Best of the Month February 2015

A recap of my most popular posts from February 2015.

This month (February) I added a most pinned widget to the header of my blog.  I must say, it's pretty cool.  Blogger doesn't have an already prepared widget so I had to look through Pinterest, find my most pinned pictures, then write the html for this widget.  I used many different websites to get instructions to put it together and whenever I had a question I just googled it.  I'm super excited about my results and it seems to be useful.  The goal is to keep visitors interested and on my site longer (once I get better with analytics I'll let you know if it's working).  Most importantly I love the way it looks and I'm proud I made it myself.

I'm still posting to link parties regularly and to google+, facebook, and twitter. I'm gaining followers on all platforms and my page views are increasing.  I'll never know everything about blogging, it changes so much, but I'm getting more familiar with many aspects.  Most importantly I'm still having fun.

Now on to the best of the month:

Last year's most viewed of February:

Baked Potato Salad

A potato salad side dish made with baked red potatoes, celery, and dill.  Now has 219 views and 44 +1s.

#Bestofthemonth February: Baked Potato Salad -Last years best of February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Now this February's most viewed:

How to Make a Great Baked Potato

Baked potatoes are a simple and tasty side to any meal. They can even be a great meal all on there own. 356 views and 21 +1s.

How to Make a Great #BakedPotato | #Bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb

Delicious lamb leg roast seasoned with herbs and spices. Makes a great holiday, or romantic, dinner. 327 views and 37 +1s.

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Meatball Calzones

Hot gooey cheese and meatballs folded inside a soft and chewy pizza crust. 300 views and 70 +1s.

#Meatball #Calzones | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Lamb Salad

 

A green salad topped with leftover Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb, olives, tomatoes, and feta. 290 views and 39 +1s.

#Lamb #Salad | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Rye Yeast Rolls

Soft and fluffy yeast rolls made with rye flour, onions, and caraway seeds. 289 views and 56 +1s.

#Rye #YeastRolls | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Check out last year's best of February:

Linked to:  Show Off, Best of the Weekend, Pretty Pintastic, Treasure Box, 2 Cup, LouLou Girls, Teach Me, Tasty, Tickle my Tastebuds, Full Plate, Cook Craft Share, Freedom, FoodieFriends

Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

Read more ...

Best of the Month February 2014

A look back at my most popular posts from February.

February is such a short month.  I know it only a few days shorter than most months but it seems to fly by.  I have been posting only on Mondays and Fridays with Great Idea Thursdays on Wednesdays.  This schedule works for me and I don't feel burnt out as often.  By the end of last year and the beginning of this year I spent days where I didn't even feel like opening my computer much less blogging or dealing with social media.  I'm slowly getting back to being excited about blogging again (after all this should be fun, it's a hobby, I don't make money from my blog it shouldn't feel like work).

So with only 2 original posts per week I don't have as many posts to sort through at the end of the month and this ends up as more of a monthly recap than a 'best of' but I still like to look back and see how all my posts did last month and from previous months.  So I will continue with these and I hope you, my readers, enjoy.

Baked Potato Salad

Pin it

A potato salad side dish made with baked red potatoes, celery, and dill.  131 views and 46 +1s.

Cheesy Chicken Garlic Penne 

Pin it

A pasta dish made with chicken, garlic, and cheese in a white wine sauce.  124 views and 23 +1s.

Barbecue Brisket Sandwiches

Pin it

Tender smoked brisket tossed in barbecue sauce on a soft onion bun. 122 views and 39 +1s.

Seared Ahi Salad

Pin it:

Strips of seared tuna atop a green salad tossed in an Asian vinaigrette.  118 views and 42 +1s.

Homemade Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

Pin it:

A great cold weather breakfast of  warm, creamy oatmeal sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup.  91 views and 12 +1s.

Linked to:  Random Recipe Roundup, Much Ado About Monday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Brag About It, Whimsy Wednesday, Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper, Saturday Night Fever


Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

Read more ...

Baked Potato Salad

A potato salad side dish made with baked red potatoes, celery, and dill.

I really like potato salad but I don't make it very often.  The main deterrent for me is boiling the pieces of potato.  I'm not able to get around very easily and it is really difficult/dangerous for me to lift and carry large pots of boiling water.  When I'm making a pasta dish the pasta can wait til just before serving to be cooked and I get my husband to do it.  With potato salad I like to get it cooked and refrigerated for at least an hour before we eat so I'm usually preparing it before my husband gets home.  So this time I decided to bake my potatoes instead of boiling.  I just put the whole potatoes in the oven to bake but I believe this would be just as good and maybe less time consuming if you cut up the potatoes.  You can also bake the potatoes the day before and refrigerate until ready to put the salad together.  I really liked the texture of the baked red potatoes more than boiled.  The interior was very smooth and creamy but did not fall apart as well as the potato skin had more texture.  This is my new favorite potato salad.

Baked Potato Salad

Ingredients:

8-12 medium-small red potatoes
1 cup celery, diced
1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 Tbsp mustard
dried dill to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Wash/scrub the potatoes.  Toss the potatoes in a little olive oil until thoroughly coated and sprinkle with sea salt.  Place the potatoes on a sheet pan and bake at 350-400F for 1 hour.  Allow to cool thoroughly.

Chop the cooled potatoes into bite sized pieces.

Toss everything together in a large bowl (I usually try to use less mayo, and I just sprinkled on dried dill until I was happy maybe about a teaspoon worth).

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve cold.  Makes 4-6 servings.

Enjoy.

*linked to:  much ado about monday, In and Out of the Kitchen

Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

Read more ...