Happy New Year!  Another year is over and a new book begins in our lives.  Everyone has their highs and lows as they reminisce as one year ends and a new one begins.  Expectations are always high for the new year; hoping for more prosperity, better health and general well being.  Our Whole Made Living family had its share of highs and lows for sure, but I honestly can’t say it was all that bad.  We’re generally healthy and happy and I think that’s the most important thing.

Our Biggest High

Our biggest high of 2017 was definitely the purchase of our new home.  Being on 2.5 acres is a dream come true for us, but also a lot more work than we are used to for our home.  The upkeep is enough to keep us busy always.  It’s good for us all though at this point in our lives.  It might not be everyone’s dream, but it’s definitely ours.

Our Biggest Low

Our biggest low was that we over-planned our garden and lost a ton of crops in 2017 due to weather.  Since we went from a couple box planters for our vegetable gardening to 2.5 acres of land we got too excited and planned a huge garden.  Our planting was severely delayed due to weather, then overrun with weeds, deer issues and then the loss of a ton of tomato plants due to poor clay-like soil.  We are rethinking our planning and planting for 2018.  We believe we’ve learned from our fails and will try not to make the same mistakes this year.

New Addition to the Family

We have a new furry addition to our family.  He’s a miniature schnoodle puppy named Wolfy.  Our oldest is highly allergic to most dogs so after some research and meeting a schnoodle in person we fell in love with this mixed breed.  The boys really wanted a dog and we figured this pet would be a great comfort in our home for our boys.  He’s a pleasure, but of course we’re in the (or I should say “I” am) not so fun potty training stage and it’s bitter cold here now.  Once the winter breaks here I’m sure the boys will have a blast in our yard running around with him.  And then we’ll have to train this guy to stay out of our gardens…

Our Top 7 Website Recipes for 2017

# 7

Raw Beet Spiralized Salad

# 6

Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes

# 5

Ginger Teriyaki Sauce

# 4

Kotlety (Russian Meat Patties)

# 3

Homemade Sazon Seasoning

# 2

Vinegret (Russian Beet Potato Salad)

# 1

Peanut Butter Banana Flourless Pancakes

This recipe is our top recipe 2 years in a row now!  Who knew a recipe like this that I made on the fly one day would become this big?!

My 3 All Time Favorites!

*(Subject to change in the next year as I keep creating and playing in the kitchen)

These 3 recipes are my personal all time favorites that are on the site at this point.  They are the recipes that represent me the most you could say; from bold (ok, maybe I’m not bold, but I try to cook that way) to sweet and a little tart to just comforting.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t put anything on my site I don’t love, but at the moment these 3 are my stars.  They’re the recipes I refer to if I want to impress without too much effort.  They’re all fairly easy to whip up and I’m always excited to present them to people because I know they’ll be truly enjoyed by the masses.

#3

Bold Beefy Chili

This chili is just darn good I think!  It’s awesome for adults and kids.  Not too sweet, not too spicy, just the right comforting kick that I think a chili should have.

#2

Raw Ginger Orange Cranberry Relish

Every time I make this recipe it’s a HUGE hit!  I make it around the holidays, starting with Thanksgiving and it’s just so good, you’ll want to keep eating it.  Dangerous, but good…

#1

Orange Chocolate Bundt Cake

This one is wicked calorie-wise, but I make it once a year and it’s just a killer cake!  It is SOOOO good!  It’s a must try.

Wishing you all a healthy, happy and productive New Year!  Happy 2018!

Thank you to all of my followers, I appreciate your kind words and comments more than you know.  You all keep me motivated to continue creating and sharing.

Sincerely,

Katia  😀