I know the year isn’t over yet, but anyone with a blog or website knows that it’s always fascinating to look at the search terms that lead a person to your pages. When NOH was split up into a bunch of little blogs, I used to get all sorts of strange things leading to my pages. But now I’m excited to see that some people specially search for things like “noh biscuit recipe” (check out my awesome buttermilk & sour cream biscuits here). And the traffic has seriously tripled since the beginning of the year. It’s mind boggling.

But in case you’re new to NOH or you’re wondering what might have missed in the past that everyone is raving about, here’s the top 10 google searches of 2010 that brought people to No Ordinary Homestead. Maybe one of them even brought you here at some point! ๐Ÿ™‚

  1. thieves oil recipe — I love my essential oils, and thieves oil has a multitude of uses. Not only will it keep you healthy as a horse, but you can also use it to kill migraines (something I’ve been using it for more often lately) and help get rid of black mold.
  2. schweinebraten — Oh, my dear Steffi. Thank you again for making this for us and teaching me how to make it at the same time. Now I just need to get brave enough to ask our butcher if they can cut this piece of pork for me so I can try it myself. This is a typically Bavarian dish and oh my word is it heaven. I have done pretty well with making my own Weiner schnitzel but this I have yet to try.
  3. how to can potatoes – Oh so easy! Seriously. I collect the tiny potatoes left in the field after the harvester has gone through (they’re public domain here in Germany) and wash them, then can. It can be a bit mind numbering when you do a lot of jars but it really couldn’t be much more simple.
  4. homemade hand sanitizer — Another great use for essential oils to keep the germs at bay when you’re out and about.
  5. homesteading blogs — There are a lot of them out there…and I’m so happy to be one of them. But I also try to spread the link love by listing a few other favorite homesteading blogs I enjoy haunting.
  6. 5 bean baked beans — So good. I make these for Lantern Fest sometimes. And when we’re smoking brisket or ribs. Oh so tasty! Come back summer!!
  7. German red cabbage recipe — The Germans definitely know how to make it right!
  8. using a pizza stone — There’s really not much to it. But I did have to chuckle when a friend of mine sent me a Facebook message about using her pizza stone because she remembered I’d written something about it but she didn’t feel like googling. ๐Ÿ™‚
  9. how to make vanilla extract — This post blew up on reddit. Some foddies apparently go above and beyond when making their own vanilla. This is just a simple version that you can keep feeding over and over again, like sourdough starter.
  10. fajita seasoning from scratch — Germans don’t know anything about fajitas so getting the seasoning is tough. But I love using it for chicken quesadillas so I just learned how to make my own. And since it doesn’t have a bunch of extra preservatives or anything, and contains ingredients I always have in the house, I can’t see ever going back to store bought.

What’s been your favorite NOH post so far?