I love my annual tradition of sharing the year’s favorite recipes from my food column.

Last week, I looked at my 2020 columns in newspaper archives.

I didn’t write as many columns this year because my duties in the newsroom were a little different from time to time, but there were still plenty, I think.

Here are some of my favorites:

Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken

This has become a family favorite. I keep the recipe on my refrigerator for easy access because I make it so often.

2 1/2 pounds (more or less) boneless chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces (not too small)

2 bell peppers (I use a variety of colors, including red, green, yellow or orange) cut into chunks or strips

1 20-ounce can pineapple chunks (I use pineapple in its own juice, not syrup; reserve juice for the teriyaki sauce)

Olive oil

TERIYAKI SAUCE

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1 to 2 cloves or garlic, minced

Sprinkle or two of ground ginger (I don’t measure)

3 tablespoons honey

Splash of pineapple juice from the can of pineapple

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Drizzle a little olive oil on a large sheet pan. Add chicken, peppers and pineapple and toss to spread the olive oil.

In a small bowl, add cornstarch and brown sugar and stir well to combine; I use a fork. Add in soy sauce, garlic, ground ginger, honey and pineapple juice. Stir to combine.

Slowly pour the sauce over the chicken mixture. Gently stir ingredients to coat with the teriyaki sauce. (You could mix it all together in a bowl, then add to pan.)

Cook at 425 degrees for 25 minutes until chicken is done. I bumped up the temperature to 450 in the last 5-10 minutes so the chicken would brown more.

Serve with rice or fried rice.

Cheesy Pizza Squares

1 can refrigerated pizza dough

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese (I used 1 cup; it was plenty)

Turkey pepperoni, Canadian bacon or cooked meat of choice

2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup green pepper, diced

1 teaspoon oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press pizza dough into 15X10-inch sheet pan. Bake for 12 minutes; remove from oven and spread ricotta cheese over crust. Top with mozzarella cheese, meat, tomatoes, bell pepper and oregano. Return to oven and bake for six minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into squares and serve.

North Dakota State University Extension

Freezer Oatmeal Cups

5 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups regular rolled oats

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup dried cranberries or tart cherries, raisins and/or snipped dried apricots or pitted whole dates*

1 cup fresh blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and/or chopped strawberries

1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds, walnuts and/or pecans

Milk (optional) In a medium saucepan bring the water and salt to boiling; stir in oats. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (mixture will be very thin). Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Transfer to a bowl; cover and chill until cool (mixture will thicken as it cools). Stir in dried fruit if using.

Grease 12 2 1/2-inch muffin cups. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the oatmeal into each prepared muffin cup. Sprinkle with fresh berries and nuts; press lightly. Cover and freeze 6 hours or until firm.

Let stand at room temperature 5 minutes. Transfer oatmeal cups to freezer bags or airtight containers. Freeze up to 3 months.

To serve, in a small bowl microwave one frozen oatmeal cup at a time, covered, 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring once. Stir before serving. If desired, stir in milk.

* I changed this a little. I didn’t use any dried fruit. Instead, I stirred in 1 cup each of blueberries and chopped fresh peaches and strawberries. I didn’t add extra fruit to the top, but I did add pecans. Next time, I’ll probably use peaches and blueberries only and experiment with apples. The strawberries resulted in a lot of extra liquid. I also didn’t cover the frozen oatmeal when I microwaved it.

Better Homes & Gardens

Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs

I used a combination of chicken thighs and chicken legs for this delicious main course.

6 chicken thighs, whole bone-in skin-on

5 cloves garlic (I used 2 large cloves)

1 lemon, whole large

1 onion, whole medium

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

6 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup white wine (optional; can use extra chicken broth)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat.

Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides in flour. Add them, skin side down, to the pan and cook them, shaking and moving them around the pan, until the skin is golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn them to the other side and cook for another couple of minutes, then remove them to a plate. If there is excess grease, pour off all but about 1/4 cup.

Add the onions and garlic to the pan and stir to cook, about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine (or extra chicken broth), then stir and let it reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth, along with half the lemon zest. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper, and let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring continually.

Nestle the chicken thighs back into the pan, skin side up. (They should not be submerged; the liquid should come up about halfway up the sides of the chicken.) Place the lid on the skillet (if you’re using an iron skillet without a lid, you can invert a second skillet on top) and place it in the oven. Let it cook in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the lid, then spoon the sauce onto each chicken thigh. Continue cooking in the oven with the lid off for 15 minutes, making sure it doesn’t get too brown.

The Pioneer Woman

Brownies with Caramel

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons water or milk

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup self-rising flour

3/4 cup Nestle sea salt caramel truffles (or any other kind of baking chip)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare an 8X8-inch square pan with baking spray.

In medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and water or milk. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Take pan off heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth, then mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir flour into chocolate mixture, then gently stir in caramel truffles. Spread brownies into prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool only slightly before serving if you want them warm. Warm brownies are delicious with vanilla ice cream.