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“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley
A NEW YEAR, ANOTHER YEAR IN REVIEW!
I can barely fathom that this coming February marks 16 years of creating, photographing and sharing recipes on Simply Scratch. This of course means it’s that time of year where I like to recap the last 365 days both professionally and personally. I’ll admit, it’s fun to write up these long (and overly photographed) posts as it allows me to relive all the big and small, exciting and mundane moments of the past year. What started out as a recap of popular recipes, has turned into a journal of sorts. Here I reflect on growth, opportunities, special and meaningful moments all in one place. As you can imagine it’s so much fun to look back on all that has happened over 16 years, but on the flip side, it’s equally bittersweet. To see our kids grow into adults, say goodbye to pets and really take note of exactly how much time has gone by.
Like just about every year before, I’m happy to say that the past 365 days have been some of the best. We traveled, created lots of memories and celebrated milestones both big and small. While not every year has been smooth sailing, we always find a way to get through it together. And I truly feel blessed for all who are in my life.
First, let’s talk about the food.
TOP 10 FAVORITE RECIPES OF 2025:
In 2025 I shared quite a few new recipes. However, I’m forever still updating older posts to retest, reshoot and repost as well. Sharing recipes for the last 16 years means that the older recipes need new photography and more clear and concise instructions – plus back then I was new to food photography and it clearly shows in the older posts. I’ve stopped keeping count on how many recipes I share and/or update because it becomes too daunting of a task to keep track of. Instead here is a compilation of this years top 15 favorite (new and republished) recipes of 2025!
Buttermilk French Toast – A delicious twist on traditional French toast! In this recipe, thick slices of challah are dipped in a vanilla buttermilk egg mixture and griddled until golden. Serve with salted butter, a super simple maple blackberry sauce and fresh lemon zest.
Italian Wedding Soup – A flavorful soup consisting of small bite-size meatballs, tender veggies and spinach in a simple parmesan infused broth. The soup is then ladled over cooked ancini di pepe pasta and served with a sprinkle or two of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Lemon Lime Bundt Cake – Bright with both lemon and lime flavor and is brushed with a simple lemon lime glaze.
Loaded Beef and Bean Nachos – Thick corn tortilla chips topped with a saucy beef and refried bean mixture, melty cheese and a plethora of toppings like bell pepper, red onion and black olives. Once baked, serve with guacamole, sour cream and hot sauce!
Italian Sausage and Sweet Pea Gnocchi – A super simple and quick meal for any day of the week. Toasted gnocchi, italian sausage and sweet peas in a simple yet delicious, light and creamy parmesan sauce.
Tuscan Tortellini Pasta Salad – Tender cheese filled tortellini are combined with baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, salami, a mix of italian olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, tuscan cheese blend and mozzarella pearls – all in a simple sweet balsamic vinaigrette.
Baked Vanilla Cardamom Nectarines – Nectarine halves are baked with butter, brown sugar and spices and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a homemade granola.
Blistered Tomatoes with Burrata and Pancetta – Roasted tomatoes, creamy burrata and salty crisp pancetta is drizzled with olive oil, balsamic glaze and topped with thin ribbons of fresh basil. Serve with crostini or torn bread.
Grilled Honey Lime Chicken (rice bowls) – Super simple and flavorful grilled honey lime chicken thighs are sliced and served with rice of choice and the most incredible pineapple teriyaki salad!
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies – This recipe is quick and easy to pull together (20 minutes!!) with no chill time! And the result is crispy edges with soft and chewy middles, and the perfect cookie to chocolate chip ratio. You might not believe that they’re both gluten-free and vegan!
Cheesy Chicken One-Pot Pasta – Cooked ground chicken, cherry tomatoes and garlic simmer with penne pasta in a creamy tomato sauce. All of this is done in one skillet making this pasta dish perfect for any night of the week. It’s also the perfect recipe to use up any cherry tomatoes from the garden!
Crispy Honey Sriracha Beef and Snow Peas – Crispy thin strips of beef and crunchy snow peas are tossed in a simple honey sriracha sauce and served overtop of cooked rice.
Peanut Chicken Sweet Potato and Broccoli Bowls – Flavorful, loaded with fiber and protein, and quick and easy to prepare. Roasted sweet potato, broccoli and chickpeas are served with rotisserie chicken (or leftover roasted chicken), drizzled with a flavorful peanut sauce and sprinkled with chopped peanuts, cilantro and sliced green onion. And bonus! it’s also great for meal prepping!
Salted Maple Pie – In this custard pie, maple syrup, brown sugar and heavy cream are combined with butter, eggs and vanilla and is baked in a sweetened pie crust. The maple flavor really shines through and the flaky salt adds a pop of texture and contrast to the sweetness of the pie.
Honeycrisp Manchego Kale Salad – Tuscan kale is topped with sliced honeycrisp apple, manchego cheese, crispy pancetta and fried shallots, dried cranberries and toasted pumpkin seeds. All of which is drizzled in a maple dijon vinaigrette with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.
2025 was all about saying yes. Yes to new friendships, coffee invitations and/or grabbing lunch, saying yes to taking trips and to doing things that made us nervous. All the while letting go of anything that no longer serves us. I’ve found, this always makes room for bigger and more meaningful things. Naturally we had some hiccups along the way, but it wasn’t anything that we couldn’t handle. And that is the exact kind of energy we’re bringing into the new year.
This year Haileigh celebrated her 24th birthday by heading on a road trip with her high school best friends where they stayed in a condo in Port Clinton, Ohio. They spent a day in Cedar Point, another day lounging by the pool and going to dinner at a restaurant on Lake Erie. Haileigh wrapped up her first year of teaching in the spring, and started working towards her masters degree while also starting her second year as a 2nd grade teacher in the fall. She should be wrapping up her masters soon which is SO exciting and we are so proud of her! This year Haileigh also started going to a gym near work, made it to several Tigers games, attended the CMU homecoming game with friends, a comedy show and The Weeknd concert.
Early in 2025, Malloree received her acceptance letter for the dental hygiene program! She began in the fall and has been excelling in the program, learning so much and loving it more and more. Over the summer, she went to the sold out Zach Bryan show at The Big House (Michigan Stadium) and also saw The Weeknd in concert as well. She began managing social media for the salon where she works and has since expanded to other businesses, including content creation for a friend’s wedding. Mal turned 21 in the fall and we celebrated by going out to dinner and ordering her an espresso martini. When she’s not at school or work, she has been spending her free time with her sister, the best girlfriends and of course, her buddy Finn.
Speaking of Finn. Our Finn turned 6 this year which (still) blows my mind. Was it not just 2019 when we first brought him home? Time unfortunately flys by, but he still is the sweetest, most funny and loving angel. He has a little more white on his face, but we’re not talking about that. He hunted a lot with Pat, both up north and in South Dakota. He went on lots of car rides which he absolutely loves to poke is head out of the window as we drive down the road. He still enjoys treats, popcorn and snuggling. And is still the best boy.
Sadly in June we said goodbye to our cat, Izzie. She has been apart of our family for the last 18 years and was Haileigh’s buddy. Over the last year she began showing increasing signs of malnutrition and lethargy. It was an heartbreaking decision, but we all came to the agreement that her quality of life was not what it should be and before her health declined even more, we knew it was time to say goodbye. So we had a vet come to the house, Izzie enjoyed a small dish of ice cream before Haileigh held her in her lap as Izzie made her way over the rainbow bridge. She was such a beautiful black cat with the most incredible green eyes. We still miss her very much.
Early last year, Pat and I met my sister and brother-in-law in the Dominican. We stayed 5 blissful days at the Hyatt Zilara in Cap Cana (highly recommend). Every single day was a warm, perfectly sunny 84 degrees. We had one morning where it rained but then quickly cleared up and resumed its incredible island weather. Our days would start out with an incredible breakfast in the gourmet buffet. They have a build your own omelette station (among so many other stations) where you pick your ingredients and the chef would make it right in front of you. It was incredible, and I had the same omelet just about every single morning we were there without any regrets. Then we’d head to our rooms to change before heading back out and down to the beach for a few hours. Every day my sister and I would walk the beach and talk – which is one of many favorite memories from our trip. Then we’d grab lunch on our way to the pool to relax some more and enjoy a few pool cocktails. At some point midday my sister and I would grab an iced coffee from the little South of France inspired café to also enjoy poolside. Once we’ve soaked up all of the sun we could possible manage, we head back to our rooms and get ready for dinner and then we would sometimes catch a live show, get a cocktail from the martini bar or simply find a place talk outside in the warm evening air. Rinse and repeat the next day. I loved it! No obligations, nowhere we had to be with warm weather and great company. It was a magical trip and I can’t wait to go back.
In December, Pat and I met 19 friends in Nashville, Tennessee to spend the weekend celebrating our friend Kelly’s 50th birthday. It was a fun weekend filled with lots of laughs, sight seeing, great bands and even greater food and drinks. Nashville has always been on my bucket list and it definitely was a trip to remember!
In early spring Pat was lucky and got a gorgeous turkey and then in the fall he got 6-point deer. Our freezer is full of roasts, blackstraps and ground venison and I couldn’t be happier! His wood shop is coming along nicely and he’s still building gorgeous pieces. Our local bookstore started carrying some of his charcuterie boards and he’s also made quite a few of them for friends to give as gifts. More recently he’s ventured out to make turkey calls, you’ll probably hear more about these in my 2026 year in review.
I never really make resolutions but I do like to set intentions for the new year. In 2025 I decided to do my best to saying yes to more opportunities. I still continue to take yoga classes and work on my overall health. But in January I joined a book club at our local bookstore. Which had me reading genres I typically don’t choose but I did enjoy it! By joining, I’ve met so many women who have now become good friends. Later in the year I started hosting my own book club! So much fun! I also said yes to being a guest on my friend Meg’s (who also owns the local book store) podcast gabbing about a book we both had read – definitely a highlight of my year. Besides traveling to the Dominican and Nashville, Pat and I did our annual trip up north to hunt for morel mushrooms and I even practiced target shooting with his hand gun. We also went on a few casino trips, and I ended up getting a hand pay at our last trip of the year! Before the holidays, I went with my dear friend Kristen to make festive holiday porch pots at a local nursery. It was surprisingly therapeutic while also being so much fun!
Cheers to another incredible year! I’m truly thankful for my friends and family and the memorable times we spend together. And I’m equally grateful for all of you. Thank you for your continued support, for making these recipes and for sharing them with others. Your support continues to mean so much to me and my family. I’m so excited for yet another delicious year ahead!
From my family, to you and yours – we wish for you all to have a happy and healthy 2026 and hope that it brings you peace, love, joy and laughter.
WANT TO READ MY PAST YEAR IN REVIEW POSTS? HERE ARE THE LAST 15 YEARS.
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Laurie McNamara
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