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Pioneer/Pirate Project: Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich
22
June
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A few of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, one recipe at a time.  Feel free to join in at any time.  The next assignment is at the end of this post.

(Oops…sorry…that pic is a bit blurry!)

I thought this sandwich would make a nice little Father’s Day meal, but wouldn’t you know our weekend was too busy to even think of cooking anything.  So I made these last night for a post-Father Day’s surprise.

And Big D loved them!

Actually, everyone did.  I guess you don’t have to be a man to enjoy this sandwich.  Paired with a nice fruit salad, it was a perfect summer supper.

I didn’t do anything different to the recipe, except that the buns I bought were a good bit smaller than the ones shown in the book.  I do think her suggestion of adding sliced mozzarella cheese would be nice.  I also like the mushroom idea, but I’d be the only one eating them if I did that.  I thought her use of butter was a little bit excessive.  I think next time I will replace the butter for cooking the meat with olive oil and not add any at all to the sauce.

Overall, this was a good recipe…one I will definitely make and serve again!

Did anyone else try this one out?  How did it go for you?  Did your family and/or friends love it as much as we did?

For our next recipe, let’s hop over to the Supper section of the book and make PW’s Creamy Mashed Potatoes, which can be found on pp. 146-148.  These are also on her website here.  Let’s make them by Monday, July 5 .  Start dieting now, people.  I’m sure the fat grams for this recipe are through the roof.

Happy mashing!

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , , , , ,  6 Comments
The (Green) Smoothie King
14
June
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I have struggled to get Cap’n Jack Henry to eat veggies.  I struggle almost as much to get him to eat fruit.  It’s not a flavor issue.  It’s a texture issue with him.  He will eat potatoes (including sweet), some corn, peas, bananas, applesauce, and canned mandarin oranges.  That’s it.  And if he’s tired of any of those particular things, which happens often, he’ll refuse those as well.  He likes meat.  He likes dairy.  He likes sugar.

About a month ago, Big D’s parents gave us a Blendtec blender, and it has given me the ability to completely pull a fast one over on ole’ Jack Henry.  Both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law introduced us to the idea of green smoothies.  The thought is to add a combination of greens, other vegetables, and fruits that taste good and kids will consume.  To be honest, I thought it would never happen, but if you view the picture above again, you will notice the concoction he’s drinking is indeed green.

This blend included avocado, spinach, orange juice, banana and strawberry.  He loved it and drank every drop.

I know that recently Jerry Seinfield’s wife wrote a book about  how to add veggies to a bunch of home-cooked dishes like mac and cheese and such in order to trick your kids into eating more healthfully.  But isn’t this easier? And more honest?  Just go ahead…let him eat his sliced turkey and his piece of colby-jack cheese.  He can then wash it all down with a green smoothie!

I’ve been adding some protein powder in varying amounts to our smoothies as well, which makes them more of a meal-replacement for me.  I like Spirutein, but there are many different brands out there.  Just read the labels carefully, especially when adding to your kids’ smoothies.

Now, let’s talk blenders…

Like I said, we have a Blendtec. 

 

(No, we are not showing this demo to Dirty Harry…)

 And we love it…but they are pricey.  The VitaMix is good as well, but just as pricey.  If you want to invest in one of these top of the line blenders, I would suggest haunting ebay or Craig’s list or even the classifieds of your local paper.  Of the more affordable brands, I believe that Cuisinart has the best reputation.  But I’ll bet that the blender you have on your shelf, no matter the make or model, can make a decent smoothie.  Read the instruction manual carefully and then experiment with small amounts to see what it can handle.  Sometimes it makes a difference with what order you add your ingredients.

I challenge you, if you have the means, whip up a veggie/fruit smoothie today!  Let me know if you come up with some yummy combos.  I’m always trying something new.

Happy blending!

Category: Grub, Kids in the Kitchen  Tags: , , ,  9 Comments
Cinnamon Rolls
08
June
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Some of my readers and I are cooking our ways through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  Feel free to join in at any point and share your cooking moments with us.  The next assignment is at the end of this post.

I am so ashamed.  I have yet to make these darn cinnamon rolls.  Yes, yes…there’s the whole rollingpinaphobia thing going on, but the real truth is that I simply have had a lot going on (as evidenced by my lack of posting over the last week!).  Every time I’ve planned to carve some time out to make them, it just hasn’t worked out.  But because I don’t want to abandon the Pioneer/Pirate Project completely, I am putting up this post so that those of you who made the cinnamon rolls can post about your experiences.  Then I when I finally get around to them, I can come back and update.  So did YOU make the darned rolls?  How did it go?  Tell all…

My blogging friend Sandpiper posted about her experience some time ago, accompanied by her beautiful photography.  Make sure you click this link and check out her yummy-looking goodies:  Sandpiper’s cinnamon rolls

I’m going to go ahead and give you a new assignment too.  I’m having fun with this project, despite my own personal speedbump of the cinnamon rolls.  Let’s move on to the Dinner (translation:  lunch) section of the book and try Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich on pp. 88-90.  This recipe is also on the Pioneer Woman’s site here, so join us even if you don’t have the book.  I’m a little afraid to make this because, from the looks of it, it could become Big D’s favorite sandwich as well, and when Big D has a favorite he wants it every week.  Let’s make these sandwiches by Friday, June 18.

Have fun, and again, sorry about the cinnamon rolls.  I promise…I WILL make them someday, with or without a rolling pin!

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , , ,  One Comment
Rollingpinaphobia
18
May
admin

Yesterday I was supposed to post about my experience of making The Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls as a part of my challenge to cook through her book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  I didn’t post it.  I didn’t post about my experience because it hasn’t happened yet.

For one reason, I forgot.  I had given an extra long due date last time, and time just got away from me.

Secondly, I’ve been really, really busy.  Which, ironically, was why I gave extra time to complete the assignment.  But apparently it was still not enough time.

Thirdly, I had planned to make them for this crew…

… for breakfast the morning after they stayed for a slumber party to celebrate Dirty Harry’s tenth birthday.  But I didn’t take into account that this crew would keep me pretty active taking them to a minor league baseball game, out for pizza, and awake until almost 3am for fear that they were going to throw one another over the bannister of my loft.  Homemade cinnamon rolls were not in my arsenal after a mere four hours of sleep. 

Fourthly, and most significantly, I’m afraid of rolling pins.  And cinnamon rolls require the use of a rolling pin.  However, I have enrolled in a rollingpinaphobia support group and am on my way to a healthy recovery.  Hopefully, I can post about my rolls later this week or early next week, and we can then all get on with our lives and the next butter-drenched recipe.

Thank you for your prayers and patience and understanding.  Rollingpinaphobia is a delicate and serious disorder.

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , , , ,  6 Comments
The Pioneer/Pirate Project: Pico de Gallo and Guacamole!!!
26
April
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Some of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  Feel free to join in with us at any time.  The next cooking assignment is at the end of this post.

Pico and guac…oh my!  These two foods make life all the more worth living.  Yummy in the highest!

I have a little confession about these recipes though:  Big D had made them once before.  But I didn’t cheat and just ride on his experience.  I bought what I needed.  I chopped.  I mixed.  I ate.  Oh, I ate.

Now, I need to tell you, guacamole is my favorite food on earth.  So, I already knew going into this, that I would like it.  I also already knew that if I didn’t love her recipe that I could tweak it and play with it until it was something I could enjoy.

First, I made the pico.  I am not a huge fan of raw onions, so I didn’t follow her exact formula for equal amounts of onion, tomato, and cilantro.  I used a whole small onion, and I chopped it pretty finely.  The smaller the better for me.  I also used a sweet onion, which to me, is less offensive as far as onions go.  And then I had a lot more tomato in my ratios.  And I loved it!  Then I used three avocados and added a generous portion of the pico to it.  I really thought I might add some garlic, because I use it in my old stand-by recipe, but it didn’t really need it.  It was yummy just the way it was.

I made a simple version of nachos for dinner (pictured above).  Just tortilla chips, melted cheese, taco-seasoned ground beef, pico, guac, and sour cream.  It was soooooooo good.  We’ve had it one other time since then, with chicken instead of the beef.  Just as good.

Trust me….if you like this type of food, you will like these recipes.  Go ahead and try them.  You know you want to.

Did you make these condiments?  How did it go for you?  Let’s dish (pun intended) in the comment section!

For our next assignment, we’re back to the breakfast section.  Alright…let’s get it over with.  Let’s try the Cinnamon Rolls, pp. 36-39.  I’ve been both dreading and looking forward to this recipe.  Dreading because they look difficult and time-consuming and messy.  Anticipating because I want one.

I’ve got a busy, busy, busy few weeks coming up, so I’m going to give you until Tuesday, May 18 to make these.  So go ahead and start looking for your rolling pin.

(Oh, and these are on her website here, so you can make them even if you don’t have the book.  No excuses.  Make the cinnamon rolls.)

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , , , , , ,  10 Comments
P/P Project: Macaroni and Cheese
13
April
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A few of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, one recipe at a time.  Feel free to join in this culinary adventure any time.  The next assignment will be at the end of this post.

Mmmmmmm….Mac and cheese!  Is there any more perfect food?  I am a big fan of a mac and cheese, from Kraft to Cracker Barrel to my own crock pot concoctions, so this recipe was an easy sell for me.

I loved this recipe!  I was a little skeptical when I saw all the steps and all that whisking you had to do to make the sauce, but it really turned out to be much easier than it seemed at first.  It was flavorful and had a good texture and was just plain delicious. I only made one slight variation.  I was out of ground mustard, so I made the substitution of just using regular French’s mustard from the bottle.  I even looked it up on-line to make sure I had the correct measurements.  I’m glad I went to the trouble because I thought the mustard flavor was distinct and made this dish a little unique.  One thing I might like to experiment with in the future is the cheese.  I used sharp cheddar, but I think a combo of two or three different kinds might make it a tad more gourmet and interesting.

Everyone here liked it, including Big D, who is not all that into macaroni and cheese.  Thankfully, it has not been a point of contention in our marriage.  He said if he had to have mac and cheese that it might as well be this dish.  Good enough for me!

So, what did you all think?  Special?  So-so?  Make any changes?  Would you make it again or go back to your old stand-by?  Talk to me about your mac and cheese!

For our next assignment we’re going back to the beginning, to the starter section of the book.  Let’s make the Pico de Gallo on pps. 16-17, and then, if you want to, go ahead and try the Guacamole on pps. 20-21, since all you do for that one is add the pico to mashed avocados.  Fresh produce is very plentiful around here right now, so I thought this was as good a time as any to go ahead make this tasty treat! Let’s get this on our tables by Monday, April 26.

(Both of these recipes are found on PW’s site here, so feel free to join in even if you don’t have the book!)

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , ,  9 Comments
P/P Project: Chicken Fried Steak
31
March
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Some of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s (aka The Pioneer Woman) cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  We’d love to have you join us as we mess up our kitchens and put on the pounds!  Join us any time!  The next assignment is at the end of this post.

Wow…this was a yummy, albeit fattening, experience!

Overall, this recipe went pretty well for me.  I decided to go with PW’s advice and set up an assembly line for dipping and dredging the cube steak.  I liked the fact that I had all of the simple ingredients on-hand, except for the meat.

So far, so good…

My only complaint so far is that I think the recipe called for waaaaay too much flour.  I bought just under 3 lbs. of cube steak (which was six steaks, by the way), and even after dredging them twice, I threw probably a good cup and half away.

In frying up the steaks, the crust seemed done, if not a little overly done on the second side, after about three minutes.  I put the steaks in a 9×13 pan and kept them in a warm oven while I made the gravy.  For the gravy, I didn’t have nearly as much grease as she did pictured in the book, but I had the 1/4 c. needed, so I started the process.  I found it much too thick with just two cups of milk, so I ended up adding a good bit more.  How much more?  I have no idea, since I was just pouring straight from the jug, but I’d say at least a cup.

I opted to not do mashed potatoes, as was strongly suggested in the book, mainly because I was out of potatoes.  I went with rice and a salad…

It tasted amazing, I thought.  Dirty Harry was the only one of our bunch who didn’t really care for it.  The only downside was that the middles of almost all the steaks were not done enough.  Next time I will heat the pan to only medium and let them fry a little longer.  I think this will also help with the lack of grease issue that I had earlier on.

While this isn’t something I would fix often, so as to not raise our cholesterol to dangerous levels, I will fix this again.  It reminds me of something my grandma would have made.  Mmmmm-mmmmm!

So, did you make a batch of chicken fried steak?  How did it go for you?  Like?  Dislike?  Raise your blood pressure?  Clog your arteries?  Make any variations?  Tell all!  Enquiring minds want to know!

For our next assignment, I’m going a little out of order.  (Yes, I have an order.  I’ve been mostly going through the various sections…Starters, Breakfast, Dinner, etc….in order and picking a recipe.)  I’m going back to the Dinner (read:  lunch) section to try her Macaroni and Cheese.  I usually make a version of mac and cheese for Easter, so this was a good fit for me.  But I’ll still give you a couple of weeks to get this on your tables.  I’ll post about this recipe on April 12.  You can find it on pp. 96-97.  This is a recipe she also has on her site here, so maybe some of you who do not own the cookbook can join us this time.

Happy cookin’!

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , , ,  7 Comments
P/P Project: Simple, Perfect Chili
16
March
admin

A few of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, one recipe at a time.  Feel free to join us!  The next assignment will be at the end of this post.

Yum….chili!  The perfect comfort food.

I made this for a weeknight meal about a week or so ago, and it turned it just fine.  It was fairly simple to pull together, so I guess it was aptly named.  It had a mild flavor that makes it suitable for kids…even Cap’n Jack Henry ate some!  And it is customizable in that you can throw in or omit ingredients according to your family’s personal preferences.

All in all, this recipe is fairly similar flavor-wise to my old standby.  Mine is a tad more practical for me though because I make it in the crock pot.  I usually throw it together a little before lunch time, and then it’s ready for us to eat by about 6:00.  I also missed the presence of the fresh vegetables that I use in mine.  I always include chopped onion, green bell pepper and celery.  One addition I liked of the Pioneer Woman’s that I will probably add to mine from now on was the use of mesa flour.  If I had one complaint about my recipe, it was that it was a tad on the runny side sometimes.  The mesa does a good, flavorful job of thickening the texture.  I think, even in the crock pot, if added towards the end of the cooking cycle, it would make my concoction thicker and heartier.  I also added some canned beans.  I chose one can of pinto and one can of black since Big D doesn’t care for kidney.  I also added a can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Here’s a shot of the Pirate Family enjoying our chili dinner…

Please excuse Bonny Annie’s tank top.  She was leaving for her TaeKwonDo class and didn’t want to eat in her uniform jacket.

So, did you all make a pot of chili?  What did you think?  How did it compare to your usual recipe?  You can still send some pictures or links to your blog of your chili experience.

Our next assignment is from the Supper section:  Chicken Fried Steak on pages 142-145.  This is not something I have ever cooked or would even normally order at restaurant, so this should be interesting…  Have fun!

Update:  Oops!  I forgot to put a due date.  Please have your chicken fried steak prepared by Tuesday, Mar.30….that’s when I’ll post about this dish!

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , ,  5 Comments
P/P Project: Buttermilk Biscuits
02
March
admin

I and a few of my readers are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  We’re calling the endeavor “The Pioneer/Pirate Project.”  Feel free to join in any time and discuss your exploits in the comments with us.  The next assignment is at the bottom of this post.

My biggest fear at this point is that after posting this and last month’s Red Velvet debacle, that you all will deduce that I cannot cook.  I can cook.  Promise.  Or maybe my overuse of the crockpot has just deceived myself into thinking I can cook.  Hmmm…but I have had a difficult time with these two recipes, but I think, with this week’s recipe especially, that I’ve learned a bit, and that, my friends, is the whole point in this project.

I am always fascinated with ingredients, and how those ingredients work together to make the finished product.

I mean how in the world did someone, long ago, even come up with biscuits?   Things like that are a mystery to me.

So anyway…so far, so good.  My dry ingredients were all mixed together, and I add the shortening and the cold butter pieces.  And speaking of shortening, I bought a new container, and it was nice and white and creamy and free from any funky aftertaste.

Then I started cutting them together using my grandma’s old pastry cutter.  I love that her hands once held tightly to that handle, rubbing the red paint off over time, making biscuits and other yummy things.

I was starting to get the feeling at this point that there was too much flour because I couldn’t tell if the butter and shortening were getting evenly distributed, and the dough didn’t seem crumbly enough to me.  I went ahead anyhow and added the buttermilk and mixed.  When I turned the dough out onto the cutting board though, it seemed way too dry to me, so I added another splash of buttermilk.  That seemed to help.

I don’t have a biscuit cutter or even a round cookie cutter, so I used a dinner glass.

I think these must be a good bit bigger than a biscuit cutter because I only got 14 biscuits out of this recipe that claims it will make 18-24.  I also think, even though my dough was probably rolled out to about 1/2 an inch that this was too thin.  They didn’t rise well and got too brown, I think.

I baked them for the minimum time listed of  nine minutes.  Next time I would probably reduce that to between seven and eight and take a peek then.

Interestingly, they weren’t as bad as they looked.  The inside was flaky and flavorful, and my family actually enjoyed them.  Next time I just need to leave the dough thicker and invest in a biscuit cutter, and I think I’m in business.

Or I just need to open a can of Pillsbury.  Seriously…that is a good bit of work for something that can be done quite conveniently and cost-effectively by buying a roll of pre-made dough.  But still…I’m willing to give it another shot.  I am a Southern woman afterall.  I should know how to make biscuits.  But if I don’t ever figure it out, thankfully I only live about ten minutes from a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

I didn’t receive any photos from others this time.  If you just forgot, go ahead and send them.  It’s easy to add them in.  Did anyone else try these?  How did it go?  What did you think?

***Update***  One reader posted about her biscuits on her blog. Check out Angela’s experience….http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jasonangela93/768896/?#c1394168

Our next assignment is from the Dinner/Lunch section.  We’re going to make the Simple, Perfect Chili on pps. 82-83.  I already have a really good, stand-by chili recipe, so it will be interesting to compare.  And it really does look simple, so if I mess this one up, I’m turning in my apron.  You have until March 15 to make yourself a pot, and if you’re like us here in Tennessee, it is still plenty cold enough for some chili!  Have fun!

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , , ,  9 Comments
P/P Project: Red Velvet Cake
18
February
admin

A few of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  We’d love to have you join in with us.  Jump in any time, cook the recipe, and then come discuss it here on the comments section of  my blog.

Don’t let the above picture fool you.  This recipe, for me, was a disaster.  But I’m pretty sure it was my fault, and not PW’s.  Allow me to explain.

First of all, despite the misleading heart I put on top of my cake, I did not bake this over Valentine’s weekend.  No, I baked it about two hours ago.  Valentine’s turned out to be a lot busier than I anticipated, and then this week has been busy too with Jack Henry having his first head cold and all of us trying to make preparations to make a quick trip this weekend.  So, knowing I needed to get this posted today, I was rushed, and I’m blaming baby snot for it.

Secondly, I think my shortening was a little on the old side.  I had just used it before Christmas, so I don’t think it was detrimentally so, but it did look a little glossier than I think it should.  I threw the tub away after I made the cake, but by the time I realized it had seen better days, Jack Henry was napping, and Bonny Annie was at her tutorial, so a grocery run was not a prospect at the moment.

Thirdly, I had a headache.  I think it was because I colored my hair last night, and I always get a little bit of one when I do that.  I am more than likely giving myself a brain tumor for the sake of vanity concerning a handful of white hairs.  But, regardless, by the time I was finished I just felt like I was throwing ingredients everywhere and not really baking with purpose.

I think that’s all, but I’ll let you know if I can think up any more reasons that this cake kinda failed for me.

This is the kind of recipe that will totally trash your kitchen.  By the time I was finished, every single counter was covered with baking paraphernalia.

I pretty much stuck to the recipe, with just a few minor changes.  I used plain, old all-purpose flour and not cake flour.  My Publix apparently doesn’t carry cake flour, and that’s where I made a quick grocery run yesterday afternoon. 

I have no idea how much red food coloring I used.  I didn’t have the liquid kind on hand.  I had the gel kind that comes in little tubes, and the tube wasn’t full.  This accounts for the lighter pink color of my cake.

The only other variation was, like I said, using shortening that was a little “off.”  This may account for the slight aftertaste that I think my cake has.  It’s slight, but it’s there.

I had to bake my cakes for about ten minutes longer than the book calls for.  When I checked them at 20 minutes, there was still wet batter on my cake tester.  Then I think the outsides got a little too brown.  Then they stuck a little in the pans too, even though I let them cool longer than the 20 minutes that was called for…

Nothing terribly tragic, and they frosted up just fine.  The icing, I thought, was really good, but then how can you go wrong with cream cheese icing?

Overall, the cake tasted okay.  Dirty Harry was the only one available to taste-test, and he gave it a thumbs-up…but then he’s a nine year-old boy who is having a piece of cake before his lunch, so he’s perhaps not the best critic.  After a few more people have tasted it, I’ll let you know in the comments.

My sister-in-law, Susan, sent me these sweet pictures of her baking experience…

 

As you can see, she opted to make cupcakes, and I’ll let her share the details of that  in the comments section.

So, how did it go for all of you?  Did you whip it out for Valentines Day?  Are the ingredients still in your pantry?  Weigh in below and let us all know…

For our next assignment, we’re going to the “In the Morning” section.  Let’s get back to the basics and try the Buttermilk Biscuits on pages 44-45.  I’m going to skip all of next week and give you until Monday, March 1 to cook up a batch of these babies.   Have fun! 

Category: Grub, Pioneer/Pirate Project  Tags: , , , , ,  11 Comments
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