of your family, I realized I was in the same BYU ward as your husband, back in the day, although he most likely doesn’t remember me! Small world made more delicious because of your blog! Happy anniversary!
I love the creamy white chicken chili!
Love so many of your recipes and I start most of my cooking and planning straight for your sight. Thanks for all your hard work and helping me be successful in the kitchen! Favorite:Killer Crunch Brownies. Prize choice: 3 or 2, but really they’re all amazing!
A favorite recipe of mine for several years has been
tender-pork-chops-with-caramelized-apples-and-onions/ from 2010
my sister shared it with me and we love it!
I would choose prize number 3, for sure. I would love a Bosch Mixer.
Happy 10 years!
I still remember when my sister first told all of us other sisters about “Mel’s Kitchen Cafe”. I was in college and not cooking yet, but once I was married and started having kids it’s become such a constant source for me! Really, you’ve managed to change with the food times and also make cooking easy for people. Nicely done!
I have made hundreds of your recipes so it’s hard to pick one. But…the Korean beef and rice…my boys eat it up like mad and it’s my go to when I need an easy, tasty dinner. Also, the chocolate swig style cookies were life changing. And I’m a huge sucker for the biscuit cinnamon rolls!
I’d probably have to choose the blendtec! I’ve been curious about them and sometimes would like a nice blender instead of always using my food processor.
Happy 10 year! I’ve been reading for 6 or 7 of those years and adore you and your recipes.
I have made hundreds, yes you read that right, hundreds of your recipes. I think we’ve only had 2 duds, seriously. I adore so many of your recipes that I couldn’t choose just one. That’s like choosing a favorite child. Since they’re all my favorite I’ll choose the one that I made most recently, the Greek Pork in the instant pot. So Good! Also, you’re the reason we even have an instant pot in our house so thanks for that too. We love it!
If I were to win this I would love #2, the vitamex blender. I have a ninja that is used daily and it’s on the fritz. I would never be able to spend this much on a kitchen appliance so winning it would be fantastic!
Have been following your blog for 9 years! Anytime someone asks me what a good cooking blog/site is to follow, yours is always my first recommendation. You have the best NO FAIL recipes. I do a lot of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, and your recipes are always gems I can count on. Thank you for sharing your talents! There are too many favs to pic just one, so I will say that one of my family’s go to recipes from your site is the banh mi sandwiches…those pork meatballs are GOOOOOOD! Keep the kitchen love comin’ our way!
Mel, you are the best in the big World Of Blogs.
Magnolia lemon pie
#4
Happy Anniversary!
I have loved your blog since the first healthy muffin recipe I made for my then one year old at the end of 2013. We had just moved away from all of our friends and I was going stir crazy as a SAHM with only a baby to talk to during the day. Your blog really has made a difference in our daily lives.
It is hard to pick just one recipe. We have a lot of favourites. We love the Best BBQ Sauce and eat homemade Quick and Easy pizza dough every Friday. You are the best!
I would love #2. Thank you, Mel!
I’ve made so many recipes, but if I have to pick one, I’ll say Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. All your giveaways looks great. I’ll narrow it down to #2.
Broiled tilapia tacos! They rock my world and continue to be my family’s most requested meal.
Congrats on 10 years. A friend of mine recently praised your name and I immediately began following on IG. I recently made your Perfect Instant Pot Beef Stew. You were the push I needed to finally pull my Instant Pot out of the plastic (was in my cupboard in plastic for nearly 13 months ). Now I’m hooked! Thanks for your cooking inspiration with a healthy dose of family inspiration as well. #8 would be a dream!!
Congrats Mel and Happy Birthday! I’ve never commented since I began following you in 2010, but your website is such a huge part of my life that I truly do see you as a dear friend. With 4 kids 5 and younger and a husband battling cancer, I am eternally grateful to you for helping make my life just a little less stressful. I can’t even begin to narrow down favorite recipes since I make something from your site literally every night. Tonight it will be the chicken cashew wraps (yummy!!!) tomorrow I was planning on your white chicken chili and cornbread and yesterday it was your blender pancakes. Seriously, we love it all! And thank you for your testimony and example of motherhood. You have certainly changed my life for the better and I wish you all the joy and happiness in the world.
First of all congrats on 10 years! Yeah for blogs and to you sticking with it. Also, your “then and now” pics…haha! You crack me up!!! Now, How does one choose a favorite? Hmm… I would have to say the go to recipe for me is probably the White Chicken Chili and it’s definitely a favorite of my fam that is sure to be gobbled up.
You’re awesome. Keep up the hard yet beautiful work.
Oh and I can’t choose between #1 or #3… ok,#3 it is. Hehe
My family LOVES your baked chicken taquitos, and I would love #10!! I love your website, Mel!
Your blog is my “go-to” blog for my weekly recipe planning. Without fail, there is always one of your recipes that gets made each week! My current favorite is the one-pan dark choxolat brownies. Maybe because I’ve made them twice in the past week . I also love the autumn minestrone. I would love to win the kitchen aid! Or food processor. Or wheat grinder!! All ththe prizes are amazing.
I have been making all my meal plans based on your recipes for a couple years now and it is a joke now in my family that when they eat something they like and they ask me where I got the recipe, they quickly follow up with “Let me guess, Mel?”
I honestly can’t pick a favorite meal. I’ve made so many. The first recipe I ever made from your site were the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos and we still make them often!
If I win, I would LOVE #5, but all of these products are so great! I would take any of them!
Mel, I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything you post. My weekly meal plan (for my family of 9) is scheduled out every Sunday night as I sit in front of the computer looking at your site. Seriously! I have yet to try a recipe that my family doesn’t love. And better yet, I love that you are real. Not out to sell the world and make a fortune, but just out to share your goodness and all your great ideas. I have purchased almost all of the give away items these past 8 or so years, thanks to your raves about them. The only two I don’t own and would love to have are #7 and #8 and would LOVE to have them in my kitchen. I’m sure that if we were neighbors, we would be best friends.
I’m the girl you used to babysit 😉
My favorite recipe (and my most used!) of yours is instant pot mashed potatoes! So quick and easy and so yummy! I would pick #5 🙂
Congratulations! I honestly don’t remember how long i’ve been using your recipes. I believe you were on Babycenter and I followed you from there! I don’t comment on your recipes enough but you are my “go-to” recipe person!
Some of our faves/oft used:
Hawaiian Haystack gravy, Chipotle Chicken Kebabs, Firecracker Chicken, Chicken Fajitas
Red Chile Sauce Enchiladas, Creamy Black Bean Soup, Chicken Dumpling Soup, Chicken Taco Salad, BLT Pockets , Hummus, Pizza Sauce, Pepperoni Rolls, Cornbread, White Chipper Chocolate cookies , etc. etc. etc.!!!!!!!!!
I would be happy with #3, #4, #5, #8, #9, #10! Clearly easy to please.
Oh, Mel, it’s so hard to pick just one recipe! I love your Shepherd’s Pie, Pretzel Chocolate Chip Muffins, Southwest Chicken Wraps, Perfect Pot Roast… I could go on. Your recipes are staples in my menu planning. I feel like we are friends even though I haven’t commented on here nearly enough to warrant our friendship. But I realized I have probably been following you for 4 or 5 years! Congratulations on this big milestone! I would love #8 if I win. 🙂
Whenever i want to make something, i check here first. Thanks for the blog! My favorite recipe is the black bean and sweet potato burritos. #3 would be my pick. I’ve had my heart set on one for years.
I’d love to have a Bosch!!!! Bread making would be so much easier and happen more often! I live your blog, I found you in 2009, mela kitchen cafe is my go to when I need a recipe.
Congratulations! Your blog totally fits my style of cooking and I love it. I love so many of your recipes, but your southwest cobb salad and no bake lemon blue berry cheesecake come to my mind first. I would be over the moon (like jumping and squealing in excitement) about receiving 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, or 9! Thank you for your generosity!
Happy Birthday and Anniversary! I have to admit – I make your recipes (embarrassingly) often. Like, I should start advertising “Yet again, this meal was brought to you by Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and I helped.” So, it’s really hard to pick a favorite recipe AND a product that I would love to win. I have to say that I love making your French Bread because it really does make me feel like a rockstar in the kitchen, and since my wheat grinder needs to be replaced I’ll go with #1! Thanks for all of your posts – food and other!
So many favorites to choose from!! We’ll start with MY favorites. It’s a tie…Overnight Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes and Creamy White Chili! My kids fave is probably Spaghetti Pie but Pizza Rolls just gave it a run for its money!
Thanks for all your hard work! Keep it up!
And definitely #3! I grew up using a Bosch but haven’t been able to afford to buy one on my own.
Wow Happy 10 years!! So much change with tons of amazing content and recipes. A favorite I tend to always go back to in your green chili chicken enchiladas. Plus all your side recipes have saved me because they are all so delicious. Your kitchen gadget favorites are AMAZING. The two items I’ve been dreaming to add to my kitchen is #3 and #6. Although there is also a vitamix.:). I’ve been using a Ninja but mine just broke:(.
Hi Mel, Happy 10th (and 40th!!) – what an accomplishment! I am so glad I stumbled across your blog almost 4 years ago! You’re recipes have been a staple in this house since then. I love so many of them but I’d have to say that Some of the top ones are your sweet and sour chicken, beef and broccoli, perfect cinnamon rolls, lemon sticky buns and more recently your whole wheat bread!
I’d love to win #8, the breville food processor – would sure help this full time working mom with the food prep!
I tried to comment about half hour ago and I don’t think it went through, hopefully this isn’t a duplicate comment! I love so many recipes from your blog, thank you for always giving me new ideas for my family! We really love the smoky instant pot chicken. My favorite prize choices would be the Bosch or the grain mill!
Your blog is my “go-to” blog when making my weekly menu. Without a doubt I always make at least one of your recipes each week! Thank for you for sharing your talent of cooking and baking! I definitely benefit from it
I make a lot of recipes from your blog, but the one I do the most often BY FAR is your Chocolate Chip Cookies “The Best Recipe”. I love the texture these cookies get from melting the butter instead of the typical soft room temperature butter recipes! I’ve had to play around with the recipe a little to find the sweet spot of melting the butter and cooling it just enough before adding the sugars. I also like the extra richness you get by adding egg yolks into the recipe. And, of course, the proportion of chocolate chips to cookie dough you call for in this recipe makes them a match made in heaven for my chocolate-loving soul! This really has become my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, which is saying something, since I’ve made a lot of them!
So, even though I cook from your site a lot, I am not a commenter. But I’m breaking my silence because I would love the new Bosch mixer with dough hooks. I make bread (and cookies!) for my high school kids and about 75 of their friends each week and my mixer is struggling to keep up. I’ve been eyeing this mixer for a year and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have it in my life! Thanks for the many yummy recipes, Mel!
Congratulations on 10 years…. and that pesky birthday! My favorite recipe on your blog is Instant Pot Lentil Chili. It is absolutely the best and I make it often! If I were fortunate enough to win on of your prizes, I’d love to win #1 as I don’t have a blender.
The “best spaghetti sauce ever” is a family favorite along with black beans and rice. Every recipe I have ever made from your site, and there have been many, have always made me proud of the food I am serving my family.
Thank you for teaching me how to cook, how to make rolls like nobody’s business and how to be a better provider for my family.
#8 or #1 would be my pick!
Congratulations Mel! Thanks for putting the time into making this site so helpful — it really is a go-to for me! And my husband and five kids thank you as well. ☺️ It’s really hard to choose just one recipe… But I do love the Sweet Baked Ham, Overnight Cinnamon and Sugar Sweet Rolls, Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls, Homemade Pizza Rolls, One Hour Divine Breadsticks, and Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork. At least those are the first ones to come to mind. I feel like a winner already because I know about your site, but my kitchen could use some new pots and pans, so — #4 would be my choice!
Love the IP Mashed Potatoes, The Best Energy Bites, The Best Chicken Pot Pie, etc.!!! I would love #9, the knives. Thanks!
The best spaghetti sauce ever is a family favorite along with black beans and rice. Every recipe I have ever made from your site (and there have been alot) has always been delicious. I always feel good about the food I am feeding my family.
I’ve loved your blog since the very beginning! My favorite recipe of yours is the little lemonies! I would chose #2. Thank you!
My families all time favorite recipe is your Soft & Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies. I used to just make them at Christmas time, but my family begs for them all year long now! Thank you so much for ALL of your amazing recipe’s…….
Pick me to win #8!! Picking a favorite is hard, but since I’m literally eating your butter chicken (along with your naan) right now for lunch, I’ll go with that as my favorite…today! 🙂
I just pulled out your healthy yogurt oat muffins from my oven! It’s the second time I’ve made them in about a week, and I love them so much with blueberries! I would definitely choose #7, the ice cream compressor!
Happy anniversary! We love your Kansas City slow cooker chicken here at our house! Thanks for saving dinner countless times!
Congratulations on 10 years! I have loved how reliable and delicious your recipes are. I love the mashed potato cinnamon rolls! I can’t wait to bake more once I go off my diet! 😉 #2 Vitamix baby!!!! Thanks for having such a fun giveaway!
That hearty gnocchi soup is DIVINE
And #10 is my prize preference
I make your Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice with Chicken Sausage ALL the time. It is so delicious and easy!!!
I loved reading your time line. We have emailed back and forth a time or two regarding our shared cancer experience, but I had no idea you had lingering issues that required surgery. I wish we were real friends so we could compare notes. I hope and pray you are truly feeling WELL at this point!
If I win, I would LOVE the KoMo Wheat Grinder. I’ve wanted one for years. 🙂
Pretty knew tobuoir blog but I’ve lives everything I’ve tried this year. Personal favorite- Garlic Chicken pasta with Garlic. I would love the kitchen aid mixer #5. But i’d be happy with any.
Thank ukj
I make homemade pizza often and love your quick and easy crust, your overnight crust (I never plan that far in advance, but I will use that one if I’m thinking far enough ahead to make the dough in the morning.), and your sauce recipes. I’d love a Bosch (#3). My sister and sister-in-law both have and love Bosch mixers.
I have loved every recipe I’ve tried. But my current favorite is your Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – it’s the chocolate chip cookies I’ve been looking for for the longest time! Any of the giveaways would make me happy, but if I had to choose, it would be #8. Thanks!
Happy Anniversary! I think you are amazing as well as your recipes. I have so many favorites it’s hard for me to choose, but I think I would have to choose Lemonies. I get such rave reviews whenever I take them to something. I would love to be able to try out the Bosch mixer, #3
Thanks a million!
SLOW COOKER BABY BACK RIBS WITH ROOT BEER BBQ SAUCE has become a family favorite but I have to say I cheat more and more. I just season the ribs, throw in a can of rootbeer and then bottles sauce. My husband only likes local sauce.
I first started making your recipes when I got married 5 1/2 years ago and had very little cooking experience. My husband loves my cooking, thanks to you! He is always declaring whatever new recipe I try to be in his top 5, but I think his real favorite is the Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin. Mine fluctuates but is probably the Loaded Baked Potato Soup. I would love to win #1 as I like to mess around with making bread but would love to make it healthier by grinding my own wheat.
I’ve made several of your recipes, but this is a favorite: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/my-favorite-sugar-cookies/
It’s our go-to Christmas Eve sugar cookie. Perfect texture.
I also love your Thick & Chewy Gingerbread Men cookies. So different than any other (dry, crispy) gingerbread cookie I’ve ever made.
Love your blog!
Berries on a Cloud is definitely the favorite, most requested & most often made recipe in my family. Super delicious! I’d love prize #2.
Aw Mel!! I have been following your blog and successfully making your recipes since you were My Kitchen Cafe!! I can’t believe it’s been that long.
I’m not at all exaggerating when I say that yours is my go-to website for recipes. I don’t even google stuff anymore, I just come use your search function first and almost always find exactly what I’m looking for. You recommend an instant pot? I get an instant pot! You say exactly how warm butter should be for cookies? Yes, ma’am! You say to use a kitchen scale for baking? A scale goes into my amazon cart. Seriously. Thank you for making me into a good cook when I was just an average one before. You are amazing and I can’t wait for another decade of tried and true recipes to try. I can hardly pick a favorite and it makes me kinda wanna cry like picking a favorite child, but if I had to say, your cinnamon roll recipes have all become a huge part of our family’s holiday and birthday celebrations so they might have to take the prize. Thank you thank you thank you!!
My absolute favorite Mel recipe is your 1 hour breadsticks. Seriously. They are SO MUCH better than the Olive Garden’s.
I would love to win #3 or #10.
Congratulations on 10 years!
Jen
WAHOO! Congratulations on 10 years (& 40 too!)!! I love so many of your recipes. Every time I make a new one it seems like it becomes my favorite one. So I’ll just pick what comes into my brain…and I’ll say…Perfect Pot Roast & Gravy!! Love that one! Love the gravy it makes, the juicy roast, the delicious carrots. Yum!
I would love to win prize # 3. I love my Kitchen Aid, but would love to get more into bread making, like trying your Best White Sandwich Bread recipe!
Congratulations! I would LOVE any of your give-aways!
I have been following you for at least 3-4 years now, so I have made a Ton of your recipes! I have a special binder that I keep all your recipes in that I have made and would make again. Needless to say I’m having a hard time deciding on 1 favorite, I love so many! What I would say I’m most thankful for is your French bread rolls, I make them often….which ties into which prize I would pick – #3…I would love to have that mixer! 🙂
Happy anniversary! I make so many of your recipes, but I think my favorite is your French Bread Rolls. Love them! If I’m a winner I’d love #7!
Thank you for all you do, Mel! Yours is my favorite food blog because I can count on the recipes to be fantastic. My whole family appreciates your talent! I’ve been following your blog for at least 5 years and love seeing the new things you come up with. A method I use of yours fairly often is your cooking and shredding of chicken breasts. Another is the way you shape your rolls with your cupped hand. My favorite recipes: guacamole salad, Indian butter chicken, monster cookies & bars, spaghetti pie, smoky lentil and potato soup, stuffed chicken marsala, my favorite sugar cookies with whipped cream cheese frosting, Thai chicken crunch wraps, the best broccoli beef, and so many more! #6 would be great!
Blend tec blender please! I have made your brown sugar spiced pork loin many, many times to rave reviews. You are the most reliable food blog I follow:)
How can I pick a favorite? I’ll have to go with your pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for the number of times I’ve had to make the for my boys. And the ice cream compressor — #7 — would be so fun to try!
THANK YOU for blogging!
I hate cooking but you have converted me to like it. I may love it one day but I’m not there yet.
I love the chicken tortilla soup. I’ve made it in the crock pot and my family has loved it.
I have picky eaters and all of us approach it differently but everyone likes it, yes!!!
I would choose prize #10 8 quart ( go big or go home!)
Happy 10 years! I wasn’t there in the VERY beginning, but have been following you for quite a few years now. I have lots of favorites, but currently I make the Chinese Cashew Chicken a lot and another favorite is the Chopped Taco Salad with homemade Catalina dressing. (Many many favorites though!). I would choose #9 if I were to win.
I absolutely love your blog! I come here multiple times a week for recipes. I made multiple batches of your slow cooker stew for a ward dinner a while back and people still comment about how good it was. Your Southwest Cobb Salad is divine and every cheesecake recipe I have made has been quickly devoured. Can I just list out which ones I would like to win? I would be so happy and excited to receive 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, or 9!
Love your blog! Hard to pick a favorite but I do love the smoky chicken in the instant pot if I had to pick a prize I would go with the Bosch or grain mill, but they all look amazing! Thanks for all that you do.
Dream bars!!! Win #4
We love many of your recipes but a family favorite is your ultimate beef stroganoff! I serve it over oven fries and we make it often. Would love #4 a new cookware set. My current ones are over 20 years old from my husbands bachelor days! Been using your site for 8 years now, thanks for the great recipes!
Happy Anniversary! Right now my favorite is the lentil chili. I love it!
9-knives
I started making your recipes when I got married to my husband a little over 5 years ago and I had very little experience cooking. He loves my cooking, probably because of you. So thank you thank you thank you! He’s always declaring whatever latest recipe I make from your site to be in his “top 5″… But I think for real the Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin is his all time fave. Mine fluctuates but I love the Loaded Baked Potato Soup. If I could win an item I would pick #1 – I like messing around with baking bread and would love for it to be healthier via grinding my own wheat.
My favorite recipe is probably the Monterrey Chicken, but I love all the Instapot recipes.
Love this! My favorite recipe I’ve made of yours is the easy Chicken Cordon Bleu. I’ve made so many of your recipes with good results that I made that one for company without even having tried it before!
If I won, I think I’d choose the #7 ice cream maker! I don’t have one yet but am a little obsessed with ice cream and probably do.
I don’t have a facebook account, but I am a follower on instagram and the newsletter! So hopefully that counts?…
Thank you for sharing all your recipes! We have to many favorites…but we will say the peanut butter chocolate mousse brownie! We would love to have #3 the Bosch 🙂
We make your recipes all the time so it is hard to choose. We love your brookies, and I am anxious to try some of the bread recipes you just posted. I would choose #1 or #4.
Congrats on 10 years and Happy Birthday! My daughter was the first to tell me about your blog many years ago and I have been reading your posts ever since. Now several of my children follow and use your recipes as well. It is hard to chose one recipe that is a favorite as I have made so many with success. I guess I would chose cinnamon rolls or yellow cake if I had to. As far as prizes are concerned, anything 1-9.
I’ve loved your blog for years!! But my favorite recipe (*right now*) is your creamy white chicken chili! I just made it for the teachers at my kids school and did your recommendations of replacing the cans of green chiles with green tomatillo salsa and I also replaced the heavy cream with more sour cream! So good and it was the most eaten soup there!! I would choose #3 the Bosch mixer, I love new kitchen gadgets!!!
Your sweet potato and black bean burritos are my favorite. I love having them in my freezer for a quick healthy lunch for me. I think #2 would be incredible.
Choose a favorite Mel recipe?!? That is like choosing a favorite child! But I would have to say that one of our favorite treat recipes is Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars. A friend loving named them “Happiness Bars” because they make us and everyone who eats them super happy!!
– Prize #4 would be what I would choose
My favorite recipe is the Cajun Chicken Pasta! However, I have sent more people to your website over the red wine vinaigrette more than any other recipe that I have made (which says a lot!!). Thank you for all you do!!!
I would choose #3.
Happy 10th anniversary! Its hard to pick a favorite recipe! There are so many I love. I guess i’d have to go with sweet and sour chicken. It’s soooo good. #5, my mixer has been doing some weird things lately that makes me fearful it’s ready to quit on me. I’m not sure how one goes through life without a good, trusty mixer.
Whoops. I was supposed to also choose a prize. I hope this doesn’t make me get disqualified for not following directions and posting twice. I’d love #1, your grain mill. I make bread weekly and have been coveting that beauty since you first raved about it.
I make all of your recipes so often, but most recently I have made the Instant Pot Lentil chili approximately 7,456 times in the last few weeks. (Maybe a slight exaggeration, but it is so good!). I would love to upgrade my mixer and that KitchenAid Profession Mixer looks amazing! Happy Anniversary, Mel!!
The pictures- the pictures! haha So funny. I totally relate.
As for the giveaway…It is hard to pick just one of your recipes. My first thought was the key lime bars recipe. I STILL get compliments six months later (and keep thinking about them too!) but a second favorite is the buttermilk banana bread. Mmmm. I make it at least every other week. I also make your baked sweet and sour chicken all the time too. See? Too hard to choose one.
If I won the giveaway, I’d want one of the blenders, because I haven’t had one for like 2 years (I rely heavily on my stick blender- haha!). If I had to pick one, I’d say #6- the Blendtec one. Happy 10 years!!
Being a baker, I love your yellow cake recipe! The one where you tested a gazillion to get it right! THank you for that! And I would love a Vitamix!
Mel,
I found your blog via a friend a number of years ago and I do indeed check in every few days to see what you have made/posted. Your Gift Guides are always inspirational (especially the Game ones) and I love your writing style. My FAVE recipe of yours is definitely the Amazing Spinach Salad with Sweet-Spicy
Nuts, Apples, Feta and Bacon. My daughter and I just love love love it. Thank you for sharing your love of food and family. And prize, if I win, would be between #3 or #7. Hard to pick. Thanks again.
Wow. How do I even choose? I make at least 4 dinners a week from your site, and that’s not even mentioning the lunch ideas, snacks, yogurt, granola and homemade bread I’m constantly using! Oh, and the treats! So good. So hard to choose! Off the top of my head, one of our favorite Mel dinners (my kids are always asking, “Is this one Mel’s?” ) is your instant pot chicken and black bean chili. So comforting, so easy, and loved by the whole family.
I wish I could have been a follower from the beginning. I have loved every minute of your blog since I found it (about 4 years ago). It was fun to run that 1/2 marathon with you, and then meet you, and randomly run into you and your sweet family in a cave (!), and it’s always felt like you were a good friend sharing your favorite recipes with me. Hope that’s not creepy. Thanks for sacrificing so much to help us all make our families food a little more delicious each day. I seriously don’t know what I’d do without you and your blog.
Lemonies. Hard to narrow down. But I got quite the rave reviews when I shared these. My S-I-l calls them Melemonies
6 blendtec
Hey Mel! I don’t have a Facebook or Instagram account (backwards, I know), so no worries about entering the contest, but I did want to leave a quick comment and let you know what a blessing you have been in my life and my family’s life. It is rare that I prepare a recipe that has not come from your blog. You have provided so much yumminess for me to enjoy, and I can’t thank you enough for your countless hours and sacrifice to enrich my time in the kitchen. I have been a follower for about 8 years, and it has changed my life for the better! I’ve even tried to expand my recipe world to other bloggers, but have never found a source that I trust like you! You are THE BEST! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! Congrats on 10 years!
My favorite recipe is the first I ever made from your site. Chewy pretzel bites! Making those makes me feel like a rock star serving fresh hot pretzels from my own kitchen! I have made over 50 things (at least) from this site and nothing has ever been bad. This is the only recipe site I want or need!!
I love so many of your recipes, but your bread recipes are amazing, so your overnight pizza dough is going to have to be my favorite. After much careful consideration, I would have to choose #1.
I love the southwestern barley soup. Also your best ever chocolate cake. It’s hard to decide though, because everything on here is good. I would probably choose 8 of the items. Especially that Bosch.
Happy Anniversary! It’s funny how a blog can create such strong connections. We’ve never met – likely never will – but I look forward to your posts with real excitement – and a good measure of confidence in how good they are going to be! I shed tears the day you posted about your skin cancer – like you were my own daughter – so distraught! (this is all about me of course). Thank you so much for this ministry – as it most certainly is – here’s to 10 more!
My very favorite recipe is one I make every four days. Overnight steel cut oats. 1 cup oats, 3 cups water, boil for one minute, let sit overnight and presto! Life changing! The rest of my family would vote for the Grilled Honey Mustard Rosemary Chicken – especially the grandchildren. When that hits the grill, we know summer is here! I’m not on Facebook – and so am not eligible for the giveaway, but I would definitely choose #5 for a daughter who cooks as much as you do! Thank you Mel! xo
How could I possibly choose 1 favorite recipe!? All of my favorite recipes are from you!! The one that popped into my head first are your amazing caramel brownies- I’ve made them over and over again! But I could say that about soooo many of your recipes. Your blog is my absolute favorite and I’m so grateful for your labor of love!!
I would love new knives. Mine are garbage!
So many favorite recipes! My family loves your Asian lettuce wraps! I’m always surprised when my kids will gobble them up. They are so delicious. I’ve also been loving your French bread recipe lately as well as chocolate chip cookies. My weakness also I’m so glad you posted about kefir. It’s what gave me the push to start it with my family and it’s been fabulous! Love your blog!
Ummmm…you are amazing! You’ve been my (and my sisters) go-to recipe source for years so thank you for not giving up! One of my all-time favorite recipes of yours is recent — the chocolate sour cream fudge bundt cake. I made it at Christmas and it was a huge hit! If I were to win, I’d LOVE your favorite knife set. Cooking is so much more enjoyable with good knives!
Thanks again!
Congrats Mel! I’ve made quite a few of your recipes and several are ones I make over and over.! I wold say my favorite recipe is Gloria’s cinnamen buns. I’ve made so many cinnamon buns over the years but those are the best!
I would love the #3 bosch mixer:)
Please keep on posting your amazing recipes! Good luck!
I LOVE,LOVE, LOVE your website. I don’t think I can say love enough, hence the all caps. I tell anyone and everyone who will listen to check out your website. I tell them it will change the way their life. If I’m ever looking for a recipe, your website is the first and usually the last place I look. I’ve stopped going to Pinterest in search of new recipes to try. I haven’t tried a recipe I didn’t like, so asking for my favorite is nearly impossible. But I can tell you the recipes that make a very regular appearance in our dinner rotation. Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef, The Best Homemade BBQ Sauce, BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, French Bread, Instant Pot Smoky Honey Cilantro Chicken, Chicken Pot Pie Crumble, Quick Weeknight Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, and of Course Sweet and Sour Chicken. I can’t wait to try your recently posted chicken pot pie recipe. Sending you much love and happiness for the next 10 years and beyond!! I would love #3 the Bosch.
I forgot Red Chile Chicken Enchiladas. This one was a game changer for me.
I love know that anything I pick from the recipes will be eaten by my family. One of our favorites is creamy green chili chicken enchiladas! Keep the recipes coming! I would love the #10 prize it would make dinner even easier on those nights packed with sport and Mutual and have church get out at 4pm on sundays.
I make so many of your recipes! It’s my go to place to check for something I’m looking to make. My favorite, though, is your Mom’s Fabulous Lasagna. I think that’s what it’s called. I make a double batch and freeze one. We just ate one last night out of the freezer, and it saved me since I had no time to make dinner. If I were to win, I’d love #1. I have a wheat grinder, but I haven’t used it for a while. It’s a pain to clean, so I avoid it. Would love to start making wheat bread again.
I don’t think I have ever commented but I feel like we are friends because 75% of what I cook comes from here! Often as people ask for the recipe they know what I am talking about when I say, “Oh, its Mel’s.” (They think we are friends too, 🙂 ) We have many many many favorites but the recipe I probably make most often are your Perfected Chocolate Chip cookies. I am known for my cookies because of you! But don’t worry, I always give you the credit! Thanks for all you do! The prize I would choose would be #8 – Breville Food Processor. I gave mine away thinking I would get one with our Wedding Money-but it never happened. Have wanted one since!
I love everything about your blog! I have been a faithful follower for at least nine years. I have tried almost all of your recipes. My family loves everything I make . If I have to pick a favorite it would be the Sweet and Sour Chicken. The Spaghetti Sauce and Alfredo are regular favorites too. I love that your recipes are easy and don’t call for weird ingredients that I don’t have on hand. I’d love some nice knives. I’ve never had nice ones. I’d pick number 9.
Congratulations on your huge milestone! I’m so excited to see what new things you are going to post.
Congratulations on achieving such success on your blog! I discovered your website a couple years ago and it is my go-to every week. Asking me to pick a favourite recipe is like asking me to choose a favourite child, I can’t! But some recipes I make time and time again are the chili mac with corn and green chiles, the broccoli cheese and bacon soup, and the BBQ macaroni salad. If I were to be lucky enough to win a prize, I would love #8, the food processor. Thank you so much for all your hard work, Mel and congratulations again on 10 years of success!
The sweet and sour chicken is awesome! I also like it to pair it with coconut rice. Super yummy!
I would love #8 please!
Congrats Mel! I love your website and get 95% of my recipes from here! I always look here first when I need a recipe. So hard to pick a favorite, but the lemon blueberry cake is to die for. I really love your crockpot chili recipe (so easy and yummy) and best ever cornbread is really the best. There really are SO many that have become family favorites! I would choose #4 because I really need new pots and pans. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes!
Wow! 10 years – what an accomplishment. I come back to your recipes time and time again. Thank you for all that you do. My favorite recipe right now (mostly because it’s something my kids actually eat) is the Skillet Baked Spaghetti. It’s a nice twist to the typical spaghetti dinner.
I have been coveting the Blendtec Blender (#6) forever, so that is what I want most.
Keep those tasty recipes coming – we love them!
Oh my goodness. I’ve made so many recipes from your site, I’m not sure which one to choose. You’re the only reason people think I’m a good cook. Nope, just a really good recipe reader and I send people to you all the time. I’ve loved everything I’ve made from your site, but my boys’ favorite would definitely be your Swedish Meatballs.
I’d love #1 KoMo Wheat Grinder. I’ve wanted one for years, but.. you know.. Holy expensive. Ha!
Thanks so much for feeding my family for the past 10 years!
Hey Mel! (And Em:) )
Happy blog-anniversary!! Crazy how fast time has flown!
My all time favorite recipes are the garlic alfredo sauce and your white chicken chili. They are staples that benson and I LOVE!
I would absolutely adore #4 (but if I can have a second choice, it would be #9).
Love all of you and am pretty darn lucky I get to call you guys family. And PS, I don’t have instagram, so Facebook will have to do. Hope I still qualify!
Love, Emmeli
Congratulations!! I have been a long time follower and love your recipes. I was giving my friend one of your recipes and she later that month got to meet you. I was so jealous. You are my go to source for recipes. I have made over a 100 of your recipes and only one my family didn’t like. We are not curry fans here. But my top 3 I use monthly are the southwest chicken burritos, hawaiian haystacks sauce, and your French bread rolls. I still am so grateful for your video on how to get rolls round. I watched it forever ago, but still use the same technique. I would love #1.
Congratulations on 10 years! That’s incredible!
I love your creamy garlic alfredo sauce! I make it all the time, and it really is as easy as you say it is. I also love to use it as pizza sauce and add a little basil.
I think I would want the Breville food processor. It seems amazing!
Congratulations on 10 years! We have a binder full of printed recipes from you! My kids’ favorites include your skillet mac-n-cheese, Brookies, and Browned-butter Indian Curry Lentil Soup! My favorites would be Satay Chicken Noodle Salad, SW Chopped Salad with Green Goddess Dressing, Cashew Chicken Lettuce wraps, and Sweet Potato and Black Bean burritos!!
I have always wanted a Kitchen Aid Mixer so #5 would be my pick!
Congratulations! After reviewing your timeline, I was surprised I’ve been following you since early 2009! Time flies, wow. Your site is the very first stop for me for dinner inspiration. Thank you a million times over . Wishing you all the best in the next 10 years!
My very favorite recipe (so far) are the Seafood Enchiladas. A close second for my family is the Sweet and Sour Chicken. Yum!
I would choose #6 Blendtec blender if I was a lucky winner.
Thank you!
You really are my #1 go-to website when I am looking for a recipe. Your recipes never disappoint, and I don’t know what I would do without you!! It is SO HARD to pick a favorite recipe….I do LOVE the Chicken Pot Pie Crumble. My entire family devours it, and my boys are always so excited when I make it. Thank you for offering this giveaway. I think I would choose #6. Congratulations on 10 years, Mel!!!
I have made so many of your wonderful recipes, Mel, but the first one that comes to my mind as a favorite is the Luscious Lemon Creme Pie. It’s just so perfect!! 🙂 I would love to have #2, the Vitamix Blender. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!!
We love all the recipes I have made on your website but number one is the sweet and sour chicken. And if I won your awesome contest I would pick number 2 or 6, or 3!
Thank you!!
Oh man picking a favorite recipe is like picking a favorite child, it depends on the day! But we have loved the monster cookies. They are regulars in our house. LOVE your blog, it’s not uncommon in a week that every dinner we have is from your blog. I would pick the Bosch.
Oh man! A favorite? So hard! We make your oat snack bars almost weekly, but I love all your healthy quick stuff – lentil chili, thai salad, butternut everything! I’m on your blog almost daily and share lots in my health/fitness business/hobby. My husband complimented our meals this last week and my response was “Mel!” I’d love #4 and need them for sure. Thanks again for saying hi in Trader Joes!!
98% of the recipes that come out of my kitchen come from your site. You have changed my family’s dinner world and I’ll forever be grateful that a friend told me about your blog almost 7 years ago!!! I’ve been a faithful follower ever since. I love your recipes, your humor and your goodness. Thank you for all you do. Too hard to pick a favorite recipe, there are too many I love. Buuut…I will go with your buttermilk banana bread because it’s unlike any other I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a lot! I’d pick #7, the ice cream compressor.
Double posted on accident, sorry. My internet was lost after the first comment and I thought it was lost. Please forgive me
I seriously have made so many of your recipes and love them ( easy spaghetti sauce, alfredo sauce, chocolate chip cookies,)but I make your french bread weekly. We love garlic bread and french toast!
If I could pick anything I would want the new pans! Thanks for all the recipes and hard work!
I love your sweet and sour chicken! Also your old fashion banana cream pie is a must at Thanksgiving time!! Congrats on 10buears!!
#7 an ice cream compressor.
It is so hard to pick my favorite recipe from your site–I have so many favorites! I think that I’d have to say that it is your Deep, Dark Chocolate Brownies, but followed very closely by Cashew Chicken. I would chose #9 if I won.
Girl, my sisters and i are OBSESSED with your blog. i haven’t made anything from here that my family didn’t like. Some of my favorites are the best cinnamon rolls and the root beer roast(i forgot the name of it). i just made the honey garlic instant pot chicken and it was so dang good. Honestly Anytime I’m in a cooking rut i turn to your blog. If i won i would choose #1! I’ve always wanted a wheat grinder to make delicious homemade bread.
Calvin loves the maple glazed pork tenderloin the most! And #1, the wheat grinder is my choice! (And I don’t expect any favoritism in your winner choice just because we froze together in Roseau)
I’ve tried several of your recipes, but our all-time favorite is the Easy Chicken Pot Pie Crumble. My family and my friend’s family love it and devour it every time. 🙂 If I were picked as a winner, I’d choose #8 – the food processor. 🙂
Congratulations Mel! I have been following your blog for at least half of that time, you are my go-to recipe guru! You taught me how to make bread and have helped me pretend to be a good cook all those years :D, I am so grateful for you and your blog. <3 Some of our favorites are; Teriyaki meatballs, korean ground beef, brown sugar pork loin, and all your breads and treats! 😀 My pick for the giveaway is #8
Maple glazed pork tenderloin
1. The wheat grinder
Oh, man. Choosing is never easy. I really love the lasagna soup. It never fails to impress. Banana bars are a close second. Finding good banana recipes is always a win. Thanks for being here when I need to find something to make.
OH. I forgot. I would pick the knives #9.
I make so many recipes from your site, it’s hard to pick a favorite. My kids love the pretzel bites and my favorite is the honey glazed chicken. I’d pick #2, the vitamix blender, if I won. Happy Anniversary!
Hi Mel! I discovered your blog through your Aunt Marilyn… who I personally know. (totally makes me a rock star at parties!) I love using your weekly menus! It is hard to decide my favorite recipe but we just had the easy chicken noodle soup last night so I will pick that one. Oh , but the chicken mushroom tortelini one is awesome too!
I never win anything…but if I did I would pick #4.
Congrats on 10 years!!!
Congratulations! I have made quite a few of your recipes and none have disappointed. To pick a favorite, I am going with your chicken pot pie. Made it 2 weeks ago in individual ramekins with pie crust and everyone loved it. I would like to win prize number 10!
Congrats on 10 years of blogging!! It is extremely hard to pick my favorite recipe of yours; your blog is pretty much my exclusive source of recipes (aside from family recipes that have been passed down) and we love so many! So…I will just say the most recent recipe I made from your blog. Last night I made the healthy turkey and bean chili with your best cornbread recipe; we have made it countless times over the past couple of years and my husband declares it the best chili ever. It is probably my ultimate comfort food meal. If I had to pick an item from your best loved kitchen products, I would have to say the almighty Bosch, number three 🙂
Mel, I have tried so many spaghetti sauce recipes over the years, and I can happily say I have now deleted ALL other ones now that I make your meat sauce. I have so much joy making it knowing that my entire family will love it. I have also brought it to a few mommas with newborns and they love it as well. I have several of the applicances already but I absolutely need some new knives, #9. Thank you and keep on bloggin’!
Wow, so exciting! I’ve been following since 2010 – seems like forever! My very favorite recipe of yours is the Thai Chicken Wraps (don’t remember the exact name). They are amazing! So simple and fast, but so much flavor! And healthy! I would choose #8 – the food processor, but really, would love pretty much all of the products! I also think you should consider doing a cookbook – a real, printed one. I would buy it! I pretty much only try new recipes from your site anymore (no more pinterest fails for me) and have so many favorites that are in our regular rotation (probably 40…). My picky eater knows he can try anything that is from Mel! And I share your love of Greek food! Those are some of our very favorites as well. You’re my cooking hero!
I have tried many, many recipes and haven’t disliked any of them! However, I definitely use your garlic Alfredo sauce the most often! I love your sweet and sour chicken! I think #4 would be my first choice and #8 my second choice.
I have made the tried and true Christmas caramels the last couple years and given them as Christmas neighbor gifts! So yummy! I would love the #1 wheat grinder!
Wow! It is really difficult to pick my favorite recipe that I have made of yours, Mel. After much debating I have picked your sweet and sour chicken recipe. It is one of our favorite dishes. Easy and delicious every time!
All of the prizes are fantastic, but I have always wanted a Vitamix Blender.
Oh man! We’ve been using your site as our “go-to” recipe site for YEARS! This winter we’ve really enjoyed and used your barely chili recipe quite a bit. Your whole wheat blended pancakes and your chocolate chip cookie bars made with the vanilla pudding have been favorites these last few months too…but it’s honeslty too hard to pick A favorite…
I’d LOVE a Bosch!!! #3 (even though sharp knives would probably be more appreciated by my husband, haha!)
congrats on 10 years!!! I have been kind of obsessively following you since 2011!! i can’t believe its been that long…and the only blog i regularly follow too! I have made at least over a hundred of your recipes (i kind of want to go back and check mark everything i have made now!) and my family and friends all know about my “friend” Mel and when i very often get asked for the recipe of something i make, i always says “its from Mel!” I don’t think i could pick a favorite recipe, too many! One i seem to make a lot is the Asian Lettuce Wraps, the pumpkin frosted caramel cookies have been a little famous among my friends, and i think i have used your spaghetti pie as a take in dinner at least a dozen times! All of those prizes are so awesome and generous! Wow! it is hard to pick between #1, #3, and #6….but i will just throw #6 out there because my cheap ol blender is about to hit the dust! Thanks so much for this blog! I am seriously so grateful!!
Mel! Thank you so much for offering this giveaway. My family and I love your blog, and I often turn to it when I don’t know what to make for dinner. 🙂 One of our all time favorite recipes is the Holiday Baked Eggs. But lately I have been semi obsessed with the recipe for egg rolls. Ah-mazing.! Thanks for all the time you put into this blog! If I won I think I would really enjoy having a nice food processor (#8).
We love all your recipes, but in the last few weeks we have made the Peppermint Patties, Aebleskivers, Welsh pancakes and pumpkin roll…5 * yum to each one! Thank you for the entertaining reads and excellent recipes, you have become our go-to for delicious food!
If we were lucky enough to win your gift giveaway, we would choose the Instant Pot (#10).
Thank you and Happy 10th anniversary AND Happy birthday!
I’ve been following your blog for many years, and am the happy user of an Instantpot, thanks to your influence and my grown kids’ generosity! So my favorites of the many recipes from your blog that I make would have to be ALL the Instantpot recipes. This week we enjoyed your Cheesy Potato Soup, and it was delicious! My pick from your giveaway roster would be #3, the Bosch mixer, as my old faithful Kitchenaid Professional is threatening to give up the ghost. It is tired after 42 years of use! Congratulations on 10 year of successful food blogging!
Congratulations Mel. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found a blog followed just long enough to become routine, then POOF, no mas. It says a lot about your tenacity. Such an impressive list of prizes, how to choose… need, want, utilitarian, shiny(lol). If pressed, I prefer practical. It all starts with a good quality knife, doesn’t it? #9, have always wanted a New West but would never cough up the money. TBH, the only recipe I’ve made from your site is WHOLE GRAIN BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP SNACK CAKE. Which I tweeked a smidge. I followed it to a T w/ the exception of switching half of each of the flours for coconut flour. My better 1/2 are always on the hunt to burn up extra bananas that accumulate in our deep freeze. It turned out beautifully. Good on ya. Looking forward to another 10.
It is so hard to pick a favorite, because I am on your website at least once a day! I have learned so much from you. I never made bread before reading your blog, so if I had to pick one recipe I would say your homemade pizza. It never occurred to me before that I could make pizza from scratch! But you make it so easy and so good! The blender is tempting but I think I’d like the Bosch mixer so I can try making more bread. Thank you for all you do!
Would have to be the Chicken Pillows with Parm Sauce or the Best Chocolate Cake!
Thanks for all the good stuff and looking forward to much more! I picked I would choose the #4 cookware.
Oh Mel! Congratulations on 10 years of blogging! Without your blog, my family would be eating frozen pizza every night of the week! I think about 80% of what I make is a recipe from your blog. About 15% of what I make is from a recipe on the back of Toll House Chocolate Chips and the remaining 5% is split between Betty Crocker and America’s Test Kitchen. When I try something new, my family will ask “Is it a Mel?” My current favorites are: Quick spaghetti, Chicken Curry in a Hurry, Sweet & Sour meatballs and Grilled Island Chicken. Oh, and the cheesecake…and the snicker doodles… Can’t name just one!
My give away pick is the #8 – the food processor.
We love a lot of yours but my family’s top are: Chicken Taquitos, Slow Cooker Korean Beef, and the Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Chip bars, oh and Lemonies! You are my go to and I wish you a very happy 10th! And 40 looks great on you! – I would love #5 as my kitchen aid that I have had for almost 18 years (and use constantly) is starting to make some weird noises.
This week I’m making the Southwest Crispy Wraps. It’s always been a huge favorite of mine! But I have a long list of your recipes that I always make including the BBQ Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing, Southwest Rice and Bean Salad, and your Italian Pasta Salad. Thanks for all of the great recipes! I would love to win #4 because I really need new pans.
So many recipes I love but the French bread recipe is made on repeat in our house. So easy and so delicious!
So many good prizes but #2 (Vitamix) I have been eyeing at every store I go to.
I have lots of favorite recipes but the one I’ve been making the most lately is your broccoli cheese soup – it’s so good! I would choose #6 if I won a prize.
I made the chocolate pudding; yum!!! If I win I’d LOVE #3. I’ve been wanting a Bosch forever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And happy ten years blogging!!!
Too many favorite recipes to choose from!!! But I think I’m going to have to choose Gloria’s famous cinnamon rolls. The cream cheese Maple frosting, hmmmm… So many compliments whenever I make them and I love that I can freeze them and pull them out and they taste like I slaved all day making them. The last time I made them at Christmas my kitchen aide sounded like it was going to die and I have the littlest one so the dough was overflowing a tad much. I always have to slave away at cleaning all the cracks and crannies after making this recipe but so worth it! Love your website, your personality, and your recipes!!! Thanks for such an awesome giveaway. If I won I’d choose #1 or #5.
I love your tomatillo pork recipe. It is so easy and so delicious every time. I am not a cook; I’ve never enjoyed cooking and I don’t like hunting for new recipes. Your blog has been a blessing. I would love #6.
Happy 10th Blogiversary!! If I have to choose one of your recipes as my favorite, it would be the Creamy Garlic Alfredo Sauce! Just made a double batch this week, and the sauce by itself makes excellent leftovers for a fresh pot of pasta the next night, and I throw in some grilled chicken pieces! I just logged on to find your recipe for vanilla cake for my sons 14th birthday. If I could pick a prize it would be #10 – The Instant Pot! I love, love, love your site! God Bless you and your beautiful family!
Mel! I’ve loved your site for years… definitely not ten though. Wow! Congratulations! Like so many have said, picking my favorite recipe is close to impossible. But for the sake of this awesome giveaway, I’ll say the Sweet and Sour Chicken. I made it one random night and got started WAY to late. I didn’t finish until about 9:30pm, but I still remember the heavenly taste of the chicken and the light coating and the sauce. I am salivating just thinking about it. AH! And if I were the lucky winner, I would love love love #4. Thanks gal!
I’m so conflicted! I think it might be the Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps. They are the epitome of fast, frugal, and delicious (and everyone in my family eats them). But it was a hard choice. I have 102 of your recipes saved 🙂 Thank you for being my go-to place to find recipes to feed my people. I would love #3. It’s been on my wish list ever since you did your post on KitchenAid vs. Bosch mixers!
Congrats! I feel like a newbie, because I’ve only been around following your blog the last few years, but you’re one of the first cooking blogs I stumbled on and one of the only cooking blogs that I religiously follow and subscribe to. Full disclosure, I don’t follow you on Facebook (I know you mentioned it as a requirement above), but I don’t have a Facebook (yes, the only person on the planet not to have Facebook is me). My absolute favorite favorite favorite thing I’ve made from the site (oh, gee, how to choose???) is your Quick & Easy Foolproof Pizza Dough. I make it practically once a week, and no longer need to check the website for the recipe every single time, even though I have forgotten the salt. twice. oops! I will add that your desserts are always tempting to my sweet tooth, and you’ve also given me confidence and approachable recipes to things outside of my midwestern box (i.e. Indian food, Greek food, etc.), so I really appreciate that! If I were to win, I think I would choose #3 the Bosch mixer 🙂 You’re the best, Mel – never, never leave this space!
98% of things that come out of my kitchen are from your site. You are the first place I turn when looking for ANY kind of recipe. I can’t tell you how thabkful I am a friend told me about your blog almost 7 years ago. I truly am thankful for all you do. I love your recipes and I love your humor and goodness. To pick a favorite recipe is extremely difficult, I love too many! Buuut…. I’ll go with your buttermilk banana bread because it’s definiteky unlike any other banana bread I’ve tried and I’ve tried a lot! And I would pick #7, the ice cream compressor!!
I’ve been cooking your recipes forever! And I’ve introduced aka converted many to your blog.
Your ground turkey stroganoff is a simple recipe that is no a family favorite for us. Thanks for being awesome.
I’d love to win #6!!!
happy 10 year anniversary and happy birthday! i’m a longtime reader 🙂 it’s hard to chose, but i would have to say the Best Chocolate Cake. i would pick the kitchenaid mixer! thanks for sharing and continuing to share!
So happy for you! One of my fave recipes we make a lot is your creamy white chicken chili! Yum! After seeing all your Insta pot posts I’d definitely be hoping for #10!
One of my many favorite recipes of yours is the black bean sweet potato burritos! If I am lucky enough to win I would want #10 since I don’t have one yet.
I have made SEVERAL of your recipes. You are my go to site (you’re the Better Crocker Cookbook of the 2000’s ) my 2 favorites are the sweet balsamic glazed pork and the baked spaghetti pie. Yum! If I were fortunate enough to win a prize, I’d love to try the insta pot. I’m so intrigued. Thank you for all of your wonderful posts! Happy 10th Anniversary!
There hasn’t been a recipe that I I have tried of yours that my family and I haven’t loved!!! I love all your recipes!!! But my very very favorite is the Classic Italian LASAGNA. I always double the recipe when I make it and freeze one for later! So delicious both days I serve it! Cooked fresh or frozen this Lasagna rocks!!! I would absolutely love to win any of the gifts from your give away. I only own a kitchen aid and an instant pot so any of the other gifts would be AMAZING! If I had to choose one I would love the Bosche. I think is would be a real game changer for my home made bread attempts! Thank you so much for being an amazing resource for me! Love Love Love your Blog!
Your blog was one of the first ones I started to follow years back when I took the plunge into really learning how to cook! Our family loves all the Mel’s recipes we try! A family fav is the Creamy Green enchiladas!We just had our 10 year anniversary as well and we still have so many of our original kitchen gifts we recieved ex. (pots and pans) So I don’t usually enter these but I figured what do I have to lose?! Looking forward to all the new and exciting Mel’s Kitchen recipes to come! Congrats on 10 years!
My favorite Recipe of yours is the White bean sausage and kale. My whole family loves it. I use kilbasa instead of chicken sausage though. #10 or #5
Congrats! Love your blog. Favorite recipe’s are Greek Pastitsio and Tex-Mex Enchilada Casserole. I would pick #2 or #9!
Hmmm… hard to choose my favorite. I really like the green chile chicken enchilada stack with a squeeze of lime on top! As far as giveaways go I would happily take any of them (those items are not cheap, you are being VERY generous!) I would probably want the ice cream maker the most.
I love your pão de queijo recipe! I lived in Brazil for 5 years and tried multiple recipes since being home, but they could not compare with yours for simplicity and taste! Thank you! We eat these all the time! It is my son’s favorite!
The gift I would choose if I won would be the instant pot (#10).
Love you, Mel! I’ve shared your blog with so many friends and family. Thank you for making the world a better place–one kitchen at a time!
Mel, I have been following you for years and have made countless recipes!!! I remember when I first stumbled upon your site and simply fell in love with your recipes and your persona. I have sooo many favorite recipes but one my ultimate faves is the Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin with Apple Salsa!!! I’d love to win #7. Thank you so much for all the hard work you’ve done in making your blog so amazing and thanks for not leaving us!!!
My favorite recipe to make from your blog is the Whole Wheat bread recipe. I appreciate the step by step photos as well! If I were to win, I would chose item #1 Koma Wheat Grinder. It has been on my ‘list of wants’ for a while now, but have not pulled the trigger yet.
Mel, I absolutely love having a place to find ideas when I am so often clueless about what to cook for any occasion. You have rescued me more times than I can count. My new favorite recipe is No Bake Healthy Granola Bites. I make them for my daughter to eat before a match or practice, which she loves to do, and I love that they have no sugar. Thanks for sharing your goodness with me and my family. Happy 10th Anniversary!
If I should happen to win the drawing, I love the idea of owning #7. 🙂
My favorite recipe is probably your jalapeno cheeseball, but let’s get real. There are too many to count.
And I would choose the Vitamix! Numer 2!
My latest favorites are the Lemon Brownies and the Grilled Coconut Lime Chicken. And the IP brown rice pilaf. And the broccoli cheese soup! I’d love to win #1!
Oh so many recipe favorites- it’s like choosing a favorite child! I was going to count how many recipes I have tried and saved from your site in my recipe app, but I was at 100 recipes and I hadn’t even reached “D” yet. Looking at all of these I really have to say again thank you so much. So many of our family’s good memories center around food, and you are definitely a part of that. So, a little sappy, but thank you so much. Anyway, this week our love has been your smothered sweet pork burritos, and go to brownie recipe. Absolutely love both of those! I think I would choose #1. I have been using a family grain mill for over 20 years, and it’s time to bite the bullet and either replace the steel burrs, or upgrade to something a little better. Happy happy birthday! I don’t know what I’d do without you and Mel’s kitchen café!
Choosing one of recipes as my favorite is hard, so many of your recipes are our staples. But if I had to choose one I would say your chocolate mousse cheesecake pie. If I win I would choose #8. Thanks for keeping my family well fed. We love you!
Many of your recipes are family favorites, but your Cheese cake stuffed Chicolate chip cookie bars are still # 1 I believe! I would love #10. I’m curious to try out this instant pot thing 🙂 Congrats on 10 years!!
I’ve been here silently huzzahing (is that a word?) every time there’s a new post! This is my first time commenting. I have made the “Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies” probably hundreds of times and given out the recipe an equal number. My favorite recipe might be the “Easy Fudge Peanut Butter Bars” (I dream of them). Oh and my new favorite is the “Winter Minestrone Soup”. Sorry I couldn’t choose one. Thank you so much for the recipes and the perspective and for sharing your heart. We love you!!!
I would choose #9.
Congratulations on 10 years! I have been with you since the days of the blogspot.com and have referred many friends and family to your website over the years! I would dare say that most of the recipes that I make for my family are from your website! I have learned so much about cooking from you! It would be so hard for me to pick a favorite recipe since I have so many but you have a cookie recipe that is one of me and my family’s faves-it is the chocolate chip peanut butter and oatmeal cookies, a very dangerous cookie to have around because I can’t stop eating them! Thank you for all of your work to bring us delicious and my personal favorite, non-processed, recipes to make for our families! If I was lucky enough to win, I would love to have #1-I have really been wanting a wheat grinder since learning about them from you!
Mel you are the best! Your Ulitimate Stroganoff is a favorite. I had made it several times from your site before I realized you got it from my cousin Tami W.! I guess that makes us family right? 🙂 I love your recipes and recommendations I feel like they are honest and you aren’t doing it because you are sponsored by the products. Your favorite things is my go to for gifts and I especially love your game recommendations. Keep up the good work!!!! I love my Bosch Mixer but I have been thinking a Kitchen Aid would also be nice. Here’s to another 10 years! Keep up the great work!!!
Congratulations, Mel! While I have been following you for only about 3 years, it has been a faithful, cooking elevating 3 years! Thank you for all you do. As so many others often say, I feel like you are my friend. It is impossible to choose one favorite recipe! Some of my currents favorites are Southwestern Chicken Barley Chili, Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas, Pesto Marinated Chicken, Creamy White Chicken Chili, Turkey and Swiss Sloppy Joes, Bourbon Chicken, Caramel Pear Crisp, Licorice Caramels (oh my!) Funfetti Blondies, Fudge, Mango Black Bean and Quinoa Salad. Can you tell I have issues with picking favorites ? 🙂 Because I love the couple of bread recipes I have made from your site and would love to do more, I would choose #3. You will never know how much I appreciate you!
Congrats on your blog anniversary! I just discovered you not quite 2 years ago thanks to my aunt and cousin. I wondered what planet I had been living on when I started telling people about you and they all looked at me like yeah I’ve been going to Mel for years! Actually, yours was the 1st blog I ever visited….yes, in 2016! I’m way behind the times. I don’t even have an Instagram account so I know that disqualifies me for your giveaway but that’s ok….thanks for all you do! But just in case, I make your recipes ALL the time! My favorite recipe of yours is the key lime cheesecake and the spaghetti pie. Prize #1 would be my choice.
Congrats on 10 years Mel! I’m so glad you never quit on us. Your site is my favorite and is my go to for the best recipes. It’s hard to narrow down my favorite recipe that you’ve posted but I guess I would choose your Sweet molasses bread because I make it weekly. Of course I can’t imagine making it without a Bosch and since mine is probably the first model ever made and seriously scaring me that it’s going to die on me any day, I would love to win #3: Bosch Universal Mixer, if I’m lucky enough. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and for the chance to win in this fun giveaway!
Mel, thank you for all your awesome recipes! It’s hard to choose one, but I’d have to say your white chicken chili. I’ve made it for 200 YSA’s at break the fast and on multiple other occasions—always a crowd pleaser. #8 🙂
Mel, you darling woman, you! What a kind and generous way to celebrate your blog turning 10! Wow! I am grateful for the chance to enter the giveaway! I have been blessed infinitely by your hard work and willingness to share your gift with the world (as has my family). I have no hesitation telling people you are the woman who taught me how to cook. I have referred countless people to your blog and will continue to do so! I will forever be grateful for your influence and friendship in my life! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
I have followed you on Facebook and Instagram (profile ID is A.C. Woody) and while it feels almost impossible to name (I love ALL of the recipes of yours I have tried!) I think that the Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork is my all-time favorite. It is the first dish I was able to make consistently with phenomenal results and it is the first dish I felt comfortable sharing with others when company was over and for take-in meals. It has been a staple in our home! Bless you!
If I were to win in the giveaway, #1 (the wheat grinder) would be a huge blessing in our home. Thanks again for the chance to enter, and for everything you do for us, your readers! Much love and hugs your way!!!
Congratulations Mel and Happy Birthday! Your blog is my favorite go-to when looking for recipes. I can honestly say I skip Pinterest all together and head straight to your site. My daughter and I talk just about daily about all the great recipes we see on your site. I recently made the hash brown breakfast casserole and the berry bruschetta and they both were divine! I would choose #5 or #6 but honestly I’m not picky! Haha
There are so many great recipes on here. It is hard to choose, but I really like the Coconut Cream Pie recipe. We make it every Thanksgiving and for birthdays, etc..
I would pick #4
I’m going to pick the tender shredded beef enchiladas–but I have so many favorites it’s hard to say just one! It makes me feel a little bit disloyal to all the others. I also have to confess that I saw you at Costco one day and I had an internal freak out session. I called my husband and told him about my celebrity sighting but he didn’t quite understand my excitement. If I was a lucky winner I would pick #3 or #7 because I can’t decide between bread and ice cream. Thank you for all you do!
When I first started reading your blog as a newlywed (its our 10 year anniversary this year, I absolute remember your blogspot page!), I would ask people to teach me how to cook and treat me as if I didn’t know how to boil water. Thanks to you, I’ve now managed to build a pretty decent reputation for my kitchen skills.
I LOVE your recent black bean, quinoa bake (or at least that’s what I refer to it as. When my husband first saw me dish it up for him he said, “UGH!!! Why’d you have to go and ruin it with quinoa!?!?” Seriously, 5 minutes later, he was up and getting seconds. I have fed this to multiple families with many kids with varying degrees of food tolerance, and I haven’t had one person turn down a bowl, and MANY leave with plates full for their school lunches the next day. This is a staple for entertaining. Best of all, I love being able to make it ahead of times on days that are busy with afterschool activities, leaving my husband instructions to put it in the oven, then see how he beams with pride as he tells the kids they’re welcome for his having made dinner that night. Hey, whatever makes everyone happy, right!?
I would LOVE 3, 4, 8, or 10. All are desperately needed in my kitchen!
My favorite recipe is the butternut squash mac and cheese. I make it so many times! ( I’m not sure if that is what you titled it but that’s what I call it ha ha)
Prize 6
I love so many recipes here that it is hard to choose!! We have made many of them. I think the smothered pork burritos are a favorite. I DREAM of having a Bosch Universal Mixer. That would be my winning pick! So its #3 for me!
I have made TONS of your recipes, so I’m just going to list a few that I LOVE:
1. Skillet Cilantro and Lime Tacos
2. Banh Mi Sandwiches
3. Chicken Pillows with Parm Sauce
4. Caramel Apple Bundt Cake
5. Chocolate Quinoa Cake
6. Best Chocolate Cake
Oh, Mel, your website is the BEST! Thanks for taking the time to do it.
Only pick one recipe as a favorite?!?!?!? My current favorite is the Monterey Chicken with Pico de Gallo. It was a huge hit with my family! If I got lucky enough to win one of those fabulous prizes, it would have to be #1. It would be amazing to have an electric wheat grinder instead of doing it with a hand crank grinder. Love your blog! Thanks for all the great recipes!
Choosing a favorite recipe would be like choosing a favorite child. Your site is my absolute go to site for family friendly, guaranteed to be delicious food. I make your french bread rolls weekly (sometimes multiple times a week), and there is always a stash of your monster cookies in the freezer. My daughter always request your banana bars with browned butter frosting for her birthday. I burned out a gear in my Kitchenaid mixer making your sweet molasses bread, but it was so good that as soon as my husband fixed my mixer I made it again. Basically, your recipes and blog are woven into the fabric of our lives. So many of our family memories have been made around food created using your site as inspiration. Thank you!
I would choose #3, the Bosch Universal Mixer.
I have been here from the very beginning, when I was running my blog as well! You’ve come so far and mine… has not! 🙂 But I love yours, and trust every single one of your recipes.
My top two favorites that we make over and over and over… are the Honey Lime Enchiladas and your Cornbread! My mom actually told me about the cornbread years ago, and when she mentioned the blog title, I was like, “Well, of course it will be great! It’s Mel!”
Thank you for all of the great meals over the last 10 years!
I would LOVE # 7 or #4!
Thank you so much for doing this blog and congratulations on your success! You have helped me make such good things I never thought I’d even try. I love your yogurt, peppermint patties, tortillas, baked ziti recipes, roll recipes, and German pancakes (especially the butter syrup), but I think MONKEY BREAD wins! It’s become a special occasion breakfast that my family loves! I’d love to win #9!
Impossible to choose a favorite since almost everything I make comes from you! But the most recent are the banana peanut butter muffins (yesterday) and the chicken tortilla soup (today). And we love your oatmeal pancake mix and cornbread(!!!) and ham and pasta skillet and broccoli cheese soup…
I would definitely choose #3- the Bosch so I can try even more of your bread recipes!
I have to pick just one? Man, that is hard…we make your southwest chicken wraps a few times a month, but your lemon blueberry cake with whipped frosting is amazing, as is the quinoa chocolate cake with whipped frosting, and I make one version or another of your granola bites/energy bites weekly, and we love your slow cooker Italian beef sandwiches and your college prep cookbook is a staple for my girls, and, and I could go on and on. You are such a part of our family’s lives because of your recipes. I seriously make something of yours almost daily. Thank you for blessing our lives! I would choose the knives because I have never had anything other than Walmart knives 🙂 Thanks for being a Rock Star Mel!
Your cheesecake recipes without eggs have been a game changer at my house – I would choose #1 the wheat grinder.
Happy Anniversary! I have been with you since the beginning. You are the first food blog I followed back when you were My Kitchen Cafe. Your chicken pot pie crumble was possibly the first recipe of yours I made. I printed out a ton of your recipes and put them in a binder for my go to recipes my family loved. I still have that binder eight years later haha. I love your French bread recipe, chicken tikka masala, sweet pork burritos and your ground beef stroganoff converted my picky eater to trust my cooking. Thank you thank you for your wonderful recipes that have helped convince my family to try new things because they know if it’s from your website, it’ll be good. You truly are the best and I am SO excited to see what you have planned for the next ten years. Much love! I would choose #5. I have always wanted a KitchenAid! Thank you Mel!
Love this blog, have been following it for years and sent many friends your way over the years when they ask for a recipe. My favorite? The French Bread, because it really did make me feel like a rockstar! I would love #3, I moved away from home 15 years ago and still miss my mom’s Bosch machine when I do anything dough-related!
To many GREAT recipes! Pretzel rolls, French bread rolls, monster cookies, sweet and sour chicken, rock salt chicken, enchiladas, cheesecakes, carmelcorn, pies so many more. Thanks Mel!!!
Hi Mel! I’ve followed you for years, not even sure how long, but long enough that everyone knows who my “BFF that doesn’t even know I exist”:) is. (That’s you, btw.) Thank you so much for all the time you put in. You’re always so kind and upbeat. I too have 5 children, and think the time you put in to help with my busy schedule is pretty unreal. I made your pizza sliders last night. They were a perfect -eat in the car- dinner since we had 3 ball games last night. Although I’ve made several (SEVERAL) of your dinners, I think the ones I keep going back to are the 30 minute meals since I always seem to have procrastinated starting dinner.
I would love any one of those prizes, but if I could choose, I think I’d narrow it down to #2, or #10.
I’ve followed your blog since it was My Kitchen Cafe; you think I can choose JUST ONE favorite recipe??? We make the french bread rolls a LOT, and one of my kids’ favorite dinners is Chicken Quesadilla Pie (we had it just last night!). I honestly think I’ve never had a recipe failure from your site, it is amazing! You are amazing! Congrats on 10 years and 40 years! I would choose #1 because my Nutrmill is dead, dead, dead. Thank you for the giveaway!
Mel. You have been a huge inspiration and great blessing in my life. Even before the blog we were sharing recipes and helping each other with life challenges. Your blog has kept my family fed and I am so grateful. I’ve made so many of the recipes. 10 years! I can’t even believe it. Thank you for spending the time sharing your talents with us. We are so blessed. Happy Birthday and Happy 10 years of blogging. Love ya!
Congrats on 10 years! I’m a fan of so many of your recipes, so it’s so hard to choose! Grilled pork chops, divine breadsticks, stroganoff, smothered beef burritos, perfect cinnamon rolls…it’s too hard to pick just one. I’m always looking at your site for favorites and new recipes to try, and know I can trust they will always be good. Awesome prizes, but right now I’d pick #9 because I’ve never had really great knives ever in my life and it feels like a wish that might always take a back seat to other more pressing issues. Thank you for all you do!
How wonderful for you! You have so many recipes We have enjoyed. One that comes to mind that takes me way back is your refrigerator bran muffins. A breakfast classic streamlined! My choice would be #7 the ice cream maker. Making ice cream is a fun family tradition for us and with 6 kids my little Cuisinart maker has seem better days.
I enjoy your blog very much and have yet to try a recipe that I haven’t liked! I will say my fave is the white chocolate chip/macadamia nut cookies (perfected!) which is so true.
Hi Mel, congratulations on your 10 year anniversary and happy birthday, a little early! I am so happy to have found your blog about 2 years ago. I have made many recipes and it is difficult to choose the one I love the most but a few that are at the top of the list are your breadsticks (my son begs me for these every weekend and you were so kind to reply to a question I had about them after making them for the first time), the teriyaki chicken stir fry, tacos and oh my, the amazing salmon. Every weekend I look forward to trying something new and actually just logged on now to try and find something to make in the crockpot tomorrow night. Very much looking forward to trying your pizza recipe with the whole wheat pizza dough and the beef stew. Anyway, I couldn’t be more grateful for the hard work that you do and the recipes you provide that make us all look so great to our families. I wish you and your family nothing but the best – peace, love, good health and happiness – and I wish you continued success with your blog. Thank you for running the giveaway and providing the prizes for those that win. Although I feel like your time and hard work are all the prize any of us could ask for, I’d put my ticket in the basket for an 8 quart instant pot. Having heard so much about them from you and others I’ve considered buying one but haven’t yet gotten around to it. Good luck to all who enter and thank you again, Mel for everything. You are a blessing to us all and an angel right here on Earth 🙂
Our family has enjoyed many, many nights of Chicken Enchiladas. This recipe is perfection! I would choose #8 if I won.
I absolutely love your smores bars, they are a family favorite and if I take them anywhere always a hit!
Wow! I have loved your blog/website for a looonng Time! Many years ago a friend moved to Twin Falls and brought back a recipe she got from you and shared it with our church group. From then I was hooked! I have loved every recipe I’ve made… I’ve made so many. My kids love the divine breadsticks, and the hubs loves the sweet and sour chicken. I love how you research and test recipes. In another life I am a culinary graduate working for America’s Test Kitchen! I have friends who know you personally and speak very highly of you and your kindness and service. I would love a Bosch mixer! #3 I am known for making cakes and treats for friends and family and a wedding cake here and there too! This would help greatly! Thanks for providing such quality recipes for so many years… here’s to another 10!
#3!!! I just got into making bread thanks to YOU! My absolute favorite recipe is the Quinoa Whole Wheat Bread, and my kids love it too!!! Thank you for sharing and congrats!!!!
Lovely post, thank you! My favorite recipe so far has been the cream cheese chicken soup in the “Best Recipe” category. Perfect comfort food! My preference would be the ice cream maker. Appreciatively, Annamarie
Oh my goodness this makes me feel so nastolgic! I’ve been following you for only 5 of the ten years but have been to your page at least 3x a week from that very first recipe! I would have to say my very favorite recipe is definitely the black bean curry. Simple, DELICIOUS, easy and pretty healthy!
These options are AMAZING, and so generous 🙂 thank you for thinking so much of your readers. You give some tough choices but I’d probably say #9 the knives (because my knives are so sad and pathetic) with the pots and pans being a very close second!
Congrats again!
That’s kind of like asking me to pick a favorite child. Since I have five kids, I’ll pick five recipes instead one of. I’m not a rule follower…
Peanut blossoms…adding the cup of actual peanuts was a game changer
Milk kefir….changing our lives by reducing one stomachache after another and probably preventing all sorts of crazy things like being forced to go gluten, dairy and soy free and ending up with hardly a reason to live…
Spicy Thai noodles….yum
Asian noodles with spiralized zucchini…I don’t think that’s the right title, but it has shrimp in it and oyster sauce…
Chicken pot pie crumble…altho i have a love hate relationship with this one because I feel like it takes forever, but I want to weep when I am done because it’s amazing
If I win a prize, I would pick the Bosch.
Love you Mel!!! Keep plugging along. The world wouldn’t be the same without you.
Mel, I LOVE your site and recommend it to everyone I know. Seriously. Your recipes have totally made me feel like a rockstar in the kitchen! Thank you a million times over! I know its a lot of work, but it sure has made my life magical! We have a young married couple that live in our basement, and the wife and I are both OBSESSED with you and your blog (in a totally non-creeper way. Haha). We constantly test out your recipes and taste test each others food. And text each other your new recipes. It’s an awesome arrangement. I have at least one of your recipes in our weekly menu plan each week.
My favorite recipes are probably the Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos, Easy French Bread, and Cherry Cheesecake Cookies. And the Broccoli Cheese Soup. And the Ultimate Beef Stroganoff. And Crock Pot Turkey Breast. I would choose #8, though my vitamix blender just blew up (literally) yesterday…good times…
I love your guts because your blog is my favorite and has been for so long! It’s hard for me to pick a recipe because I love so many, but I would have to say the shrapnel dip because I make that all the time! Lately I’ve been really loving the almond Joy bites too. I’ve made those at least five times since you’ve posted them. Yummy! I would definitely have to pick number 10 because I’ve been dying for an Insta pot!!! !
My favorite recipe is a tie! I love your homemade French Bread recipe you did recently. Comes out perfect EVERYTIME. Also, my other favorite is your slow cooker turkey. If I win, I would LOVE #10, the 8 quart instant pot. Thanks Mel and Happy Anniversary!!!
Our Family LOVES the “Firecracker Chicken”!
Its Sweet and Spicy.
#3 (All I have is a Hand mixer :()
Love your blog! I don’t ever comment, but I make so many of your recipes (those delicious blueberry muffins from last week were a hit!). Mine (and my family’s) favorite recipe is the Divine 1-hour breadsticks. We seriously make this on a weekly basis! My prize choice would be #3! 🙂
Congratulations, Mel on 10 years!! You’ve done so much good in the world with this food blog–giving confidence to so many in the kitchen, myself included. THANK YOU! Way back when I found you, my favorite recipe was the BAKED TILAPIA WITH GINGER AND CILANTRO. That was a swoon-worthy dish. Loved all those flavors! Currently, the soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies have become my new favorite–of yours and of cookies in general! I would love a #3 Bosch mixer. We make wheat bread weekly for more than a decade and my old Bosch is being run into the ground.
OH my word, if I had to choose just ONE recipe… Seriously, how do you choose just one? Let’s go with the one bowl, favorite brownie recipe. But I have made dozens (100 maybe?) of your recipes. Crispy southwest chicken wraps, french bread rolls, Aunt Marilyn’s cinnamon rolls, the list could go on! I check your recipe collection FIRST any time I am looking for a recipe. My Instant Pot is currently being shipped to me and I can’t wait to try all your Instant Pot recipes!
I would love to win #8 but would also love #1 or #3 🙂
Happy 10th anniversary! I count myself a lucky girl to have learned about you over 8 years ago when you captured my heart and my loyalty. A friend told me about your chicken tikka masala recipe and it used ingredients I already had in my cupboard. Whaaaatttt?? You’ve had my attention ever since. Nowadays, our most-used recipe is the honey lime green enchilada recipe that made our shoe-leather-leftover-pork-chops taste like a gourmet restaurant entree. I knew that recipe was a winner when I made it the first time —
I was sheepishly licking my plate, looked up, and saw my husband doing the same. (#classyfamily) Anyway, if we were so lucky, I’d be thrilled to receive #5. The volumes of dough I could mix….oh, be still my heart. Thank you for sharing your food and your life with us through the years. We are so grateful.
Happy birthday and blog anniversary! I’ve been following you almost from the very beginning. My favorite recipes from your blog, so far (there are so many I want to try), are the sweet and sour chicken and your corn bread muffins. Yum! I would definitely choose #3. I’ve been wanting a Bosch mixer for years, but have a hard time spending the $$ on one.
Happy 10 Year Anniversary! There are a lot of recipes that I love, but out favorite would probably be a tie between the Greek Tacos or the Slow cooker Stroganoff. I would love to get #1 because my Nutrimill is dying.
We love your creamy green Chile chicken enchilada recipe! I would pick one two or three I don’t know how I would choose between the three of them… I have wanted each of those for quite sometime so any of them would be a treat!
I think I am one of those who has been around for just about the whole ten years! 🙂 Probably my most used recipe is the whole wheat pizza dough! And I’d probably choose #5 as my Kitchen Aid mixer is 35 years old and I just know it’s going to break my heart and die one of these days and I need to be prepared for that.
You are so amazing Mel! I love reading cooking blogs as a hobby (does that make me nerdy?) but yours has always stood out and has been my favorite for years and years now. Not only are your recipes stellar but your writing style is just so darn fun and I have to say that your love for your family definitely shines through as well. I’m just so happy that you’ve kept up with it and allowed us to follow you through the ups and downs! Thank you!
Ok that being said, I can’t believe you’re trying to make us pick a favorite recipe. Isn’t that a little like picking a favorite child? Ok well we love your Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches because they are so simple yet so tasty and we recently made your easy no-bake cheesecake AGAIN and still love it so those would have to be a couple all-time favorites.
Those are some awesome prizes! I think I would choose those knives though, I could really use some good ones! And the ice cream compressor would be a close second. So fun! I’m so excited for all the things you have planned!
I bake or cook one of your recipes several times a week. My favorite recipe would be the best chocolate chip cookies. My children love your sour cream banana bread recipe. The last recipe I tried from your blog was your slow cooker beef stew. It was amazing. I would love #1. The wheat grinder.
I refer everyone to your site! You’ve never steered me wrong. 🙂 I just can’t choose my favorite recipe of yours, it’s too hard! The maple pecan salmon however is a family favorite and your hot fudge pudding cake so easy to make and so so delicious. I’m also a big fan of your board game lists we have bought several and enjoy them! I’ve been drooling over a Vitamix for some time so number two would be my choice. Thank you for making my life a little easier with great recipes!
Favorite is probably your white bean chicken chili, love all the add-in and so tasty. But have made several recipes, and your favorite spinach salad has been a hit at several holiday dinners. Just made your monster cookies last night for a recipe. Thanks for all you do! This is the only recipe site I check regularly and can count on for tasty and often simple recipes. I would choose #9 🙂
Congratulations on 10 years! That is absolutely wonderful and you should be so proud of yourself. I stumbled across your site about 2-3 years ago and haven’t looked back once! I appreciate that I can “blindly” try one of your recipes in front of company with great success. Currently, I’m on a huge kick with your smoky honey cilantro chicken, so that would be my current favorite recipe (though it changes every few months with a new “kick”). I appreciate your site for helping me find new things and feel confident in trying them. Thank you and here’s to the next 10 years of continued success!!! (I asked hubby for an instant pot for my birthday later this year thanks to your site, so #10 would be perfect!)
(I submitted a comment around 8 pm on 1/30/18, and noticed that it did not show up which I assumed was because your site was inundated with comments. Comments were only showing from approx. 7:30 pm on 1/30/18. I checked again this morning but it is still not there?)
Happy 10th anniversary, Mel! Thank you so much for all of your wonderful recipes, although your blog is about so much more. You are so genuine, kind, hilarious, helpful, witty, and, most importantly, family-oriented. You truly have a gift for writing and I’m so grateful that you take the time to enrich so many of our lives. Like others have said, I feel like you are a dear, close friend that I never actually met.
As far as recipes go, I love Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps, Crispy Chicken Wraps, Garlic Chicken Pasta, Spaghetti Sauce, White Bean Chicken Chili, Baked Ziti, Sour Cream Banana Bread, that easy Fudge recipe, just to name a few. Plus I have to give a shout-out to those Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits that were in your E-book. They are so buttery, garlicky delicious that I can’t stop at 1 or even 2 of them. It would probably take about 1/2 dozen of them before the guilt would be enough to stop me.
I am not on Facebook or Instagram, but I am hopelessly devoted to your blog. If I could pick one of your generous prizes, it would be one of the blenders–either the Vitamix or the Blendtec. The Instapot intrigues me, but I am not quite on the bandwagon yet. Not quite ready to ditch my slow cooker or roaster to make room for it.
Thanks again, happy 40th birthday, and may God bless you always……………
Congrats on 10 years! So many great recipes but my favorite is your cream cheese banana bread—so good! My choice would be the vitamix.
So many good recipes, but one of my favorites for both ease and flavor would be the Alfredo sauce, so yummy! And I’ve been drooling over a Blendtec (#6!) so that would be my pick!
Hey Mel. I just thought you should know that I have been secretly stalking your blog for about 8 years now. I absolutely love your blog! This is the first time I have ever left a comment on anyone’s blog, so you should feel pretty special, because you are; and let’s be honest, that giveaway is freaking awesome! Thank you so much for all of your terrific recipes! I have made A LOT of them over the years, but I have to say that your “The Best Pumpkin Bread” recipe is my favorite. It really is the BEST!
P.S. I would love to win #2.
Picking a favorite recipe would be impossible! I have been a long-time reader of your blog, and it is because of you that my kids are adventurous eaters–except that they refuse to eat processed food. Haha! I have been making your homemade yogurt and coconut macadamia granola for a year now, and when I bought yogurt during our kitchen remodel, my kids whined and complained! We love your creamy instant pot potato soup, and your sheet pan dinner with brown rice pilaf is on the menu for tonight. Thank you so much for all you do! My family eats much healthier because of the recipes you post! I would choose #7 because it’s a luxury I wouldn’t buy for myself! Thanks!
#6
I have to choose just ONE favorite recipe?! Ha! That’s impossible. I’ll tell you a few of my family’s favorites. Lately we have loved the instant pot mashed potatoes. Sooo good! Also, I can’t remember what it was called last week, bet we had the hummus dip with plain Greek yogurt and oh. My. Heck. Another go to (especially for my kids!) is the healthy banana bran muffins. They ask to grab them and heat them up in the microwave like they’re going out of style. They’re 2 and 5. This has been such a great blog for me to follow. I’ve literally gone from “I hate cooking cause I don’t know how” to my friends and family wondering “where in the heck did you get that recipe?!” Luckily I discovered you right after I got married almost 7 years ago, so my husband and now kids haven’t starved and lived off fast food. thanks for the time and detail you put into your blog and recipes. It does not go unnoticed. PS. When you moved to Idaho, my mother in law and I definitely fangirled over it. We love you!
Oh my gosh I have so many favorites that it is hard to choose just one! My favorite dinner is the smothered pork chops which I have made many times for Sunday dinner. I also bought your ebook and it has the most divine lemon cream cheese bars. You can’t eat just one! I love your blog because it has healthy options and quick options! It also forces me to branch out of my comfort zone and try new things. My whole family loves your turkey meatballs with tzaiki(?) sauce. I make your homemade naan and it is heaven! As you can see I cook quite a bit and I use your website a lot. In fact I learned about your website from a BYU women’s conference and it changed my cooking life! Thank you Mel! If you choose me to win I would like to try the Vitamix Blender #2. If I don’t win that’s ok I still have all the wonderful recipes! Dyan
Oh so many recipes! I made your Best Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe for years and then made the switch over to the Super Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies…I make them at LEAST once a week! And just because I couldn’t choose just one (or technically two), a dinner that I ALWAYS go back to is your Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguine. I’ve made it for my family and my husband’s family among others and it gets rave reviews every time. What a giveaway! I would choose #4 because I’m in desperate need of new pots and pans. Congrats on 10 years and Happy 40th Birthday!
I don’t know if I can pick just one recipe! I have made so many of your recipes – desserts, main dishes, sides and bread. And I have never had a bad experience. Everything has always turned out perfectly. You are my go-to for any bread related food. I have made your bread bowls for you favorite clam chowder (which is now my family’s favorite clam chowder – it is divine!) and bread sticks and cinnamon rolls and your soft pretzel rolls (yum!). We love your Make-Ahead Crispy, Buttery Garlic Bread. And I just recently made your Buttery, Flaky, Make-Ahead Overnight Crescent Dinner Rolls for a meal I had to provide as part of my daughter’s participation in a school program. They were a huge hit. I had planned to try them ahead of time to make sure I knew what I was doing, but wasn’t able to. I knew that I could count on your recipe though, and they were beautiful. My daughter told me later that more than one teenage girl who devoured them told her that if they could only eat one bread for the rest of their lives, it would be those rolls. I have a bowl of the dough in my refrigerator right now to make for dinner tonight.
Congratulations on 10 years! I would probably pick #3 as a prize.
Oh, man! I have so many favorites that it is really hard to pick! But… one that stands out and is always a hit, is the Amazing Romaine Salad with Light Poppyseed Vinaigrette — I LOVE it!! Thanks for being here with recipes that I can ALWAYS count on! (I would love #5… or #2… or #7 😉
Happy Anniversary!! My family might starve if not for this blog, I seriously use your recipes at least 5 times a week! If forced to choose one favorite it would have to be the Fire Cracker Chicken. My family LOVES this and the Sweet and sour version too. I also use your pizza crust recipe every single Friday night….it has never failed me.
My prize choice would be #8.
I’ve been a long time reader and avid user of your recipes….There are so many that we just love. However, one hour divine breadsticks are a life changer in this house! So fast. So delicious. LOVE THEM!!!!
And…I’d love #4…I’ve never had a complete set of pots and pans…it’s a mis-match of wonky items.
I have made so many people fall in love with the Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin. I’ve never had it fail and the glaze is just out of this world! Thank you for providing such delicious and dependable recipes! If I were lucky enough to win I would love either the Bosch mixer or the Instant Pot, but really of those prizes are simply amazing!
Oh my heck, YES!! That balsamic glazed pork is soooo great!!
I have been a fan and follower of you and your blog for a long time and have made many of your yummy recipes. It is hard to choose a favorite out of so many, but the first one that came to mind is your oatmeal pancake mix. Don’t know many times I’ve made that up. I’ve shared the recipe with family and friends numerous times after they have tried it. My favorite thing to do is make a batch and give away some (along with buttermilk and syrup or strawberries) to a new mother or someone that is sick. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into maintaining your blog. My family and I appreciate it. I would love to win the Cuisinart cookware set. Thank you!
It is too hard to pick just one recipe, but probably the most requested from my family is Sweet and Sour chicken. I am more of a dessert gal so when I have a craving, I just come to your site and pick something and it is always delicious. I would say if I won, I would pick #3
Favorite recipe…how can one decide. Probably the most made recipe around here is the healthy applesauce oat muffins, but the recipe that took my personal breath away was the Chili’s copycat Monterey chicken!
Hi Mel! Happy birthday to this wonderful blog. I make several of your recipes every day and I honestly don’t know what I would do without you! It’s so hard to pick a favorite recipe…but I will have to say buttermilk cinnamon rolls because someone asks me to make them at least once a week!
I would LOVE the ice cream maker! It’s just something I would never buy for myself!
Happy birthday and blog anniversary! I, too, don’t comment at all, if ever, but your blog is one of the few I come back to consistently. I have liked everything I’ve tried but my whole family was blown away by the sweet baked ham. Thanks for all the work you do in putting out new family-friendly recipes! I would probably have to pick #8 since I don’t have a food processor and constantly tell myself I should get one!
I have made many of your recipes but my personal favourite is your jalapeño popper white bean chilli. The whole family loves it! I would have to go with #10 I have been wanting to try your instant pot recipes but don’t have one yet. Thank you for your dedication to your blog and giving so much to us readers!
I love you and your blog!!! The two of you have changed my life! You are my go to gal!
I know anything I make from your blog my family will love. I must say, my favorite recipe is your homemade yogurt. I tried to make yogurt so many times before you put your recipe out, all of which turned out not great. It was sometimes a weird texture and gritty. Then I used your recipe – perfect every time! Then of course, who wouldn’t love to sprinkle your chocolate granola on top. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Thanks for all you do. I would love #1
Congrats on 10 years! One of our family favorites is the Fabulous Orange Chicken.
For the giveaway, I’d pick #10.
10 years??!!!!!? I have recipes in my binder from My Kitchen Cafe and that spaghetti sauce above is still one of my favorite things, bad pictures and all! I can’t even begin to thank you for all of the amazing dinners I have served my family over the years. My husband thanks you too since your recipes were coming out of my kitchen at least 3 nights a week our first few years of marriage. I couldn’t pick an absolute favorite but the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on your French bread rolls are a summer staple here. I also LOVE the summer garden veggie soup and it isn’t Christmas without your chewy gingerbread men cookies. I could list at least 20 other recipes that I couldn’t live without but I’ll stop now since I know you are going to have thousands of comments just like mine (because your food is just that good) to sift through. Again, THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put into this. Can’t wait to see what you do next!! Oh, and I would pick #4 🙂
Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday, Mel! One of my family’s favorite recipes, that we eat( at the very least) once a week, is your oatmeal pancake mix! I have so many favorites that I felt slightly guilty choosing just one to say is my very favorite. So, my most frequently made are: Buttery Cornmeal Rolls, the Best Cornbread and Classic Slow Cooker Chili! I love them all! #3 the Bosch and #5 the KitchenAid are on my list of kitchen tools to help make all my baking dreams come true! Thank you for all of your hard work and effort in making this blog so great!
Thanks Mel. I love your blog! I’m making your Smoky Honey Cilantro Chicken for tonight. First time. I am not sure I have one favorite recipe — but a couple that I’ve made repeatedly are the Buttermilk Banana Bread and Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars. Yum! Oh, and I would love any of the prizes! I don’t own any of them. My first choice would be the Bosch Mixer. 🙂 Thanks for the chance. Happy Blog and Life Birthday!
One of our favorite recipes that makes it into our meal plan at least once a month are the 30 min dan dan noodles. My kids are picky, but love this! If I could choose I would love any prize, but #9 knives or #3 Bosch mixer would be at the top of my choices!
Congrats! Your site is part of my morning ritual. I love scrolling through recipes while sipping my coffee. My family’s favorite “Mel recipe” is your skillet creamy Mac & Cheese. We definitely enjoy it more often than we should! ; ) I would love #2 – a Vitamix Blender. Thanks so much and cheers to 10 more years!
I love your site Mel, and check it just about every day! I love all of your bread recipes, but my favorite one is probably your focaccia bread recipe. It’s so easy and tastes delicious! I would love to win #7 the ice cream compressor!!
I love so many of your recipes but especially the whole wheat pizza pull apart rolls. So this pepperoni slider recipe will have to get worked in this week. My prize choice would be 10 since I didn’t take your advice and get the instant pot on sale. I’d also love #9 since my knives could use updating. Thanks for your family friendly recipes.
My whole family LOVES your baked sweet and sour chicken! I’m still using pots and pans from our wedding 10 year’s ago and they really need to go, so I’d pick #4.
Wow, what a generous giveaway! You have so many good recipes! One of our favorites is your lemon bars! They are SO yummy… And every time I make them everyone else always comments how amazing they are! Would love #1 or #9! Thanks for all your great recipes, keep em coming!
Congratulations! I use your blog almost daily. My favorite recipe is probably the Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. I would love to win the Bocsh mixer, #3!
Love reading your blog (and snippets of family life) and love all your recipes! My fave is probably worlds easiest brownies, but also love your French bread that I made this week! #8 for me. Thanks for sharing all your time and effort!
Hi Mel 🙂 I feel like a bit of a voyeur, since I came across your blog early last year, finally signed up for your email newsletter in the fall, and am only now making a comment! I wish I had known about you sooner but I can’t dwell on the past and can only do better with what I now know! With 3 kids, two of who are picky (but not about the same things of course) and a husband who is now on a serious gluten-free diet, I have so enjoyed browsing your site and trying out your recipes. It is well organized and it is all so yummy. We have a 5-star system here, if each of us gives a recipe a thumbs-up then it gets the family-5-star and that recipe is a keeper. Soooo many of yours have been keepers, I can’t tell you! As for a favourite (in Canada – can you tell?!) recipe, I’m going to go with the Instant Pot Lentil Chili (which I made on the stove top) because we all loved it and it was so easy. Also, speaking of instant pots, if I happen to be one of the lucky winners, I would like number 10, the Almighty Instant Pot. You have sold me on it and it just seems perfect for our busy lives. As they say here in Montreal, Félicitations! To another delicious 10 years!
The thing I love most about your recipes is they are simple to make but oh so delicious. You make me a hero every night in my family’s eyes because they think I’m a good cook when in actuality it’s only because you’ve provided me with such amazing recipes. We made the hearty minestrone with garlic bruschetta this week and it was a hit. I’d say it’s my favorite to date, maybe because it’s warming our bellies and getting us through these cold January days. I’d love the Vitamix!! My old blender just broke and that would be such a treat to replace it with a Vitamix!
I have made soooo many of your recipes. My family has their favorite but I am going to pick mine. SHRIMP ENCHILADAS!! Thank you so much for all your recipes. We appreciate you! I pick #4.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake is the best cheesecake ever, my family just drools over it. I would love the Bosch mixer #3 as bread is my love language and there is nothing like warm bread, whether it’s savory or sweet to make people smile.
Congratulations on 10 years, Happy Anniversary (and Happy Birthday!)!!
I’m all about the (chocolate!) desserts – I don’t even know how to decide what my favorite is – I think I’ve made most of your cookie and brownie recipes…I love the cookies and cream chocolate chip cookies, and I just made them again recently. But the killer crunch brownies are awesome. When it comes to dessert, I don’t think I actually have a true favorite, it might be easier to say what I don’t like than narrow it down to a single favorite and I’ve always had good luck with your recipes, so thank you for doing what you do 🙂
I would choose #7.
I have made your creamy white chili more times than I can count. I have to say that is probably my favorite recipe, but it really is hard to pick! Number 9, higher end knives, is what I really need. Thanks for ten years of recipes that have helped me feed my family. Can’t believe it’s been ten years. I think I found your site around your fourteenth or fifteenth post, and so much has happened since then. Life is truly amazing and you’re absolutely right, family is everything! Thank you for sharing and making our lives easier and tastier!
How to pick one?! I guess I’ll have to go with the one I probably make the most: Double Chocolate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are my signature cookie now. I’d love to get #6 the Blendtec blender!
Congratulations on 10 years, Mel! Your blog is the best! I started following it when I got married five years ago, and I feel like I “came into my own” in the kitchen with your recipes. I love every single bread recipe I’ve tried – but especially the strawberry cream cheese rolls!
I would choose #9 – a set of knives. I don’t have a set of nice knives yet. Thanks!!
Pepperoni Pizza Rolls! I really have so many I love, but we have these at least once a month so… I always recommend you site I love it much and my sisters and I even call you Mel and know exactly who we are taking about, we love you! Thank you !!! I’d pick -#2
Happy Anniversary and thank you! The Chocolate Chip Cake and the Life-Changing Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes immediately come to mind, but we truly love all your recipes. If I were to win, I’d choose #7: Ice Cream Compressor. 🙂
Hard to pick a favorite but I think I’ll go with honey lime enchiladas! #6 would be my pick!
Choose one recipe! Seriously, where to start? Meatballs, chicken wraps, spaghetti sauce, spinach muffins… I’ve got it, your super soft chocolate chip cookies. I love your recipes, I know I can trust you. Thanks for having great taste and sharing it with all of us. If I were to win something, I’d love #1 or #3.
Happy 10 years! You are the only food blog I follow and I have for years and years, thanks to one of my best friends from high school, your cousin Camille. We’ve never been disappointed in one of your recipes—totally tried and true! Our favorite (based on frequency) is probably your honey lime enchiladas. So yummy! I would love to win #5. Our poor Kitchen Aid has seen better days. Thanks!
I love the monster cookie bars recipe!
I would also choose item #2
We love your banana blueberry muffins in our house :). My son always loves a good muffin after school. If I won, I would definitely choose #5, the kitchenaid, as my small one doesn’t cut it anymore for my cake business! But all of the prizes look amazing! What a special thing you are doing.
Mel, I have never made a recipe of yours that I don’t LOVE! My husbands 40th was in December and instead of cake, he asked for your buttermilk banana bread. It’s such a treat! We have also been stocking the freezer with chicken marinated in your chili lime marinade. It’s by far our favorite chicken. I could go on and on.
I love to bake, and would love to expand my ability to do more breads. I love my kitchen aid for cookies etc but I would love to add a Bosch to my arsenal. So, I would be so grateful to win #3.
I’ve made many of your recipes, but my favorite (and probably the favorite of my entire family), would have to be the vanilla bean white chocolate mousse cheesecake. It is soooooo good! Love. Love. Love it! My top prize choice would probably be #8 (with #1 being a close second).
Congrats on 10 years! Your website is my go-to site for making recipes when I need something special to fix! Most of the recipes I have used are the main dish ones. However, this is such a hard decision to pinpoint my favorite one?!? One of my favorites has to be the pork with apples and onions. It is very simple to prepare with few ingredients and you can forget about it until you are ready to serve it! Served with mashed potatoes and peas, it is a meal for a king! If I were lucky enough to win, I would choose #10, the instant pot. Thanks for this opportunity!
I can’t even imagine how I’m supposed to pick one favorite recipe from your site. Remember how as parents, we don’t have favorite children, we love them all the same, just differently? That’s how I feel about this. But I suppose if I had to choose the best behaved child of the day, it’s the Creamy White Chicken Chili. Heaven in a bowl. And since it’s white, I’m assuming it is going to be in heaven whenever I get there.
Choosing a prize is the same. But today, I’m feeling very much an InstantPot, #10. Good luck to me!
Love, love, love your site! Half of my recipe binder is filled with your recipes, but I think the one we have most often is Skillet Taco Pasta Shells. It’s one of my kid’s favorite dinners. A #6 would be amazing.
I love the best blueberry muffins!
I would choose prize #4!
Oh Mel! I have been following you for almost 10 years! It’s been about 9. You are my go to for recipes! Never have I made a recipe I didn’t love or my family didn’t! That is amazing! Our favorite is probably the pork chops! We literally BBQ in the winter because we can’t live without it! Caramels! Cheesecake! Orange chicken oh yum! The list can go on and on! Congrats on 10 YEARS! I’ve never tried Bosch mixer so I would have to say #3.
Happy Double Birthday!!! Mel, how is a person meant to pick just one favorite recipe?! I honestly make at least one of your recipes weekly. 🙂 But if I must, I will have to go with ease and deliciousness here by picking your Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches. They’re magical: my whole family devours them AND they make my supper table quiet and peaceful while their mouths are full. Win win! If my name were chosen, I’d love to have number 2, a Vitamix blender.
I hope you have a wonderful 40th and well done on this amazing blog. You’ve got a rare talent. xx
Yayy…happy birthday. Thanks for this giveaway..:). If I win I’ll choose between the food processor or InstaPot. Your cinnamon rolls..<3
So many choices! Can’t really choose a favorite. But I love your pizza dough / method, sloppy joes, bread sticks, and so many more 🙂
I want #10!!
Picking a favorite is hard! One of the first that I got rave reviews for making was the White Chicken Chili. I’ve probably made the Sweet and Sour Chicken the most times. I love love love the White Chocolate Mouse Cheesecake! If I win, I would pick #8. I currently have to hold down the lid of my food processor because it is broken. Thanks for all the outstanding recipes!
Alright Mel, I’ve been thinking for a while now and it’s hard to pin point our families favorite recipe! You have made cooking in our home a divine thing, I never would have thought I could make everyday good food so simple! I’m going to have to go with the cashew chicken wraps – they are sooo good and pretty simple!
If I win this, I would want #8 the food processor!
Oh my goodness how do I choose! I Guess if I had to pick one it’s your Buttermilk Banana Bread, which is actually MY banana bread now bc I make a ridiculous amount of it every year. And I would most definitely choose the Bosch mixer! (3)
Hi Mel! Long-time follower, infrequent commenter (like many others I see here!) That being said, your site has been my go-to for recipes since I started cooking for my own family. It would be impossible to pick a favorite, so I’ll go with our most recent makes – the chicken curry in a hurry and banana chocolate chip snack cake – yum! All of these prizes look wonderful, but I’d go with #10 or #6 as my choice. Happy 10 years!
French Bread Rolls for life!!! I love these rolls and so does everyone else in my world. Every time I take these to a gathering everyone raves and acts like I’m such an awesome baker! I just let them think that I’m awesome and don’t tell them how easy this recipe is
#4
Congratulations on 10 years strong! I’m relatively new around here but have managed to make a bunch of your recipes in a short period of time. I love that your food is accessible and wholesome, with a side of indulgent thrown in on occasion. It’s exactly how I like to eat! My family’s favorite so far has been the chicken, sweet potato and kale skillet. We just had it Monday night and between forkfuls my hubby proclaimed “Daddy’s favorite!” Your cashew chicken lettuce wraps are on the menu tonight. Can’t wait to try them! I’m also itching for an excuse to make your quinoa chocolate cake. I’ve made a few bread recipes as well, including the buttermilk dinner rolls for Christmas, which I had halved and was truly sad that I had done so in hindsight.
If I had to pick one of your favorite kitchen gadgets to win, I’d say the #3 Bosch. I have and love my KitchenAid stand mixer but would love to get further into breadmaking and the Bosch sounds like such a great tool! OK, now I’ve rambled. Congrats again and keep up the awesome work. My family thanks you for the mealtime inspiration.
I think my favourite recipe that I’ve made from your site is the Buttermilk cinnamon rolls. But a close second is the French bread (Easy Homemade). I love a good yeast bread recipe,. I would choose #2 the vitamix blender.
Happy Blogiversary, Mel! I’ve been with you since the Giant Cookie of 2010, and everyone who knows me knows you, too. All of my favorite recipes are from you! Savory Ham Spirals, Hot Hoagies, I’m a recent Shepherd’s Pie Convert, Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls, I was on a huge mug cake kick for a while… Breakfast Casserole, Broccoli Cheese Soup, White Bean Chicken Chili, Focaccia Bread, Berry Bruscetta… sorry, did you ask for one favorite recipe? I could go on and on! I wouldn’t be a rockstar in the kitchen without you! And somehow I’m the last person on the planet to try the almighty instapot, so I’d pick #10!
Oh goodness, it’s too hard to pick a favorite! I’ve followed you religiously week after week since the beginning and your recipes have graced our breakfast, lunch and dinner table weekly! You are my go-to for trusted recipes that I know will turn out, be good and usually shared! Some of our favorites that we make over and over again are the peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, the best sloppy joes, the best chocolate cake (made for almost all birthday celebrations), asparagus penne, your mom’s chili, and cornbread with honey butter! Thank you SO much for the work and dedication this blog has taken, you’ve made my life easier and my family appreciates the yummy food!! If we are selected to win a prize, we’d love #2, the Vitamix! We love our smoothies and would love a beast like this ! Congratulations on 10 years of absolute success and can’t wait for more tried and true recipes!!
Love a lot of your recipes but one of my family favs is Mexican haystacks. I would love #4
Happy Blog-iversary! I have loved this blog since I found it YEARS ago (I believe I was lured here by a grasshopper pie…) . I am going to have a hard time picking one recipe!!! The white chicken chili? The red velvet cake cheesecake or brownie mosaic cheesecake or Awesome NO BAKE CHEESECAKE?!?! The delicious chili Mac?? The Alfredo sauce? BEST ever sloppy joes!?!! I can’t pick just one. It’s too hard. It’s like picking your favorite kid. I think for prizes I am also torn between 1,2,3,6 . I might be disqualified for indeciveness. Congratulations on your 10 years!!!!
I love so many of your recipes, it’s hard to pick one! I do love your French bread though. Homemade bread makes me feel like a rockstar! Thanks for always posting amazing recipes!! I’d choose number 9 or 4.
One of my favorite recipes is the Thai chicken quinoa. Love!
I would totally pick #1!
Honestly I use SO many different different recipes from you, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Your blog is one of my “go to” blogs to find recipes.
I just made your whole wheat quinoa bread, and I LOVED it. And I loved the bread pans you recommended! My daughter loves toast out of homemade bread and can’t get enough.
#1 would be my first pick, I currently snitch my mom’s 35+ year old wheat grinder so I can have fresh ground wheat for my bread!
The flat bread, I feel like a rockstar when I make flat bread. Also I have tender memories of my daughter wanting to cut them out in heart shapes as if they were sugar cookies, all while belting out in her baby voice songs by Taylor Swift. That was many years ago, and I love that we’ve had you at our dinner table for more than 10 years now.
I’d love the wheat grinder!
Happy anniversary and birthday!
I could spend hours every week perusing your recipes and have made so very many of them! I could definitely list a favorite from each category, but I’ll just list my fav entree. Skillet turkey meatballs with lemon rice. Yum!
Thanks for all you put into this! I’d love #7 – I’ve been wanting to make good homemade ice cream for awhile now and just can’t bring myself to buy an ice cream maker.
Congratulations! You are my go to for dinner, snacks, and desserts! It is difficult to pick my favorite, they are all amazing, but if I have to it would be the coconut milk chicken curry. I just throw everything in the crock pot and have the most delicious meal the whole family loves. God’s continued blessings on you and your beautiful family. #2 vitamix blender would be nice!
I love a lot of the recipes here but the one I use the most is shaping rolls from your video. (And all the bread tutorials/pie tutorials are my favorite). I would love a Blendtec (#6).
I haven’t made a new recipe that wasn’t from you in years! We have the same taste in food and I’m so grateful for your easy to navigate website. Whew! My fav recipe? Recently I made the 7 layer hummus. I only made it because I trust you! The ingredients looked so weird in a list. But, of course, everyone loved it at my daughters birthday party and asked for the recipe! Throwback favorite would have to be the roasted garlic crockpot beef. You taught me how to roast garlic and for that I’m forever indebted! I could eat a whole head of roasted garlic. (But I don’t, for the sake of my sweet husband) thanks Mel!!
PS. I’d love any prize! But for sure could use #4 as my pots and pans are looking shabby after 9 years of marriage!
Mel, I’ve been following you since you lived in Green Bay and your neighbor was Sarah (?), my dad’s nurse. I was talking to her about what to make for Christmas apps and she mentioned your Shrimp and Cocktail sauce.. and we realized through our conversation we were talking about about you (as I already followed you.) Small world.
There are SOOOO many recipes my family loves. The top requested one is Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Just last night I made your Swedish Meatballs. 98% of all I cook is from your site. You’ve been a life-saver. Thank you!
If you were to pick me as the winner, I would pick the food processor #8.
Thanks again for all you do!
There are so many recipes that I love! I am always making the French bread! We love the blueberry baked French toast…..its kinda a thing now when we have the missionaries over for dinner and that’s in three different states. The missionaries pass that around and when they get to our area they know they want to come to dinner at the Jonesies! Thanks , Mel! I would love to win #4, 7, 8, or an 8qt #10. Happy birthday and anniversary!
It’s a little daunting to comment on such a fabulously written post, but I don’t want to miss the chance to receive your recommended cookware set #4!! I could wax poetic (a phrase I obviously picked up from you but find myself using all the time now) about you and your recipes, but that would be a post as long as yours, not just a comment. For my favorite, I’ll choose the one that led me to start following you on Pinterest and getting your email newsletters—the slow cooker garlic beef sandwiches! So incredibly yummy! My sister made it for me after my daughter was born and it is now my go-to for take-in meals. Thanks for blogging, Mel. I enjoy you and your recipes so very much.
I’m a long time fan, first time “commenter?”. Picking a favorite recipe is like picking a favorite child, so I’m going to be a little sneaky and combine two. My family loves your Jalapeño Cheddar Turkey Burgers on your French Bread Rolls…so yummy!
For the Giveaway, I’d pick #7. Congratulations on 10 great years!
We love your pancake mix! I make a double batch of it and freeze it—perfect for quick breakfasts on cold mornings. I love it that it uses whole wheat flour and oats.
I would choose prize #2.
Happy Ten Years Mel! I’ve been a loyal reader/fan girl/pretend best friend of yours for almost 8 years! To pick a favorite recipe would probably be harder than picking a favorite child (because let’s be honest, there’s always one you’re liking more than the others on any given day). So, I’ve decided to choose the recipe I make the most which is, hands down, your French Bread Rolls. They are the easiest, most versatile rolls! I use them for buns, hot pockets, savory braids and so much more so thank you! If I were to win this amazing and beyond-generous giveaway I’d have to choose the ice cream compressor because it’s just so dang fun and I can’t see myself buying one for myself. Thank you Mel for the incredible recipes and for being so real and honest with your readers. You are a light in the blogging world! Never change!
Oh Mel this is so exciting!!! I make at least one of your recipes a week usually more. Last night I made the chicken pot pie crumble which is in my top 5 favorites:) I would love to win 6 or 7:)
Congrats and happy 40th!! Our family favorite is The Best Sloppy Joes (we are a simple people!) and my personal favorite is The Perfect Lemon Cake. I’ve been making that cake since you posted it in 2009 and I absolutely love it! I would choose giveaway #4 because, like you, I could use some new pots and pans! Thanks for being so awesome and generous!
LOVE your site! I almost always make all the recipes you post and never ever disliked one of them. Lemon bars are a favorite but it’s so hard to pick just one. I’ve been wanting picture #1 ever since you posted about it. Great thing to add to our food storage. Love ya Mel.
Goodness sakes. I am so incredibly proud of you. I want you (and your family who have sacrificed right along with you) to have every good thing this life has to offer. Bless you for the countless hours you’ve spent creating, preparing, testing, presenting, and sharing your delicious recipes. I’ve always enjoyed cooking but it honestly wasn’t until I found your site 8 or 9 years ago that I felt confidence in the kitchen. You really did give me all the tools to feel like a rockstar and have had me laughing (and sometimes crying) all along the way. And in your typical Mel fashion you celebrate success and milestones with amazing generosity.
What is my favorite recipe? How do I pick just one? Haha. Seriously, which of my children is my favorite? Equally tough question. Ha! I got together with my sisters this week for a recipe exchange and just told them to come to your site because there isn’t a thing on here that I haven’t loved. My husband’s favorite is the sweet-and-sour chicken, or maybe your chicken and wild rice curry soup. I love every fudge brownie concoction I’ve made from this site. But this week I made your 1hr divine breadsticks, the blueberry banana muffins, tender Greek pork, easy tzatziki sauce, healthy yogurt oat blueberry muffins, and probably more that I’m not thinking of. Ha! But 5 stars for each and every one of those! And that is a typical week around here. Frealsies. My husband teases me sometimes when he says, “Wow this is good! Is this another one from your bff Mel?” But seriously. You’re a dear friend and I can’t thank you enough for sharing your light!
I’m in camp KitchenAid so I think my next big investment will be in #5 to replace my smaller KitchenAid that I got when I got married in 2004.
Happy Anniversary and Birthday to you! You are my go to website for recipes. I love the simplicity that produces such a great result! Your chicken bowtie is a family favorite and your soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie has become THE one and only, search no further, perfect cookie recipe! If I won, I would choose #2 The Vitamix!
Hi Mel,
I have been following your blog since almost the beginning. I heard about it from your cousin Stacey and since I have been faithful to follow every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My recipe book is full of your recipes. I would have to say that my family’s favorite recipe of yours is the sweet & sour chicken. It is amazing but it isn’t my favorite because I am not a fan of the egg mess and frying things. I love all of the bread recipes, especially french bread because it makes me feel like a “rockstar” when I make it. I also love the creamy white chicken chili and the raspberry cheesecake recipe you posted a month or so ago was truly divine. Ok… I know what I love to make most of all, the chocolate chip cookie bars (super easy, fast and yummy) and the sour cream banana bread which is a staple at our house. You helped to inspire in me a love of cooking. It has become a hobby of mine and I have gained the confidence and courage to try new things. I figured I had to cook anyway so I might as well make it fun. Thanks for all of the great recipes! I hope you never stop blogging. If I win a prize I would like #3.
This is a very difficult question – so many of your recipes are our favorites! I think I’d have to say my favorite is your white chili recipe – we make it for all of our dinner guests and they always ask for the recipe! I’d love #6 🙂
Wow! When my Hailey (who is now 7) was a baby, I found your Hawaiian haystacks recipe, and it literally changed my view of that recipe! I was so happy to have found a blogger who didn’t use crazy ingredients I had never heard of but loved making things from scratch. I love reading your new recipes, and probably try about half of them! It’s so hard to pick just one… But a new amazing favorite recipe is the instant pot potato soup! And I would pick the Bosch. I’ve had a small KitchenAid since we’ve been married and it just doesn’t cut it when it comes to bread making… Too small. Anyways, someday when Stan is done with this doctor training path, I’ll indulge myself and get one (18 months left of the 10 years past undergrad…)
Your recipes are my go to when looking for something to make. The pull apart pizza sliders and mini cup tacos are on the list for Super Bowl snacks this weekend! The Quick Blender Banana Chocolate Muffins are a staple in our house! My husband loves the 20 Minute Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry and my grandpa requests the Peaches and Cream Sensation every year for his birthday! I’d take #8 or #10
Happy 10 years!
It’s hard to pick one recipe, but I’m going with the Divine Breadsticks. They are in the regular rotation, and we love them topped with Everything seasoning. Really, every recipe that I’ve tried of yours has been great.
For the prize, I would go with #6, the Blendtec!
I can’t narrow down my favorite… twixter cookies, pizza dough, sweet and sour chicken, baked spaghetti, or sugar cookies (the addition of lemon zest in these is genius!). I would love #2 or #4. Happy Anniversary- you are my favorite blog!!
I would love 1, 3, 4, or 8.
How can I pick just one?!? I love your slow cooker beef stew, those carrots and potatoes yum! I really like the slow cooker beef stroganoff. Your slow cooker pork with homemade bbq sauce, creamy chicken and quinoa cordon blu casserole(quinoa in a casserole aka Hot dish was a game changer, doesn’t get gummy like rice), bbq chicken salad cilantro lime rice bowls. Really there are like 100 more, but I love them all!
I also love all your christmas gift posts. We have gotten so many fun games that you have recommended. You really are a blessing to all of your readers!
I make SO many of your recipes ALL the time! To chooses one favorite seems impossible, but the Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs with Root Beer Bbq Sauce is hands down my boys most favorite! If I was to choose a prize it would likely be the food processor since that is one thing I have never owned and I always get stumped on those recipes calling for one.
Congratulations Mel! I’ve been a longtime reader and have made many of your recipes, but the one we make most frequently in our house is your Coconut Shrimp Curry. We love it! Thanks for all you give to this blog. All of those prizes are great, but I’d most love #3 or #5. Wishing you many more successful years!
Hi Mel! I am so thankful to have found your site (my family and friends who benefit from leftovers thank you too!) You give me the confidence to try new things – “hey, yeast is (kinda) fun!” , Instant Pot recipes are da best and I have added homemade naan and fudge to my list of foods to bring on a desert island. Thanks for taking the leap 10 years ago to share your cooking experience, life stories and the reality of motherhood with comedy and love. If I win, I would choose #8 – the food processor so I could make the almond joy balls without showering my kitchen with cocoa (but if that happens, you laugh and clean it up – it’s all good) Have a great day!
Spaghetti Sauce
#1
I use this https://www.melskitchencafe.com/bowtie-chicken-and-asparagus-alfredo/ as a jumping off point for recipes all the time. I guess that would be my favorite, but I love so many! Enter me for either #1 or #3, as I cannot drop enough hints to my family.
Mel, my family has been raised eating your food! I had basically no cooking skills when my youngest was born, and you helped make cooking easy and nutritious for a new mom many moons ago. My favorite recipe is your pumpkin chocolate chip bread, which I am making yet again today with my youngest. I have been eyeing an ice cream compressor for a while, but alas, Santa didn’t bring one for Christmas 🙂
Sorry, I was an inept cook when my *oldest* was born
Happy Anniversary! It’s hard to pick a favorite recipe because your meals are on our table at least once a week (and have been for the last 7 years or more). Seriously, you have made my life so much easier and my husband is grateful for this mysterious woman named Mel I always talk about when cooking. I especially love the Balsamic pork loin and your recipe for fajitas. But really there are SO many. Oh, and as for the prize, I’d probably pick the Vitamix, although it would be a hard choice!
Aw, happy birthday Mel! Both your blog and you:) What a generous giveaway. One question- I don’t have facebook, but follow you on instagram and get your newsletter. Can I still participate? My husband has facebook and I can add you on that? I make your recipes every week …. the latest have been almond joy bites, chocolate chip oat bars w/ cream cheese frosting, basil coconut chicken and yum yum bowls. My favorite recipe might be the funfetti mug cake haha!! #1, #3 and #10 would by my choices, but if I must narrow it, maybe #10! Thanks Mel and God bless:)
We eat new recipes a lot, and whenever my husband asks where it came from all I have to do is look at him and he knows it came from you. He jokingly said once that the three most influential women in his life were his mom, me, and Mel from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. Thanks for all of the fun family friendly recipes! My favorite recipe has to be the double chocolate mousse torte. I made it as a “night before preschool” surprise for my oldest. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a reaction quite like that to anything I’ve made before, especially from my unsuspecting husband. It was delicious! And gone in no time, much to my dismay. If I were to pick a giveaway I would pick #7 (the ice cream compressor). It’s going to be a hot summer here in Az!!
My all time favorite recipe is Chipotle Chicken Tacos (hubs even made them for my birthday dinner this year!) as a family we love Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas (and SOOOO many more). And our go-to breakfast is your Buttermilk Waffles. I make a big batch, keep leftovers in the freezer and then pop them in the toaster on busy mornings! I would have to choose #10 if I won. 🙂
I’m going to have vote for mandarin orange chicken salad. You have so many good recipes, but I decided to give salad a vote before cookies.. at least in writing .
And girl, you know we’ll all be happy to win any of the prizes! But 1,6,5 would be especially awesome!!!!
By the way, Wow to this!!! That’s very generous!!!! “{FYI: This giveaway is not sponsored; I’ve been saving up my pennies to personally provide all the prizes as a way of saying thank you!}”
Congratulations on 10 years, Mel! I remember the blogspot version of your blog. I had my family blog on there too but it has been much neglected in recent years.
How to pick just one favorite? My kids would probably pick Brookies in a second, but I’m gonna have to go with Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. I’m a HUGE soup person and that is one of my favorite comfort foods for a cold winter day!
I would pick #3. The Bosch, baby!
LOVE your blog and your recipes – such a fun glimpse into your sweet family life. You’re an inspiration to me and so many of your readers! Congrats on 10 years, and cheers to another 10! 🙂
My favorite recipe is your orzo salad with tomatoes, basil, and feta – so yummy! Would love to win #5 – have always wanted a Kitchen Aid Mixer!
Mel, where do I even start? I’ve been following your blog for years (just after My Kitchen Cafe days) and have made so many of your recipes more times than I can remember. Many of our family favorites are from your site and in heavy rotation and I always know if I’m stuck on what to make for dinner it’s Mel to the rescue. How do you pick just one favorite? It’s like choosing a favorite child…you love them all and they each have their own special qualities that warm your heart…or belly in this case! We love your Fondue as it has become a Christmas Eve tradition, Sweet Baked Ham is made every Easter, and your BBQ sauce and cream of chicken soup recipes have given us a healthier substitute in countless recipes. Kicked Up Ramen is a great go to when we need something quick.Healthy Granola Bites and Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Quinoa bites have been a snack staple in our freezer since the first time I made them. Your Pretzel Bread gave me confidence as a baker. My husband requests your Spaghetti Pie for every birthday. Classic Lasagna (finally a recipe with no ricotta or cottage cheese!), Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos or Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork? Foil Packet Sweet Potatoes Tacos blow me away every time and Monterey Chicken with Pico de Gallo is a more recent favorite. I could go on and on about the recipes of yours that I love and how thankful I am for you and all the hard work you do to make feeding my family so much easier. As if that isn’t enough, you generously give away some awesome prizes! You are the best! Thank you for everything and please never stop blogging! We love your guts too! Oh, and if I were lucky enough to win, any prize would be much appreciated but either one of the blenders (#2 or #6) would find a nice home in my kitchen!
Your blender pancakes are a staple breakfast in our house! Thanks for the wonderful 10 years of recipes. I would love to have #8 the food processor.
I have followed your blog for a number of years already and made quite a few of your recipes. Most have turned out great! One of our favorites is the Oven Baked Ribs made from our own pasture raised pork. YUM!
I would love to have #3 if I won. Thanks.
Hi Mel,
I absolutely love your blog and have followed for many years. Most of the recipes I make come from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes and I just love to read your posts! It’s too hard to choose a favorite recipe because there are so many, but lately we have been loving the Honey Almond Granola. I would choose #4 or #8. Thanks for all you do!
Mel, you are my go-to nearly every night of the week. Picking just one recipe is nearly impossible, but one of my absolute favs is coconut lime chicken with coconut rice. It’s amazing! Congrats on a big anniversary and happiest of birthday wishes!
#8 would be stupendous. My food processor is near death.
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! I’m having such a hard time choosing a favorite recipe of yours–I make so many of them all the time. Definitely up there are your pumpkin chocolate chip bread, red chile chicken enchiladas, black bean and sweet potato burritos, and carrot cake. Thanks for all the work you put into this! So many good prizes, too! I would want either #5 or #8.
Mel, congratulations on a decade, homemade! That is amazing. I’m only sad that I missed out on the first 6 years or so. My family loves your recipes, and even though I don’t know you personally, I really respect your faith and your devotion to your family. So wonderful that you have been able to build a career for yourself while also keeping your family at the forefront!
It’s very hard for me to choose a favorite, because I make a ton of your recipes. But, since I just made your skillet swedish meatballs last night, and those are in our regular rotation, I would say that is my very favorite recipe! Thank you!
Mel, my sisters and I always use your recipes. We love your pizza sauce and pizza dough recipe. Homemade food is the best! Your recipes are easy to make, non complicated, and yummy. I got into the kefir and love my morning smoothies. Thank you!!!!! I’d choose #3.
I’ve been here from the beginning. I’ve used lots of your recipes, but our family fav has been the bran muffins. My kids are thrilled when I make them. Thanks for all the years of sharing your recipes. I would choose #3
I use your recipes all the time. I think I’ve made Creamy White Chicken Chili the most. Such comfort food! I’d take number 4 or 9 🙂
This was such a fun post to read. I loved the old v. new photos, the timeline graphic, all of it. When I first found you at the end of 2008 beginning of 2009 you were one of many food blogs I checked out regularly but over the years I have realized that yours really is the only one I need. You are now the first of 3 I check regularly. You are my best virtual friend and I love you for helping me become a stellar cook. Full disclosure, I am not on facebook and do not follow you there but I am on IG and receive your newsletter. I also cannot choose just one prize 1,6, or 4. As usual, thanks for everything, Mel.
I forgot my favorite recipes, there are so many. Thai chicken crunch wraps, Swedish meatballs, baked ziti, perfect pot roast, coconut lime chicken, chicken pillows, sour cream pancakes, chicken pot pie, Mexican beef for enchiladas, spaghetti pie, baked ham and sooo many more.
Mel, you are like the sixth member of our family! We talk about you like an old friend, since 93% of the food my family eats comes from your blog! The Schow family is forever grateful for what you’ve created here!
My favorite recipe from your blog is Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps- so yummy, so easy, and so healthy! And when I need a quick treat, your walnut blondies (Applebee’s knockoff) do the trick every time!
If I won this giveaway I would definitely pick the Bosch! #3! I have dreamed my entire adult life of owning a Bosch.
Yay! 10 years is amazing. The seven layer hummus dip is my all time fav! Number 4 or Number 10 would be awesome!
One of the reasons I love your blog the most is because I know their recipes that I can trust. I honestly haven’t tried a recipe of yours that I didn’t like. One of my favorites is the smoky cilantro chicken for the instant pot! So good! If I were to win I would probably like #4 or #9
I have been a follower since early in 2011! You are my go to for anything and everything I need. One of our favorites are your blueberry muffins. And your skillet chicken with Mexican green rice.
And anything in the instant pot esp sweet basalmic glazed pork
And…. ok I’m done. But thanks for all your great recipes!
#3 or #9
oh my goodness! Happy Blogiversary/Birthday! Has it really been 10 yrs. I first found looking for a decent Sweet and sour chicken. It was sooo good then we tried bourbon chicken, and many many, many other recipes. The family favorite, are you kidding me I have to pick one! I would say that your Quick weeknight homemade spaghetti, or your creamy green chili enchiladas. I don’t now which they request more. Thank you for the amazing recipes! I forgot about your new Yukon gold potato cinnamon rolls (hubbies personal favorite). You have talked me into buying kitchen tools I didn’t know I needed, until you said it helps, or works well…. I could go on:-)
I forgot my choice, and don’t know how to fix it. # 7.
Your “perfect rice” changed my life…I haven’t made runny, crunchy or burned rice since I started following your method! If I won, I would choose the cookware #4
Hi Mel- I’ve been following you forever!! Love your blog. One of my family’s all time favorites are your chicken fajitas. I’d love #3. Thanks for all you do.
I love everything I’ve made from your blog! A few favorites are probably the butternut squash ravioli, tilapia tacos, and all the muffins. Thanks for taking all the time to create amazing recipes! I would love to win the vitamix blender.
So many recipes! The sugar cookie bars are a family favorite!
#5 the KitchenAid mixer!
Thanks for all of your work.
Your Smores bars are amazing! I’d go for the Bosch mixer, #3.
I’ve been following your blog for many years and love so many of your recipes and always look forward to your gift guides. My absolute favorite recipe is your sour cream pie crust. It has replaced my mom’s recipe…shh…don’t tell! I would love to win the wheat grinder to make my own flour. Thank you for all you do!
Hi Mel. Congrats on 10 years! I’ve only been a reader for about a year but have found that lately my meal plans are about 50 % Mel recipes or more. It’s hard to pick a favourite recipe but my top three would be your spaghetti sauce (it makes so much!), the oatmeal apple sauce muffins, and your cheesecake stuffed chocolate chip cookie bars (I’m pretty sure they are how I found your blog). Thanks for helping me keep my family of soon to be seven fed. God bless. If I were to win I’d love #3.
I don’t think I can pick just one!!!! I love the sweet and sour chicken and the favorite sugar cookies. I made all the sugar cookies this year…..and then ate most of them myself.
And I like the KitchenAid mixer and the instant pot!
Hi Mel! Happy Birthday! It’s hard to choose just one favourite…. The skillet Mac n cheese….. The overnight buckwheat pancakes I’ve made alot but the whole wheat /oat pancake mix might be my new pancake favourite. Creamy green chile chicken enchiladas and the homemade pizza rolls… Please don’t make me pick one! Thanks, your website is the only one I usually look at! If I won there’s a few that would interest me…. Number 1, 4, and 9. Thank you! Jill
Our absolute favorite is Gloria’s famous cinnamon rolls (it would be a dessert for me haha), but we recently tried the yukon gold cinnamon rolls and I think I might like them even better… I would love #5 or #8….probably number 8 more. My weekly menu is 86% your recipes.
Congratulations! I love your recipes and always come here for inspiration. The Pesto and Sausage Baked Ziti changed my life. SO delicious. The cinnamon Chili Pork Tenderloin with the apple salsa is also incredible. Next on my list is your bread! If I win I would want #1, the wheat grinder! I want to start grinding my own wheat like my mom did. One day I hope we can do most whole wheat and less white flour. We’ll see!
I would love to win an 8 quart InstaPot!!! Congratulations on your blog being around 10 years!!!! This is also my 10 year anniversary on 6/7/18!!!
I honestly have just found you and your blog and have not made a recipie YET. I will get in my kitchen and start cooking!!! Im going to make the Cashew Chicken lettuce wraps for lunch!!! They look fantastic!!!!! Thank you for a great giveaway!!!!
I love your Southwest Chicken wraps. We eat them at least once a month. #8
Oh my goodness congratulations and Happy Birthday!! How do I pick one recipie we have loved them all. Sweet Balsamic pork roast, French bread, Caesar salad chicken wraps…. to name a few! Finding your blog was such a gift. Your recipes and tid bits of advice gave me so much more confidence in the kitchen. Thank you! I would love 7 or 3.
I have made so many of your recipes. I pretty much like any dessert of yours. But what’s coming to mind right now is the twixter cookies. I also love the Tuscan pasta. I would love to win #2, #4, #6, & #8. Any of those would get used a lot in my kitchen! Happy 10 years!
10 years is quite the accomplishment Mel! I for one am very grateful you haven’t given up blogging about food. Making a scrumptious meal or delectable dessert is one of my favorite things, but let’s be real, making food day in and day out can be a lot of work for a little family! You keep my job exciting and I’m all about trying new recipes (ask my husband, I’m one of those people who doesn’t repeat the same meal in a months time). When I get the hankering for a certain something I often think, “I bet Mel has a recipe for that!” 9 times out of 10 you do. Thanks Mel for being the inspiration in our kitchen.
My favorite is your Amish Apple Baked Oatmeal. If you asked my husband it would be your Perfect Cinnamon Rolls which are seriously. the. best! Our family favorite time and again is the Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl. (I’m striving to develop adventurous little eaters!
Seeing as I married a dairy farmer, we would have a grand time with #7 Ice Cream Compressor, or to make my bread making a little easier, #1 Wheat Grinder. Giveaway aside, thank you for keeping the good recipes rolling.
Hi Mel! First of all congrats on your first 10 years! Hopefully there are many more to come! I am a stay at home mom, I wasn’t born in the US but married a US citizen and had a baby girl a year and a half ago. Your blog has really inspired me and cheer me up, because my husband works a lot and whenever i try one of your recipes is like a can scape from reality and be happy haha and can eat delicious affordable food and can give a little bit of that happiness to my beloved ones. So thanks again! If I could pic something I would choose #5, because I lovees making desserts and bread and right now it’s just my hands and a $6 mixer haha. The recipe that I like is the french bunns I make then every single week and been adding cheese and jam on the center, they are amazing!
Brown sugar spiced pork loin – #8. Happy 10 year anniversary!
Man, I’ve been following you for so long…but I don’t think I followed you back on your blogspot days! My favorite recipe has been your foolproof homemade no-stir caramels. They make fantastic gifts. ….as for the gift…I’m having a hard time choosing between the #5 (my KitchenAid mixer just broke Ugh) and #9 because I’m a sucker for amazing knives. Gah. I’ll choose #5.
Congratulations on 10 years, conquering cancer and all those babies. Thank you for posting great recipes that anyone can make.
My six year old son always asks for the best homemade spaghetti sauce. We always have some in the freezer for a quick weeknight dinner. I usually double the batch and freeze the sauce in multiple containers which makes my life so much easier when we are in a hurry trying to balance all of the extracurricular activities. It is great to know that my kids are getting a healthy meal since I can sneak in some extra vegetables in the sauce and it is my son’s favorite meal! I would choose #4.
Mel!
I feel like you’ve been instrumental for me gaining confidence in my kitchen. I came across your blog around 2010? It’s a blur, we lived in Guam & I had had my first baby (world was ROCKED!), but it was definitely around then. I learned how to cook by watching Food Network & blogs. Yours has definitely become a beloved one, because it’s never steered me wrong (except that basil spinach soup i made last year….don’t think it was quite the flavor combo i like) Anyways, I’ve made more recipes from your blog than any other & learned a lot about cooking because of you!! One of my all-time favorite is your Classic Italian Lasagna BECAUSE my husband HATES HATES HATES mushrooms. He raved on & on about how delicious this recipe was. Even today he has no idea this baby is laced with mushrooms all throughout It’s my favorite secret & I may never divulge . If you ever read this, i hope you know your announcement of 10 years of blogging makes me feel like I’ve kinda grown up with you. From a new mom who’s figuring it out to a mom who’s in the trenches during these young years of raising my “chicks” I admire you & look to you for relief & something i can always fall back onto when I’m unsure. Happy Birthday Blog & Mel!
***I’ve got my eye on #’s 6,7, & 10 if I’m ever so lucky.
Congrats on 10 years! The slow cooked beans rice and sausage has to be my favorite recipe! My favorite food is rice and beans (my wife thinks this is very odd) because that what I grew up eating. I’m generally very particular about my rice and beans because my mother has a Haitian style of cooking. Nevertheless, this recipe exceeded my expectations! Prize #1 would be my choice!
I love your site! I frequently have friends ask for recipes and cut off my reply and say, it’s probably Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I’ve often joked that you and I can never live in the same ward or everyone will know my kitchen secrets, that I just steal then from you! It would be easier to name what I don’t like than what I do. Some family faves are Sweet and Sour chicken, spaghetti pie, white chicken chili, Darcy’s whole wheat bread, molten lava cakes, your chocolate cake recipe, soft chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. The list could go on and on. I may be a little addicted to your site, and I don’t plan on looking for any sort of treatment! It’s hard to pick just one prize! It would be #1, but I wouldn’t mind 7, 8, or 9. 🙂
My favorite recipe is the French bread!!! If I had to choose, I’d choose the Bosch mixer!
Hi Mel. I have been following your blog for quite a while. I only had two little ones when I first started reading your blog. I have since had three more babies. I love so many of your recipes it is so hard to choose. One side dish that I have made for a lot of pot luck dinners is the confetti corn. Everyone always loves it. I also love, love the orzo pasta salad. And your French bread rolls. Oh and the easiest brownies in the world. Before I became a stay at home mom I would make those all the time for my co-workers. They all raved about them. Your blog is my favorite and I love hearing about your family just as much as I love the recipes. Thanks so much for your hard work and dedication.
It’s hard to choose on the gifts.i guess I would choose #10.
Congratulations Mel! My favorite recipe so far is The Best White Sandwich Bread because I was always intimidated by bread making. It came out great. I was so happy to see your post for Let’s Talk: 5 Breads for Beginners and I am thinking I’m ready to move on and try another of your bread recipes. I’m leaning toward the French Bread. I would chose #3, the Bosch, if I were lucky enough to win. I follow/unfollow several food bloggers, mostly based on their personalities. Some seem to use their blog as not only a source to share recipes, but also their private lives. No problem with most of that. But I feel compelled to unfollow if I feel the negativity overshadows the joy of reading about their personal lives. Thank you for always sharing in a realistic, yet positive way. It is so refreshing.
Happy birthday & anniversary! Thanks for the fun give away and great recipes! I loved the sheet pan balsamic chicken & veggies—(because it was easy). I’d love one of the blenders—either 2 or 6.
Congratulations on 10 years and happy early birthday! You’re blog such a blessing because I know I can always find delicious dependable recipes on your blog. My favorite recipe of yours is definitely the quick taco meat recipe. I almost always triple it to freeze some so I have it on hand. I would love to win #2! We drink smoothies almost everyday. With 3 little kids and another on the way, having super high speed blender would make it so much easier!
Hi Mel! Firstly. Thank you for this amazing blog, recipes are truly great. I actually have numerous favs that I have reviewed. Some are the carrot cake – low fat one, and the pizza rolls.
Congrats on this milestone celebration. I am also turning 40 this year and this yr is my 10th wedding anniversary so I’m hoping for a good year. So far not so much but there is still lots of time left! Another big thank you – for making this contest available to canadians!! You are really awesome Mel!
If I am chosen I would love the blender I think thats #6 — first Choice. Second choices the pans I think thats #4 or the instant pot #10. Thanks!!
Name is Amanda Warkentin. Not Amands
Congrats!! I love your recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I usually make them for Christmas morning brunch!
The dulce de leche cupcakes are the BEST! Everyone loves them when I make them!
Oh Mel, has it been 10 years already?! Now I can’t claim I have followed you for the full ten years but it’s been close. I don’t think I’ve ever left a comment because all your recipes are foolproof (duh!) so I never needed to ask a question. But I started following you right after I got married and have sung your praises ever since. You REALLY did teach me how to bake and cook! My husband says I should open a bakery (um, no thanks), but I just tell him it’s all Mel! You’re a household name in our house. After finishing his residency, living a year in New Zealand, fellowship, having our daughter then twin boys life has changed so much for us these past 8 years we’ve been together so thank you for providing us with some dang good food to get us through. Alright, down to business. I can’t choose between the pro mixer or the ice cream maker. Both are something I’d love but probably would never by myself. Love ya girl 😉
Oops! I forgot to tell you if I HAD to pick a favorite recipe it’d be your oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookie. Mmmmmmmm! May need to go make those now…
I seriously love your site. My husband knows who ‘Mel’ is. You are always my first search when looking for a recipe. Hmm, my favorite? We have loved so.many.things. But since I’m a treat person, I’m gonna choose your oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. That recipe gets made a lot a lot at our house. Thanks for all your hard work!
#9 for me! I’ve been married 15 years and I’m still using wedding-gift knives that are pretty not-great.
Congratulations, Mel! I have followed and loved your blog for many years now. I love the family updates as much as the recipes! And the honesty that shines in every post.
Hard to choose a favorite recipe, but the Thai Crunch salad is one I make over and over. It’s so beautiful to look at and so scrumptious!
I think I would choose gift number 1. I bought one on your recommendation, and would love it if I could give that to my daughter!
Again, congratulations and THANK YOU!
Congratulations! I’ve been following you since before my middle son was born…and he’s almost 8! Time flies when you’re cooking great food. Lately I’m drawn to the artisan no-knead bread. Simply awesome.
I’d love #5! Thank you!
I love your easy stir fry recipes! I make a lot of bread for my family and would absolutely LOVE a new Bosch Universal Mixer.
So many favorite recipes to choose from! You are my go-to recipe site! I really love the creamy green chile chicken enchiladas – but I love a LOT more too! I would choose #2 the Vitamix Blender – have been wanting one for a LONG time but it is out of our budget. Thanks for the giveaway! Love your guts too!
I have made SOOO many of your recipes over the years – some thing we love are: Chicken Enchilada Soup, Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew, THE Cornbread, The Easiest Brownies in the World, Killer Crunch Brownies…oh and S’Mores Bars!!! Thank you for all of the amazing recipes you post, you are hands down one of my all-time faves. I would choose the ice cream compressor if I won. Thank you again!!!!
Congratulations Mel and happy birthday! I’m so thankful for your blog and especially the love that you have towards Jesus Christ. My husband and I are empty nesters, and we enjoy spending time together trying out new recipes. Our favorite recipe is the Italian Lasagna Rolls. We laugh and have so much fun rolling up the lasagna noodles, which is an added blessing as we eat one of the best lasagna recipes ever! I provide home cooked meals for my pastor, and it’s one of his favorite meals. He said that it reminded him of lasagna that he used to eat when he was a child. I would be thankful for prize #3 the Bosch mixer. It would enable me to bake to share with others. To be honest, I don’t do Facebook or Instagram, but I do receive your email newsletters and check your blog daily.
Carrot cake..hands down my favorite to make for birthdays. #2 Vitamix blender for may daily morning smoothies. Thanks,
Mel
I never found a website that has as many good recipes as yours! I love reading the comments from people too. My favorite recipe so far is the sweet and sour meatballs. I would love #5. Thanks for all your awesome recipes!!
Ahhhh how could i ever choose my favorite MKC recipe?! I tell everyone (via my Instagram or face-to-face) how much i love your recipes, Mel. You are my favorite cooking blog (by FAR) and i turn here for all my cooking questions and ideas! I think i will say my favorite is your carrot cake, sweet baked ham (the one boiled in vinegar)— I’ve done instant pot and traditional—- or Gloria’s cinnamon rolls. Again…it is hard to choose! (Oh! That green bean casserole!) And i would choose #4! The Cuisinart multi-clad cookware!
Also— do i get bonus points for writing this comment while being in active labor?!♀️
Happy Anniversary, Mel! I am not a frequent commenter, but I am a frequent visitor. I can’t count how many of your recipes I have made. From yeast breads to desserts to the essential 30 minute meals, your blog is my first destination when I am searching for a new recipe. I also rely on your annual family game recommendations. I have purchased at least a dozen games over the past few years.
I can’t pick a favorite recipe because there are too many, but I ALWAYS have your oatmeal pancake mix in my refrigerator. We enjoy them for breakfast but also for the nights when “breakfast for dinner” is the only option. I would like prize #10, so I could try some of your Instant Pot recipes.
Congratulations! I cannot possibly pick a favorite recipe but the recipe I make most often is your Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu….I make it A LOT!!! I am finally ready to jump on the Instant Pot bandwagon so I choose #10 (6-quart).
Hi Mel,
I also want to say THANK YOU along with your many, many other followers–I think I am on your site almost daily. You are an inspiration not only with your cooking, but also with JUST LIFE. I have five busy children as well and I admire how you keep up with them, with feeding them so well (which is a full time job in itself), and with running this great blog. My favorite recipe so far is your Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes. But there are so many favorites at my house that come from you. If I were lucky enough to win a prize, I would say #6 or #8! You are awesome!
Mel, you are just the best! Thanks for all that you do and saving my dinnertime on more than one occasion. I have made so many of your recipes and I credit you with my comfort with the instant pot. Your recipes gave me the confidence to use it more. It’s hard to pick a favorite recipe but the one I make the most is actually your fruit salad with honey and lime zest. It’s such a simple addition to the fruit and really takes it out of this world! If I win I would love #3, the Bosch mixer. Thank you Mel, you are the sweetest to do such a generous giveaway.
#5. I love your baked garlic mashed potatoes. They are devine!
I loved this post. Not just for the contest but because of the history. And insight you provided. I’m encouraged to be “working” with a real person who is grounded in the truly important things in life. Thanks for helping me learn to cook. My favorite recipe is the best carrot cake. If I were to win, I would choose item #8, the food processor. Thanks again for this opportunity.
If I had to pick just one recipe, it would be your Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! They are my go-to anytime I need to take a dessert somewhere. I would choose prize #5, the KitchenAid mixer. Not having to knead bread dough by hand would be a game changer! Thank you so much for all of your amazing recipes!
Like everyone else here, I know everything I know about cooking from you! My family is one of those families who thinks they are on a first name basis with Mel. How could I possibly pick a favorite recipe? I have a binder of my favorite Mel recipes! One at the top is definitely that Monterey chicken from last year. Delicious! I make it for guests all the time.
I’d love prizes 1, 2, 3, 6 or 8. I’m sensing a theme here… I must be a bad decision maker! At the end of the day, I think I’ll stick with #8 the food processor.
I love reading your witty commentary each day, Mel! You are so relatable 🙂 My favorite, favorite recipe is your lemon cranberry bundt cake! Oh my goodness it is fabulous! I’d love to win #10 after all your conversation about your instapot…….it appears to be something I need in my life!
Your Best Ever Spaghetti Sauce REALLY IS the best ever-I always have a freezer stash to save the day! And I’d choose #2! I’ve dreamed of owning a Vitamix for years 🙂
Thank you so much for doing what you do. Finding your blog was the best thing that ever happened to me in the kitchen! I can’t count how many of your recipes I’ve made. I’ve told tons of people about you even though I didn’t really want to share my “secret”! I would have to say the perfect cinnamon rolls are probably my favourite and the Bosch mixer would be a dream come true!
So, I LOVE your enchiladas…green and red. So so good. But my favorite is the grilled pork tenderloin, because I use that marinade on ERRYTHING. I love your recipes and recommendations, but the most life changing thing you recommended was the Elta MD sunscreen. I use it everyday and you are right, it is perfect for daily face use. Thank you and congrats on 10 years! Also, how generous of a giveaway, the cookware set would be my choice because I so desperately need to quit using my peeling pots and pans. Thank you…thank you!!
I’ve made so many of your recipes but the one that comes to mind is your BBQ sauce. I always have that on hand. Hubby is a BBQ sauce fanatic and he loves it.
Number 1.
I cook from your blog multiple times a week and I credit you with teaching me HOW to cook!
Thanks Mel!!!
Ps I would choose the blendtec blender
My family loves a love a lot of your recipes, Mel! I’d say our most common is your slow cooker chili. And we love your sweet and sour chicken! So many good ones. Thanks for sharing!
We don’t have the Instant pot so that’d probably be my choice. I’m always intrigued by wheat grinder though too. 😉
I’ve loved your recipes since 2008 when my friend recommended your blog! Thanks for sticking with it all these years and blessing the families of so many who are able to sit down and enjoy a delicious meal prepared from one of your recipes!
I forgot to comment on the prize! Oops 🙂
I would definitely choose the 8 qt instant pot
To pick one recipe I’ve made and loved would be impossible. I have followed your blog for years. And anytime I’m looking for a recipe I go to your site first. In some ways you have taught me to cook. I’ve never commented or even liked a post because I’m just a mom making dinners and treats. But honestly thank you. Your recipes never disappoint. And I know if I’m feeding a crowd I can take the risk and make something I’ve never made before from your site and it’ll be fine. Thank you. If I had to choose a prize it’d be #4… momma needs new pots… thank you!!! Oh and the current recipe I’ve made and loved of yours is the potato cinnamon rolls
Congratulations on 10 years! That is a huge accomplishment!!! My family loves the baked potato soup. I would like to win #1
Congratulations and Happy Birthday! Seriously, I send ALL my friends to your site for delicious recipes!! I seriously can’t choose just one of our family’s favorites, but these are definitely way up there at the top of our list- spicy chicken and sweet potato soup, creamy white chicken chili, applesauce oat muffins, whole grain banana chocolate chip muffins, easy fudgy brownies, black bean and sweet potato burritos, blender pizza sauce…I could go on and on!! Thank you for all you do!! (And the 8 qt Instant Pot would be my choice if I was a lucky winner!)
Mel, first off I want to say thank you. You have helped me enjoy being in the kitchen and taking pride in feeding my family healthy meals and occasional treats. When anyone ever asks for a recipe of something I made, it is always from your site. I started answering that question by just saying, “My friend, Mel.” I know we have never met, and I am not one to make a lot of comments, but truly I feel we are close friends because you have served my family in a way you’ll never understand. So, seriously, thank you. (My sisters and mom met you at BYU and took a picture you and sent it to me, so, yeah we kind of have a connection.)
A favorite recipe you ask? So hard to choose, literally. I will go with what we recently had for dinner. Tender Greek Pork, Instant Pot/slow cooker. I made it in the slow cooker because I was away from the house all day.
A fun toy? Hmmmmm, I would love to replace my Blendtec.(#6) or try your wheat grinder. (#1)
Thank you Mel for all you do! There are so many of your recipes that are part of my weekly routine. (WW Bread, refried beans, buttermilk waffles are weekly here. And have been for a couple years.) I’m going to just pick kefir smoothies as my favorite because they have been helping with my years of digestive issues and goes along with the giveaway item I like the best, #2. Because I busted my blender making your chocolate date balls (pro tip: don’t leave a fork in the blender) and now I can’t make my kefir smoothies.
Congratulations on 10 years! Here’s to many many more years of happy cooking and blogging! My favorite recipe is the baked chicken taquitos- a staple in our household! I would be thrilled to win any of the prizes, but if I had to pick one, I would choose #3, the Bosch Universal Mixer. 🙂 Thank you Mel for all you share with everyone! You help make dinner time family time!
Your blog is one of the only sites I turn to for recipes – everything I’ve tried is so good! My current fave is the Honey Smokey Cilantro Chicken (I don’t think that’s the exact name). Thank you for all your hard work for this amazing blog!! If I were to win, I’d choose the Blendtec or Vitamix…but that’s only bc I have a Bosch. That thing is life-changing.
I’ve liked all of them but I am going to pick my kids favorite, Spaghetti Pie. They have requested it for several birthday dinners. I’d like # 3.
There have been so many recipes that I have loved over the years. I made your chicken noodle soup last night and you were the one that taught me how to make rolls, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, etc. I always get compliments on my sweet and sour chicken and the coconut basil curry chicken. Thanks for sharing all your recipes with all of us. Love you Mel!
I would like the #1- the KoMo Mill, #10-Instant Pot or lastly #4 the cookware set!
Thanks for the give away. Happy 10 year Anniversary!
ABSOLUTELY the MONTEREY CHICKEN WITH PICO DE GALLO {CHILI’S COPYCAT} One of the best chicken dishes ever and we make it at least once a month. And absolutely #4 the pots/pans. Our 15yo+ set (also Cuisinart) are nearing the end of their lives. We received them at our wedding shower!
Oh, Mel. You don’t know me, but you better believe my family and I know you. (Okay, that sounds creepy.) Your name gets thrown out around here a lot and I’m sure in time my kids will start to ask about who you are when they are old enough to realize that they have never met “Mel”, the mysterious person who provides so much food-amazingness around here. I can’t even begin to choose a favorite recipe because there are just way too many. How can I possibly pick between orange chicken, fajitas, honey lime fruit salad, caramel apple cheesecake bars, raspberry ribbon jello, cinnamon rolls, tons of cookie recipes, the best spaghetti sauce, a variety of delicious pancake recipes, glazed mini meat loaves, or even some side dishes like your creamed corn? It would be impossible! Just know that your blog is one of the few websites that pops up on both my phone and computer browsers as “frequently visited websites”, along with the other vital websites in my life like hotmail.com and LDS.org. If you ever stop blogging (please, please don’t), my family may go back to eating frozen tator tot casserole and I just can’t have that. I would be SO grateful to win your awesome giveaway. Number 3 and 10 are especially speaking to me, calling my name actually, and if I won I just might pee my pants. (No really, I’ve had three kids and that could definitely happen.) Thank you so much for blogging and providing me and my family with countless recipes that we will love and enjoy for years and years to come. You are amazing!
Hmmm… I left my comment on the Facebook post… I would love the Bosch mixer. My favorite recipe today is Jalapeno Popper Chili.
Thanks for all of the hard work you have put forth. It is fun to see how much you have grown over the years. I don’t comment much (maybe I should start!), but I have been using your recipes since I was introduced by a dear friend back in 2010. When my husband was diagnosed with Celiac Disease back in 2012, I thought we would have to part ways, but then I realized that so many of your recipes are gluten-free adaptable, and they have seen me through my cooking reinvention. I have made so many of your recipes. One of my favorite would have to be the Chicken Enchilada Soup. I often even save out some of the blended veggies without all of the spices when I have a baby about and they love it. My oldest son always dips chips and can’t have enough. I would probably pick #2 or #6–I need a good blender.
Congrats and Happy Birthday. Most of the recipes in my rotation are yours. Thank you for sharing your talent. It is hard to pick a favorite recipe, we love so many. Your Italian Meatball Subs and The Best Carrot Cake (my 11 year old has asked for it 3 years in a row for his birthday) are to die for. It is also hard to pick 1 prize, they are all so generous. I would love #3 or #6
I’d love #6 or #10. I’ve made so many Mel’s Kitchen Cafe recipes and loved them all — the cheesy, spinach pasta bake and the make-ahead egg and hasbrown casserole have been recent favorites. I made the egg casserole three times this past weekend, with rave reviews every time!!
THANK YOU, and here’s to 10+ more years of yumminess!!
My favorite recipe would be for you quick pizza dough. I have made this many times without fail.
#6
I have made so many of your recipes it’s hard to decide a favorite! I think my kids would agree that your Spaghetti sauce is our family staple. I make a big batch and freeze it and it we have it at least every other week. Along with the sauce we make French bread to go with it. Usually if I make a recipe and someone loves it and asks for the recipe I send them to your site. You are my secret weapon when it comes to cooking!
I started following your blog in 2009. Since then my coooking has gone from cake mixes and frozen bread dough to most things are made from scratch. You have helped our family save money on our food budget and we have just plain eaten healthier ( Good bye prepackaged mostly everything). Not to mention boosted my confidence cooking, rock star status? Check. (At least in my head) Our faves are the coconut cashew granola, the french bread rolls, the coconut curry chicken, pomegranate cheesecake, Perfect chocolate chip cookies, soft wrap bread… The list goes on and on. Thank you, thank you! Happy birthday and happy 10 years!
If I won, I would want the food processor.
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/cinnamon-roll-cake/
This one hands down. The only thing I do differently is I add softened cream cheese to the glaze and make it more of a frosting. So so good!
For me, it’s between the ice cream compressor and the InstantPot. My daughter is a IP devotee and keeps raving about it.
May you have another fantastic ten years!
I have made so many things from tbis blog Its one of my favorite go to sites when meal planning!
Thank you so much for the time you have taken to make and post so many recipes! I have been a follower since the ‘My Kitchen Cafe’s days and make something from your site at least weekly (if not daily). You just speak to me – words and food. Pretzel bites might be the favorite recipe at the moment, but I just made your coconut cream pie last night (favorite pie of choice in our house; even for the non-coconut lover) and it might be the one made most often. I would love #3 the Bosch mixer since my trusty Kitchenetics is slowing down. You are the best Mel!!
Mel, it’s so hard to narrow down my favorites to one! We love Cowboy Dinner and Confetti Chicken Bake. I finally made your Perfect Cinnamon Rolls this weekend and we all were obsessed! Roasted Garlic and Cauliflower pasta is probably one of my most favorite dinners ever. And I make lots of your different cookie bar recipes all the time! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and your life with us. Congratulations on 10 years!
I would love #2 🙂
My husband just made your spaghetti sauce recipie. I’ve loved your taco meat and classic chili recipie for years. #1 since my old grinder is broken and my husband thinks grinding it in the vitamix will kill it.
Congrats, Mel! I can’t even tell you how much I love your blog and your recipes. When I give a friend a recipe, they automatically say, “it’s Mel’s, right?” because they just know. Now, my 14 year old daughter is using your site when she decides to make something. It’s just so awesome. Who’s crying? Not me!!! 😉 Anyhow, thank you again for making cooking so much fun and easy. I think our top recipe around here is your Ground Beef Tacos. I literally make them once a week and my family devours them. Choosing one of your giveaways is hard because there are so many awesome choices, but I would have to say I have always wanted a Kitchenaid Mixer (#5). Here’s to the next 10 years!!!
My current favorite recipe is Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins. For prize I would pick #3 Bosch Mixer, especially for making bread. Although, there is something very satisfying about using my hands to work the dough. Thanks for the great blog!
Our family’s favorite recipe is your Rock Salt Roast BBQ Honey Chicken. My husband and 6 kids request this meal often!
I would chose prize number 8.
Thanks!
My family oohed and ahhed over your Monterey Chicken last night, but I don’t know if I could pick a single favorite. One kids loves chicken pillows, I love your lasagna, all the kids love haystacks…
I would love to win the wheat mill!
Thank you for making people think I’m a good cook,
My favorite recipe is the Peppermint White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake. It’s my 13 year old daughter and my new tradition at Christmas to make together. I’d love #2, 6, or 10!
Congratulations! I love your blog and use it to menu plan all the time! One of my new favourite recipes from your blot is Sweet Balsamic Pork in the instant pot. I would love to win the knives (#9).
I love your blog and it taught me how to cook for myself after college. My favorite recipe is probably the Shepard’s Pie because I have made it more times than I can count. It is my boyfriends absolute favorite and requests it all of the time.
If I were to win, I would pick either the ice cream compressor or food processor.
Ten years! Congratulations! Mel’s is my number one stop for recipes every day of the week! Picking one recipe seems impossible, but the best blueberry muffins, broccoli beef, quinoa bread, and strawberry lime cream cake are just a few of my favourites. No, sweet baked ham in the instant pot!! Mmmm…so good!
I am so glad I was directed to your site years ago by my older sister. I don’t know what I would do without Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
If I were to pick just one prize, it would definitely be #3 The Bosch Universal Mixer.
Thank you so much for all the years your recipes have fed my crew. I’ve always felt a kinship with you as I too have four sons before I was blessed with a daughter. I feel like you get me! I love your blog and I am literally on your site every day, looking for my next meal! ❤️ I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years have in store!
Happy Anniversary! Honestly, I would not be where I am today as a cook without your recipes and inspiration! To choose just one is impossible. I guess I would have to say all the overnight breakfast recipes- overnight steel cut oats, overnight buckwheat waffles, overnight blueberry almond oatmeal, etc- and your inspiration to get me started making kefir. I no longer buy cereal for my family ever and that’s a beautiful thing! All your soups are pretty popular around here too. Really, I could go on and on about all your wonderful recipes…
I have bought almost all those appliances over the years thanks to your high reviews but I have yet to get #2 or #6!
God Bless you and your beautiful family!
Thank you for all that you do! Although, I do not comment often, I have been reading your blog for years! You are my go- to to find new recipes! I definitely enjoy your posts! I have made many of your recipes, but my kids hands down favorite is your Chicken Philly Sandwiches! I have been coveting #1 and #3 for a very, very long time and one of these days I intend to own them :-). Hope you have a wonderful bogaversary and I hope you continue bloging because I certainly enjoy reading your posts.
Congratulations! And a very Happy Birthday to you! What a very generous give away. I love a lot of your recipes but if I have to pick just one, I would have to say the sweet and sour chicken (my granddaughters request it often.) Easy, tasty and sooo good! I would love #6 or #9. Thank you.
Congratulations on 10 years! Asking for just 1 favorite recipe is so difficult! I’ve made dozens and they all have been great. My husbands fave has been your sweet and sour chicken. Way better than takeout. Your blog has always been my not so secret resource!
I have made so many of your recipes, you are the first food blogger I ever followed! A current favorite of my whole family is the Chocolate Peppermint Blossom Cookies! I might have to make them for Valentine’s day!
Oops, I would choose #3!
Happy Birthday, Mel! I’m forever grateful to the friend who told me about your blog. I love that you cook for a large family (I do too), and that your recipes are simple and delicious! My favorite is your San Francisco pork chops, which I make with country-style ribs. A close runner up is the applesauce oatmeal muffins (I think I’ve made about 20 batches). My stand mixer is 21 years old (a wedding gift), so my choice is #5 or #8.
Sugar cookie bars. Make them all the time!! Love your blog and thank you for the great recipes! Insta pot, please.
I’ve loved and still love your blog. It’s my go-to website to figure out dinner and snacks for my family. My two favorites that I have shared with so many friends are your Healthy No-Bake Granola Bites (I currently have a big bag full of them in my freezer!) and Pomegranate Cheesecake, which my husband requests every year for his birthday. Thanks for sticking with this blog. You are amazing! My giveaway choice is #10.
My favorite recipe from your blog is hands-down your Instant Pot mashed potatoes, my family loves them so much!!! If I were to win, I would definitely pick the Blendtec Blender! Thank you!!
Mel,
What an amazing blog you have. Really my only go to when I am looking for a recipe. I have told so many people about your blog and shared recipes with them. I have more than one favorite but tonight’s dinner is your butternut squash tortelloni, a family favorite especially served with bacon. Wow if I happened to be a winner I would love number 5 or 3 and 9 or 10 would also be awesome.
Hi! I’m 21, and when I first found your blog I was only about 15 or 16 years old. You’re recipe is one of the first online recipes I’ve ever tried, and it’s safe to say that your blog is one of the first to kickstart my passion for cooking and baking. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your best chocolate cake recipe and your magic frosting recipe- have been using them since high school and it remains a go-to recipe for me until now. I can honestly tell just how good of a person you really are through your dedication to this blog and cooking -and your family! From the many bloggers I followed when I first got into cooking, your blog is the most consistent. You constantly put effort along these years and what I think makes it such a beautiful thing is that not many people can stay commited to one thing, one work, or one platform for this long! I take my hat off to the fact that you never quit sharing even with your cancer and moving and all the things happening in your life. oh, and I’d be beyond thrilled to get that 6. kitchenaid mixer! Lastly, congratulations Mel. Lots of love from a loyal reader.
Happy anniversary! And happy Birthday! You are a household name to my whole family (immediate and extended) and our bellies and good food loving souls thank you!
Off the top of my head my most used recipe is “Hawaiian haystacks”, “super soft chocolate chip cookies” is most used for treats, and BBQ chicken rice bowls was most recently made (also loved- and often a birthday request meal at our house)
Thank you!
Congratulations!! I honestly don’t know what I would feed my family every night if I didn’t have your blog at my fingertips. I love everything that I have ever made. A couple favourites are Korean beef and your French rolls. I make those all he time!
I would love #2 or #3. Thank you so much for this and everything you do!
Congrats on reaching 10 years! I wish I was here since the beginning but I found your site in 2012 and have continued to use it as my go to resource for new recipes on a weekly basis because #1. Everything I make from your site always turns out amazing and #2. You cook with normalish (as in non obscure) ingredients. I have had to deal with food allergies in my cooking for my family and I’ve always been able to find or adapt recipes to meet my family’s needs so thank you so much! My fav recipe is the black bean sweet potato burritos! They are my hubby’s favorite non-meat dinner and we make them all the time. I love the #5 kitchenaid 🙂
I really like your lentil chili recipe. Great post about your business through the years. I’ve been long time reader. You caught my eye when you lived in Minnesota, my home state.
Skillet teriaki Meatballs are my abosolute favorite!!!! But if I could list all the recipes I love of yours it would take at least 5 pages!!!! U have never tried one I didnt like and I also love your quest to find and perfect recipes!!!!
# 5 or 3 would be wonderful!!!! Happy Birthday!!!
Congratulations!! And a very happy Birthday! What an amazing giveaway and THANK YOU for being such a gracious, kind and family loving blogger who also happens to post wonderful recipes. Oh gosh, where do I begin with the favorite recipes?? I’m going to say Coconut Shrimp Curry for me, Sausage Tortellini Soup for the hubby and Berries on a Cloud…because dessert. 🙂
I’ll pick #1 or #10. Thanks again, Mel!
Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork (1). We know if we want a delicious/successful recipe to visit your blog. There are so many good recipes to choose from. Congratulations on 10 years.
I absolutely love your falafel meatballs! Also your no bake energy bites were my husbands favorite new healthy snack! But I made your fresh zucchini and tomato linguine twice a week for the entire summer. How to choose?? You’ve given me such new inspiration in the kitchen so thank you!! I would want #10 the 8 quart size!
Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary! You have had quite a ride in the last 10 years.
My aunt, who happens to be a fabulous cook, told me about your blog about 4 years ago. She couldn’t believe all the wonderful recipes and ideas you posted all while raising 5 kids. I use your recipes regularly. Our favorite dish right now is the smoky honey cilantro chicken. My husband and kids love it! I have the the Breville Fast Slow Cooker and I had always feared using the pressure cooker. Thanks to your recipes, I am finally a convert! Our second favorite is beef and broccoli recipe. I have passed this recipe out to many friends and it is always a big hit!
Since I also like to bake bread, I would love gift #1. The wheat grinder. If I had a second choice It would be for the knives #9. Thank you.
PS I am signed up for both the recipes and newsletter although I have not received a newsletter recently. I already follow you on Instagram but will now follow you on Facebook.
There are too many favorites! Sweet and sour chicken is always a hit. We made your chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, instant pot lentil chili, and chicken pot pie all over the weekend….my family lives on your recipes!!
If I had to pick it would be #3
I really like both the lasagna and Mom’s spaghetti sauce recipes, but my family’s favorite has to be the chocolate peppermint crinkle blossom cookies. We’ve made them at least three times in the last month!
If I’m lucky enough to win, I’d love number 6!
Happy Anniversary and Birthday!
Happy Anniversary and Birthday Mel! I’ve been loyally following your blog for 6+ years. My boys have grown up on your delicious recipes! My sisters and I talk about you almost as our own sister! Our infinitely cooler, rock star sister! Picking a favorite recipe is crazy difficult as there are too many. I was actually munching on one of your decadent double chocolate mint cookies while reading your post today! If I *HAD* to choose it would be the Chipotle Chicken Swekers with the cool creamy sauce. Thank you for always making me feel like a rock star in the kitchen!
My husband surprised me with a Bosch Mixer 2 years ago and then an Instant Pot shortly after. LOVE! So I’d choose #1, 2, 6, or 8
God bless!
Happy birthday (s)!! I love your broccoli cheese soup . I’d love a blender 2 or 6, not sure which is better
My aunt, who happens to be a fabulous cook, told me about your blog about 4 years ago. She couldn’t believe all the wonderful recipes and ideas you posted all while raising 5 kids. I use recipes regularly. Our favorite dish right now is the smoky honey cilantro chicken. I have the the Breville Fast Slow Cooker and I had always feared using the pressure cooker. Thanks to your receipts, I am finally a convert! Since I also like to bake bread, I would love gift #1. The wheat grinder. If I had a second choice I would be for the knives. Thank you.
Ps I am signed up for both the recipes and newsletter although I have not received a newsletter recently. I already follow you on Instagram but will now follow you on Facebook.
Oh, Mel! I am so happy for you, for your blog, for your family, and for your next 40+ years! Congratulations on your success! I don’t even know when I first started reading your blog, but when I need a fun, guaranteed-to-be-good, family and crowd-pleaser, I come to YOU. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but my family is always happy with your slow cooker beef stroganoff, and even when the pantry is running bare, I can usually pull that one off! Thank you for the stories, the recipes, the wonderful gift guides, the peeks at your family and your life, and the smiles you always bring. If I win your incredible contest, (Oooooh! It’s so hard to choose!) I’d be thrilled with gift #7, because even though my favorite way to treat myself is with a kitchen gadget, that is the one I’d be least likely to bite the bullet and buy!
Congrats MEL! I was introduced to your blog eight years ago and I’ve been making your recipes almost exclusively ever since.
I appreciate your humor, honesty, and similar palette 🙂
Because of you, I make all of our bread (got the Bosch for Christmas this year! A grain mill last year, after reading your posts several times) and never buy preshredded cheese lol.
Would love to win the Blendtec to add to my copycat Mel kitchen.
Thank you so much for your work, the non-sponsored advice, and the delicious food.
Forgot to add that southwest chicken wraps are probably our most common recipe. Always a winner!
I’m grateful I found your blog years ago! It was your blog that really encouraged me to make my own bread. I have made so many of your bread recipes over the years (bread sticks, french bread, molasses bread, whole wheat bread, white sandwich bread, rolls, etc.) I now make all of our bread for my family of 8 and I absolutely love doing it! I recently bought a Bosch, and now I LOVE making bread even more! It’s hard to pick a favorite recipe, but considering the fact that I make Darcy’s Whole Wheat bread and the French Bread Rolls just about every week, those are the ones I feel I can’t live without. Thank you so much for inspiring me in many ways! I have wanted a fancy blender for some time now, so I would definitely choose #2 or #6.
Thank you!!