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

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

Cheesy Chicken Garlic Penne 

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

Barbecue Brisket Sandwiches

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

Seared Ahi Salad

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

Homemade Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

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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


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Barbecue Brisket Sandwiches

Tender smoked brisket tossed in barbecue sauce on a soft onion bun.

Cooking brisket isn't really a recipe.  It's more of a process.  You rub the brisket all over with a dry rub and cook it for a really long time until it's tender.  My husband loves the process on a Saturday or Sunday (usually during football season) he will prep the meat and let it sit in our smoker all day at about 200 F.  There is something about smoked meat that is just so good and the smell while it's cooking...Wow.

Barbecue Brisket Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 3-4 pound brisket
1/4-1/2 cup dry spice rub (store bought is fine we usually make our own with sea salt, black pepper, red pepper, and garlic powder)
1/2-1 cup barbecue sauce 
onion buns or sandwich bun of your choice

Rub the brisket all over with your favorite spice rub.  Let sit out a room temperature for about an hour then place the brisket straight on the rack of the smoker and walk away.  Check periodically to make sure the temperature doesn't get too high 200 F is the goal.

After 4-5 hours remove the brisket from the smoker and wrap in aluminum foil.  Place the wrapped brisket in a baking pan and put in the oven at 200 F over night (about 8 hours).

The next morning take the brisket out of the oven and put back on the smoker for a few more hours until tender.

Slice the brisket and toss in your favorite barbecue sauce.  Pile on top of an onion bun and enjoy.

*linked to:  much ado about monday, Hearth and Soul, In and Out of the Kitchen, Whimsy Wednesday, Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Best of the Weekend, Show Stopper Saturday, Shine a Spotlight Saturday, Saturday Night Fever

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