Pioneer Preteen in training
Hey yall!
As most of you may have read in a previous blog, one of my resolutions for 2018 is to cook my way through my new Pioneer Woman cookbook!!
As we wrap up the first month on 2018, I wanted to share with you my efforts thus far!
"Come and Get It!" is my textbook for the course. The assignment is 120 recipes in 52 weeks. That comes out to a recipe about every 3 days. I have created my own syllabus and have divided the recipes up into weeks. Some weeks will have 2 recipes and some will have 3. With this method, I should finish by the stroke of midnight on December 31st! ( ok, maybe not quite that dramatic!) Now, I am NO Ree Drummond. I can't hold a candle to that gal, so I am calling myself the Pioneer Preteen. I am in training, and I hope to progress to adult status by the end of the year, lol! Here goes nothing...
Jan 1st- Slow Cooker "Pot" of Beans
I give this recipe two thumbs up!! It was a great recipe to start this journey out with. Instead of using the suggested pinto beans, I used black eyed peas, because it was January 1st, and I can use all the luck I can get! I have attempted to make black eyed peas on past New Year's Days gone by, and they never quite turned out right. I followed Ree's steps to a T, even chopping up an onion and putting it right in there. My family is a big believer in onion powder, we do not like the consistency of onions in things, but we love the flavor.... or so I thought. The onion mixed with the spices I would have never used because I don't even know what they are used for.... DELICIOUS! We had the black eyed peas with corn bread and collard greens. It started our year off with a bang!
Jan 4th- Smothered Pork Chops
Ok, this one looked too delicious not to try out. I must admit that it took me way out of my comfort zone though. I am not a big fan of pork. I don't really enjoy ham, pork chops, even bacon is not really my cup of tea. Then when it came time to add the onions and bell peppers to the mix AND made a gravy... I was nervous. Especially about the gravy. I attempted to make the Pioneer Woman's gravy for Thanksgiving this year and it was a hot mess (literally). However, I was all in. So I followed the steps, and when I started putting all those beautiful colors from the peppers into the skillet, I was in heaven. The smell and the vision was just so pleasing. As I attempted to cook the chops according to her directions, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I don't know what pork is supposed to look like when it is done or it is over done, so I over did it a bit. My sweet husband chowed down anyway. The gravy was yummy, the peppers were great, and I actually really enjoyed the flavor of the pork chops. We served this with Mrs. Drummond's yummy mashed potato recipe that you finish off in the oven ( a BIG hit in my house), and some yummy dinner rolls. I would definitely make this dish again.
Jan 8th- Overnight Muesli
This recipe gives me a little giggle as I look back on it. First of all, I don't even know how to pronounce the name of this recipe? (Muse-lee? Moose-lee? I dunno). Second of all, it calls for chia seeds and flaxseed, which I really wanted to add in, but one look at the cost of those babies, and I decided I could do without, haha. And then, the night that I fixed this, I chose the next morning because I was heading out to a conference/preview for Vacation Bible School around 10 that morning. I thought I was being so smart by choosing this as a quick breakfast that would be ready to go, so I could grab it and go. Except when the morning came... I forgot to grab it, haha. So although this was meant to be a breakfast recipe, it ended up being a midnight snack. And it got to soak extra long, haha. I put it all together on a Thursday night and didn't get to taste it until Saturday night. It was yummy!! I am excited at the idea of making different combinations for my Moose-lee, haha. I will definitely be trying this again and I for see some fun with the kiddos, too!
Jan 11th- Shortcut Ravioli and Quick and Easy Garlic Rolls
Italian night!! I tried to make the dinner type meals on Thursday nights because that is the only night that my hubs actually gets to eat dinner with us! Treat yo man, yall. Haha. Anyway, cheese ravioli is one of his favorite dishes, so I decided it would be a good recipe to try. And what is better than garlic bread when you are having Italian food?!?! Ok, so the recipe sounded eacy enough, who doesn't love a short cut? Using wonton wrappers instead of ravioli pasta, boiling and serving. Well, sure enough, my ravioli looked just like the picture.... unfortunately it was NOT a hit in my house. The wonton/pasta thing was kinda slimy and my hubs tried one and wasn't loving it. So we switched it up! Instead of boiling the ravioli, we decided to break out the oil and fry those babies up! We drizzled some alfredo sauce on top ( I would have rather done spaghetti sauce, but alfredo was all we had) and we made shortcut FRIED ravioli. The garlic rolls came out AMAZING! I used a loaf of French bread, which was one of her suggestions at the bottom of the recipe if you wanted to change things up, and even my pickiest of children said it was the best garlic bread she ever had! Winning!
Jan 25th- Mini Sausage Casserole & Cap'n Crunch Chicken Strips
I took a little week hiatus because, to be honest, we didn't have enough money to buy ingredients, haha. We had a week of hot dog casserole, mac and cheese, and PB&J sandwiches for dinner, but as soon as I could, I got back to it. My sweet husband has been taking our kiddos to school all week, allowing me to get some extra sleep, so I decided to treat him. You know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! So after letting him catch a morning nap, I woke him up to a yummy brunch with pancakes and these mini casseroles. I will for sure be making these yummy guys again! Again, I was hesitant to chop up those onion and put them in the sausage for fear of biting in and getting a big ol oniony crunch. But I did it anyway, and I am so glad I did! The flavor was to die for! Coupled with the spices she calls for, including just enough chili powder to give it that yummy kick. It was a hit! I over filled my muffin tin, so I did have a big of a egg spillage issue... so now I need to get in there and clean out my oven, which to be honest, I have never cleaned an oven before! Is that terrible? It is, I know it is... anyway, the brunch was a hit! We wrapped up the day with Cap'n Crunch chicken strips... yeah like as in the cereal. Weird, I know. But if I have learned anything thus far in my journey, trust the Pioneer Woman. So my 2 year old and I measured out the Cap'n Crunch and mashed those pieces up in a sort of breading. Now, my kids LOVE chicken strips, and they are very picky when it comes to fried chicken. They were a little disappointed when they heard that we were having fried chicken but it wasn't MY fried chicken ( I have trained them well... haha jk). I think 3 out of the 4 were pleasantly surprised with the new chicken strips. My husband really liked the little sweetness the cereal added to it. I enjoyed it! I served the chicken strips with dinner rolls, oven potatoes, and a salad with buttermilk ranch dressing made from the package (YUUUMMM). I also whipped up some of my famous (in my house) dipping sauce to dip the chicken in. It was one yummy meal!
Jan 26th- Milk Chocolate Mousse
TGIF! What better way to celebrate the start of a weekend than with CHOCOLATE!! My two youngest kiddos were excited to make this with me. This was my first time to make homemade whipped cream, too! (YUM!) we were eating that stuff right out of the bowl, forget the chocolate! Haha. I had a little trouble with melting the chocolate. I followed her idea of using a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water to create your own double boiler. It was a little rocky, but we got the chocolate melted. I also had a little trouble with the folding. I think my chocolate to whipped cream ration was off and it ended up being more chocolatey than it should have been. Whatever the case, it was pretty yummy. I'm thinking I may attempt to put the leftovers in the freezer and see how it comes out because my big kids were saying it tasted like chocolate ice cream. It was a hit, and very rich, sugary, chocolatey hit!
There is my update! Coming soon is Slow Cooker Broccoli and Cheese Soup (hubs is excited for this one!) and BBQ Chicken Wings for the Super Bowl! (Go Eagles!!)
Hope you enjoyed!
8 recipes down 112 to go..
Love yall, Candi
As most of you may have read in a previous blog, one of my resolutions for 2018 is to cook my way through my new Pioneer Woman cookbook!!
As we wrap up the first month on 2018, I wanted to share with you my efforts thus far!
"Come and Get It!" is my textbook for the course. The assignment is 120 recipes in 52 weeks. That comes out to a recipe about every 3 days. I have created my own syllabus and have divided the recipes up into weeks. Some weeks will have 2 recipes and some will have 3. With this method, I should finish by the stroke of midnight on December 31st! ( ok, maybe not quite that dramatic!) Now, I am NO Ree Drummond. I can't hold a candle to that gal, so I am calling myself the Pioneer Preteen. I am in training, and I hope to progress to adult status by the end of the year, lol! Here goes nothing...
Jan 1st- Slow Cooker "Pot" of Beans
I give this recipe two thumbs up!! It was a great recipe to start this journey out with. Instead of using the suggested pinto beans, I used black eyed peas, because it was January 1st, and I can use all the luck I can get! I have attempted to make black eyed peas on past New Year's Days gone by, and they never quite turned out right. I followed Ree's steps to a T, even chopping up an onion and putting it right in there. My family is a big believer in onion powder, we do not like the consistency of onions in things, but we love the flavor.... or so I thought. The onion mixed with the spices I would have never used because I don't even know what they are used for.... DELICIOUS! We had the black eyed peas with corn bread and collard greens. It started our year off with a bang!
Jan 4th- Smothered Pork Chops
Ok, this one looked too delicious not to try out. I must admit that it took me way out of my comfort zone though. I am not a big fan of pork. I don't really enjoy ham, pork chops, even bacon is not really my cup of tea. Then when it came time to add the onions and bell peppers to the mix AND made a gravy... I was nervous. Especially about the gravy. I attempted to make the Pioneer Woman's gravy for Thanksgiving this year and it was a hot mess (literally). However, I was all in. So I followed the steps, and when I started putting all those beautiful colors from the peppers into the skillet, I was in heaven. The smell and the vision was just so pleasing. As I attempted to cook the chops according to her directions, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I don't know what pork is supposed to look like when it is done or it is over done, so I over did it a bit. My sweet husband chowed down anyway. The gravy was yummy, the peppers were great, and I actually really enjoyed the flavor of the pork chops. We served this with Mrs. Drummond's yummy mashed potato recipe that you finish off in the oven ( a BIG hit in my house), and some yummy dinner rolls. I would definitely make this dish again.
Jan 8th- Overnight Muesli
This recipe gives me a little giggle as I look back on it. First of all, I don't even know how to pronounce the name of this recipe? (Muse-lee? Moose-lee? I dunno). Second of all, it calls for chia seeds and flaxseed, which I really wanted to add in, but one look at the cost of those babies, and I decided I could do without, haha. And then, the night that I fixed this, I chose the next morning because I was heading out to a conference/preview for Vacation Bible School around 10 that morning. I thought I was being so smart by choosing this as a quick breakfast that would be ready to go, so I could grab it and go. Except when the morning came... I forgot to grab it, haha. So although this was meant to be a breakfast recipe, it ended up being a midnight snack. And it got to soak extra long, haha. I put it all together on a Thursday night and didn't get to taste it until Saturday night. It was yummy!! I am excited at the idea of making different combinations for my Moose-lee, haha. I will definitely be trying this again and I for see some fun with the kiddos, too!
Jan 11th- Shortcut Ravioli and Quick and Easy Garlic Rolls
Italian night!! I tried to make the dinner type meals on Thursday nights because that is the only night that my hubs actually gets to eat dinner with us! Treat yo man, yall. Haha. Anyway, cheese ravioli is one of his favorite dishes, so I decided it would be a good recipe to try. And what is better than garlic bread when you are having Italian food?!?! Ok, so the recipe sounded eacy enough, who doesn't love a short cut? Using wonton wrappers instead of ravioli pasta, boiling and serving. Well, sure enough, my ravioli looked just like the picture.... unfortunately it was NOT a hit in my house. The wonton/pasta thing was kinda slimy and my hubs tried one and wasn't loving it. So we switched it up! Instead of boiling the ravioli, we decided to break out the oil and fry those babies up! We drizzled some alfredo sauce on top ( I would have rather done spaghetti sauce, but alfredo was all we had) and we made shortcut FRIED ravioli. The garlic rolls came out AMAZING! I used a loaf of French bread, which was one of her suggestions at the bottom of the recipe if you wanted to change things up, and even my pickiest of children said it was the best garlic bread she ever had! Winning!
Jan 25th- Mini Sausage Casserole & Cap'n Crunch Chicken Strips
I took a little week hiatus because, to be honest, we didn't have enough money to buy ingredients, haha. We had a week of hot dog casserole, mac and cheese, and PB&J sandwiches for dinner, but as soon as I could, I got back to it. My sweet husband has been taking our kiddos to school all week, allowing me to get some extra sleep, so I decided to treat him. You know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! So after letting him catch a morning nap, I woke him up to a yummy brunch with pancakes and these mini casseroles. I will for sure be making these yummy guys again! Again, I was hesitant to chop up those onion and put them in the sausage for fear of biting in and getting a big ol oniony crunch. But I did it anyway, and I am so glad I did! The flavor was to die for! Coupled with the spices she calls for, including just enough chili powder to give it that yummy kick. It was a hit! I over filled my muffin tin, so I did have a big of a egg spillage issue... so now I need to get in there and clean out my oven, which to be honest, I have never cleaned an oven before! Is that terrible? It is, I know it is... anyway, the brunch was a hit! We wrapped up the day with Cap'n Crunch chicken strips... yeah like as in the cereal. Weird, I know. But if I have learned anything thus far in my journey, trust the Pioneer Woman. So my 2 year old and I measured out the Cap'n Crunch and mashed those pieces up in a sort of breading. Now, my kids LOVE chicken strips, and they are very picky when it comes to fried chicken. They were a little disappointed when they heard that we were having fried chicken but it wasn't MY fried chicken ( I have trained them well... haha jk). I think 3 out of the 4 were pleasantly surprised with the new chicken strips. My husband really liked the little sweetness the cereal added to it. I enjoyed it! I served the chicken strips with dinner rolls, oven potatoes, and a salad with buttermilk ranch dressing made from the package (YUUUMMM). I also whipped up some of my famous (in my house) dipping sauce to dip the chicken in. It was one yummy meal!
Jan 26th- Milk Chocolate Mousse
TGIF! What better way to celebrate the start of a weekend than with CHOCOLATE!! My two youngest kiddos were excited to make this with me. This was my first time to make homemade whipped cream, too! (YUM!) we were eating that stuff right out of the bowl, forget the chocolate! Haha. I had a little trouble with melting the chocolate. I followed her idea of using a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water to create your own double boiler. It was a little rocky, but we got the chocolate melted. I also had a little trouble with the folding. I think my chocolate to whipped cream ration was off and it ended up being more chocolatey than it should have been. Whatever the case, it was pretty yummy. I'm thinking I may attempt to put the leftovers in the freezer and see how it comes out because my big kids were saying it tasted like chocolate ice cream. It was a hit, and very rich, sugary, chocolatey hit!
There is my update! Coming soon is Slow Cooker Broccoli and Cheese Soup (hubs is excited for this one!) and BBQ Chicken Wings for the Super Bowl! (Go Eagles!!)
Hope you enjoyed!
8 recipes down 112 to go..
Love yall, Candi
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