Blog Review: Our Best Bites

Today's post is a blog review of the following blog: www.ourbestbites.com.  I found out about this blog through a very round about way.  Remember, I was pretty new to the blogging world, so I didn't really know what was out there (this is really embarrassing actually because it was only a couple of years ago that this was the case!!!) - in fact, I received the first Our Best Bites cookbook from a dear friend of mine before I figured out that these girls had a blog.  What you say?  I know, completely silly of me.  The reason that this is so absurd, is that their little empire started with this blog of theirs so that they could share recipes with family and friends.  It has grown into a very beautiful site and two hard cover cookbooks along with several other lucrative food reporting and styling gigs.  They might even have a big announcement coming up that they previewed earlier this week.  Go check it out!

The "girls" that I reference above are two Mormon girls who knew each other through the Mormon grapevine and met on the internet.  Sara and Kate are their names and they are the cutest little things you will have ever set eyes on.  They are not shy about sharing moments that they've had with their husbands or kids, which is one of the many reasons why I have gravitated towards their blog - it is super entertaining. They usually post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  If we are lucky they'll through in something special like a giveaway or contest on one of their 'off' days.

Another reason that I like this blog so much is the content.  It is not just recipes that grace the pages of this blog - though it does contain a lot of them.  They also include crafts, printables, tips & tutorials (gardening, canning, taking trips with small kids, etc....), as well as decorating, gift, and entertaining ideas.  It really is a one stop shop for your basic down home family needs. 

Some of my favorite posts are the seasonal crafts and decorating ideas.  I instantly fell in love with the birthday balloon wreath and actually successfully created it myself. I have had many compliments on it and we hang it on our front door for every family member's birthday (see below).  They also post holiday menu ideas along with recipes which I have used on various occasions to put a little fun into our meals.  This year it inspired my Halloween menu which consisted of pumpkin grilled cheese, bloody spider web soup with spider croutons (inspired by spider web dip) and monster mouths (inspired by monster jaws). Even if you do not use their ideas as they are posted, it is sure to get your creative juices going so you can fit it into what you have on hand, like I did.

Here's proof - that I actually did make that wreath - isn't it awesome???:

 

The photos on this site have grown as the girls have grown in their styling skills.  I appreciate the step by step photos, for those of us a little less naturally inclined and need to "see" what is happening.  I especially like their end product photos for pinning.  They are beautiful.  The other photo I like seeing at the end of each post is that of each author.  It helps me put a writing to the face and I just like it.  I know that makes me a little bit strange because they have photos of themselves all over the place, but I think by now, but it is what it is, my friends.

There are some gluten free recipes on the blog, but the majority of them are not gluten free.  This is actually ok with me. I have successfully translated several of their recipes into gluten free ones with little trouble.  Some of them are the sugar cookies - we used the dough for cut outs last Christmas which were to die for and the regular rolls recipe, which also tasted quite good.  They posted a quick roll recipe this week that I plan on converting soon, so when I post it, I'll make sure to pay respects to these guys and their great recipes.

I am excited to share with you my rating for the Our Best Bites blog, take a look below using my scale of 1 - 10 (where 1 is the worstie, worst, worst, and 10 is the bestie, best, best):

Photos: 8
Writing Style: 10
Quality of Posts: 9
Frequency of Posts: 8
Overall Rating: 9

Please go and check out the Our Best Bites blog if you haven't already - you will not be sorry - I PROMISE!

Until next time.....
J.K. Sasse