Dad's 21 Favorite Picks ... in Honor of Father's Day

June 14, 2013


It's almost Father's Day!  Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

Back on Mother's Day I posted Mom's 16 Sweet Treat Favorites ... so in honor of Father's Day, I decided to give Dad his equal time!  Here are my Dad's favorite dishes on The Kitchen is My Playground.  Now Mom shared 16 ... and Dad's sharing 21.  So, I guess 'the time' is not exactly equal since Dad's getting to share a few more faves.  But oh well, I don't think Mom will mind.

Dad loves his sugar ... but he doesn't quite have the sweet tooth that Mom and I do.  Whereas we could live by chocolate alone, Dad could not.  He's got to have his meat.  And spicy stuff.  And popcorn.  Oh, gracious ... absolutely don't forget the popcorn.  Now, I do believe Dad could live by popcorn alone.

Are you curious to see my Dad's tastes?  Well, here you go! ... Dad's 21 top picks from The Kitchen is My Playground.  Enjoy! 


1. Crescent Sausage Bites - With just three simple ingredients, these Crescent Sausage Bites are a classic crowd {and Dad} pleaser.  Always, always, always a huge hit with the guys ... and gals, for that matter ... at parties.



2. Baked Jalapeno Poppers - Just like me, Dad grew up in Vermont.  What does that have to do with these Baked Jalapeno Poppers, you ask?  Well, we use Cabot, Vermont cheddar in the filling ... which just makes them that much EXTRA good!  This baked version of classic poppers packs all the spice and flavor punch without all the deep-fried guilt.




3. Barbecue Roasted Mixed Nuts - Like eating barbecue flavored potato chips, but better.




4. Pizza-Spaghetti Bake - Can't decide whether to have pizza or spaghetti for dinner?  Well, with this Pizza-Spaghetti Bake, you don't have to choose!  Enjoy the flavors of both in this Dad favorite.




5. Tamale Pie Casserole - Mom made this Tamale Pie Casserole a lot when I was growing up, and Dad's not the only one who loved it!  I absolutely love the combination of the spicy filling with the cornbread on top.




6. Chili (with Cornbread on the side!) - Dad loves a hearty bowl of spicy chili!  This is our family's favorite version, always served with a side of cornbread.  {And if you throw some grilled hot dogs alongside it, Dad's a super happy camper.}




7. Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder - Dad has always adored soups.  Maybe it's that 40-something years he spent enduring Vermont winters!  He now lives in North Carolina ... but still adores his soups!





8. Pea Salad - This Pea Salad is, like, Dad's absolute all-time favorite salad.  When my Mom first described it to me, as you can read in the full post, I thought it sounded ... well ... absolutely disgusting.  Turns out Dad is right ... it's really good!




9. Creamed Pearl Onion Gratin - Dad loves anything with onions.  He especially loves this Creamed Pearl Onion Gratin, but he only gets to enjoy it once a year ... it's one of our family's classic Thanksgiving sides, and Mom and I only whip it up that one day of the year.  {We do make a huge pan, though, so there's lots of leftovers for Dad to enjoy for days!}





10. Baked Onions - Good ol' classic baked onions are another of Dad's favorite ways to enjoy onions.  So good, whenever I make them I wonder why I don't do it more often.  {I really need to re-do that photo.  Ugh.}




11. Blackberry-Almond Bread - Blackberries are one of Dad's favorite treats.  We used to pick wild blackberries all the time growing up, and Mom and Dad still go to pick them at a pick-your-own farm some summers now.  The recipe for this Blackberry-Almond Bread is one of my original recipes, and Dad helped perfect it by being one of my tasters during it's creation.




12. White Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn - Dad loves ANYthing popcorn!  And he loved this White Chocolate-Peppermint Popcorn I whipped up this past Christmas.  He also loved my Baby Shower White Chocolate Popcorn and impromptu Chocolate-Covered Popcorn, too ... I think I need to start a 'popcorn project' to create more flavors for him! ... I know he'd very willingly taste-test.




13. Yuppy Chow {aka Muddie Buddies or Puppy Chow} - Dad loves this stuff almost ... almost ... as much as he loves popcorn.  Now, that's sayin' a lot.




14. 7 Layer Cookies {aka Magic Cookies} - Can't say that we can blame Dad for having these classic cookies in his favorite picks line-up ... seriously, who doesn't love these?



15. Classic No-Bake Cookies - Another good ol' classic makes it into Dad's faves.  I have to admit, I'm right there with him.




16. Nutella No-Bake Cookies - But it's not just the classic chocolate-&-peanut butter version of no-bake cookies that Dad loves ... he's crazy about this Nutella version, too.




17. Vermont Maple No-Bake Cookies - AND he's crazy about this Vermont Maple No-Bake Cookie version I created for Tonewood Maple, too.  He's pretty much crazy for anything maple flavored ... again, those Vermont roots we have!




18. Black Bottom Cupcakes - Not surprisingly, these classics made Mom's favorites list, too.




19. Grandma's Echo Cakes - These individual cakes filled with strawberry jam are a favorite sweet treat in our house, and Mom still makes them for my brother and me at Christmas time for Christmas breakfast.  Dad loves to enjoy them with his morning cup of coffee.



20. Chocolate Root Beer Float Cake - Root Beer ... another of Dad's favorite flavors ... and it's even better when enjoyed in cake form.




21. No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Dessert - We're hard-pressed to find anyone in the family who doesn't put this classic, scrumptious no-bake dessert on their favorites list!  Soooooooooooo good.

Thank you for the fabulous favorites list, Dad!  Now go play golf or something, okay?




6 comments

  1. Tracey, everything looks SO good! I'm with your dad, I love soup, anytime and anywhere. The Chocolate Eclair Dessert looks scrumptious, too! Thanks to you, I now have a place to go to when I'm looking to find a good recipe really quick!

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    1. Thank you, Lynn ... I appreciate your kind words about The Kitchen is My Playground! Yes, I believe Dad could have included EVERY soup on the site in his favorites list. :-)

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  2. My dad would have loved these recipes esp. the sausage bites. Thanks for sharing these with us on foodie friday. Great to see you back.

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    1. You're welcome, Diane. Those sausage bites seem to appeal to almost everyone!

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  3. Awesome picks - your dad has great taste! Haha! Can't wait to try some fo these!
    Stopping by from Marvelous Monday!
    Beth

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  4. Love the recipes! Sure having a hard time with your website lately...takes me so long compared to what it used to...have you made any recent changes? Love your site though.

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