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Fresh Fridays
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Fresh Fridays, January 5

Kathleen

by Kathleen Pope Jan 5, 2024

It’s good to be back! I’ve missed you!

Are you like me and coming out of your sugar coma? I hope so! I’ve been eating clean the past few days after my holiday indulgences.

How was your Christmas and New Year? Ours was lovely, with time spent with our boys, family and friends who are like family. I have a few pictures that I’ll share with you below, because we all know that pictures speak louder than words!

If I’m honest, I have struggled to get motivated to dive back in and write new recipes, photograph them, and everything that goes with them. But I’ve been doing loads of planning — so that has to count as something!

This week features a brand new Sous Vide recipe; I’m hoping a bunch of you received a Sous Vide wand for Christmas. I love mine and have a lot of fun using it for new recipes. I’ll highlight a few of my favorite Air Fryer, Instant Pot, and Crockpot recipes since you might have received one of those!

Be sure to use the Table of Contents below to discover what interests you most.

Fresh Fridays Logo new 2022.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure & privacy policy.
  • What I'm Making' & Bakin' | Sous Vide & Sliders
  • Family Favorite Instant Pot, Air Fryer and Crockpot recipes
    • Air Fryer Favorites First
    • Instant Pot Faves
    • Crockpot Family Faves
  • What Readers Are Saying about…
    • Baked Funeral Sandwiches (Hammy Sammies)
  • In the here and now | Real-life stories
  • What Caught My Eye | Sales and Deals
    • What I'm Loving | My Holiday Plant Vignette
  • Browse my Amazon Storefront
  • Weekly Inspiration | Word for the Year

???? Save this recipe for the future ????

Click the heart ???? symbol in the lower right-hand corner of your screen (while on the recipe), and it will be saved to your own private recipe box!

What I’m Making’ & Bakin’ | Sous Vide & Sliders

If you received a sous vide wand this year, I plan on doing at least one sous vide recipe monthly. I’d love to hear what you would like to see!

To start, this basic chicken breast sous vide recipe and this buttery sous vide ribeye. Coming soon is this juicy Sous vide London Broil. I made these Roast Beef Sliders over the holidays and was reminded how yummy they are! Everyone asks for the recipe!

Sliced boneless chicken breast made sous vide with a salad on the side.

Perfect Sous Vide Chicken Breast Recipe 

Want the most moist, tender chicken ever? Our basic sous vide boneless chicken breast recipe will become your favorite way to cook chicken! Easy step-by-step recipe for the very best chicken breast ever! Say adios to boring, bland and rubbery chicken breasts. The sous vide cooking method is your new best friend. Use perfectly cooked chicken for meal prep, chicken salad, stir fries and more. 

Read more
Close up of layers of roast beef on Hawaiian slider buns with melty cheese.

Easy Roast Beef Sliders Recipe on Hawaiian Rolls

Ready for the oven in minutes these roast beef sliders are filled with thinly sliced deli roast beef, melty cheese, and caramelized onions; baked to a golden brown on sweet Hawaiian rolls with a savory butter sauce. 

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Slices of ribeye steak on plate with asparagus.

Best Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Steak Recipe

Learn to make a perfectly cooked ribeye with a tender texture and amazing flavor! An easy step-by-step recipe for Sous Vide ribeye requiring only 15 minutes of prep!

It’s cheaper than a steakhouse!

Read more

Rate the Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love it when you try my recipes, rate them, and share your thoughts! It really helps others and boosts the recipe’s visibility. I so appreciate you!

Family Favorite Instant Pot, Air Fryer and Crockpot recipes

As a food blogger, it’s my “job” to understand the latest gadgets; it’s kinda fun! This is part of why we needed to remodel this past summer. And I realize I never posted final pictures of our remodeled spaces; I will do that soon!

Air Fryer Favorites First

  1. This air fryer halibut is perfectly tender, juicy, and fast!
  2. Air Fryer Turkey Breast, is easy and comes out so flavorful!
  3. I make these steak fries all the time, they are a great side!
  4. Easy Pigs in a Blanket Recipe is perfect for game day snacks!
  5. And how about these healthier air-fried French toast sticks? My boys love them!
  6. Browse all of my air fryer recipes here.

Instant Pot Faves

  1. Easy Instant Pot Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya — make this one all the time!
  2. Instant Pot Whole Chicken – ready in about an hour! Fall off the bone good!
  3. These Instant Pot Glazed Carrots are crazy good and easy too!
  4. You will be surprised at how easy this Instant Pot Bowtie pasta is!
  5. Check out all of my Instant Pot recipes!

Crockpot Family Faves

  1. You will love this 3 ingredient Olive Garden Crockpot Chicken.
  2. Total comfort food in this Crockpot London Broil.
  3. Easy Slow Cooker Cube Steak Recipe with Gravy – so good!
  4. I always make a big pot of Red Beans and Rice, my kids love it!
  5. 10 Vegetable Soup Recipe (Panera Bread Copycat), healthy and delicious!
  6. Browse all of our crockpot recipes here.

What Readers Are Saying about…

Baked Funeral Sandwiches (Hammy Sammies)

Funeral Sandwiches close-up of a gooey slider sandwich on a parchment paper.

This recipe is amazing, I have been making these for team dinners and church potlucks for over a year. Every single time I make these people ask for the recipe and I send them here! They are great with turkey and cheddar as well. Thank you!

Rachel
Yes, I want that recipe!

In the here and now | Real-life stories

How do you capture a few weeks of family and friends, gatherings and downtime? I so enjoyed sleeping in each day, taking long walks with my hubby or not taking walks at all! We watched a lot of movies, had family dinners by the fire, it was lovely!

I cooked and baked a ton! We went to the mall with our boys, had a great dinner at our favorite restaurant. We celebrated Christmas Eve with neighbors and our church family. Christmas morning afternoon (college boys) was just with our boys, and then we joined longtime family friends for a real feast!

Quick snapshot when our boy got home!
Our oldest is home!
Silliness at the mall, two men standing next to a sitting reindeer.
Silliness at the mall!

We spent NYE at home, watching a movie with our youngest, and were in bed by 9! On new Year’s Day, we had several family friends over for dinner; it’s become a little tradition; our boys have known one another since preschool!

I made a big pot of my Grandpa Frank’s Spaghetti Sauce, pasta, meatballs and some garlic bread, and a batch of pizzelles. The others brought salads, appetizers and desserts. It was a great way to end our holiday vacation!

My favorite Christmas gift!
Kieran’s girlfriend made these darling hand towels for me! My favorite gift!
The Fresh Cooky family on Christmas morning.
All of us in our matching jammies on Christmas morning.

What Caught My Eye | Sales and Deals

Check out the below items HERE! Plus, previous week’s finds!

What I’m Loving | My Holiday Plant Vignette

I keep this tray on my counter behind my sink year-round, and change or add plants by the seasons.

  • Get a simple tray that you don’t mind if it gets wet; this is a galvanized tray I bought a few years ago; this is similar at Walmart or Amazon.
  • I usually get plants from Trader Joe’s, but get yours from your favorite nursery and collect a few pots.
  • Add some fairy lights (mine are battery-operated, with a timer), pheasant feathers, berries, and pine cones.
  • I love these waxed amaryllis. There is no maintenance and no watering; they just grow and bloom. When choosing, try and choose the ones with two bloom stalks. I bought mine at Trader Joe’s but our grocery store and nursery also had them.
Planter vignette for Christmas with succulents, ferns, lavender, and a poinsettia.
I love adding seasonal picks to my planter tray.
Blooming waxed amaryllis flowers and snow fern.
This makes me smile! Waxed amaryllis and snow fern!

Browse my Amazon Storefront

Weekly Inspiration | Word for the Year

I am not a resolution maker, but instead, I love praying about a word that I should focus on for the year, this year my word is WONDER, which is defined as;

“Wonder: something extraordinary or surprising : marvel. 2. a.: a feeling (as awe, astonishment, or uncertainty) caused by something extraordinary, mysterious, or new to one’s experience.”

I am trying to ponder (another great word) and wonder about the simple things around us; all of life’s blessings, struggles, hardships, joys and mysteries. What does God want me to learn from these experiences? We can find wonder in everything! From a newborn coming into the world to a friend celebrating six months of sobriety! A simple flower blooming — these things bring me joy and wonder!

2024 Goals.
These are “words” I want to try and live by this year!

What’s your word? Leave me a comment or just shoot me an email!

Happy new year!

signature, Love, Kathleen


P.S. If you missed last week’s Fresh Fridays, recipes, sales, tips, ideas, and more!

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Hi, Iโ€™m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen.

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Kathleen Pope

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Hey there! I'm Kathleen Pope, a proud wife, mom of two awesome college boys, and recipe nerd. Welcome to my world of easy recipes with a healthy twist! Join thousands who trust The Fresh Cooky as their go-to recipe source. Let's cook up some magic!

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