Cookbook & Recipe Review

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

If you haven't heard of the "Pioneer Woman" well let me introduce you!  I discovered the Pioneer Woman while we were living in Naples, Italy back in 2006-2008.  Back in Italy, it was the good life, I had plenty of time to browse online and try new recipes, relax by the pool and enjoy my kids.  I had a housekeeper, a very small house and life was simple and good. I miss those days.  It was then I discovered her simple, delicious, "man pleasing" recipes that my whole family enjoyed.  The Pioneer Woman is not just a great cook, she is very funny and entertaining.  She refers to her husband as "Marlboro Man".

Some tried-and-true recipes that I suggest are:

The Malboro Man Sandwich

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever

Malboro Man's Second Favorite Sandwich 

Chicken Spaghetti

Pan Fried Ribeye Steak

Apple Dumplings

I could seriously go on and on.  Go check out her recipes and try some, you will not be disappointed!

The Pioneer Woman's real name is Ree Drummond, she is married with 4 children and lives out west on a ranch.   She now has her own cooking show on Food Network appropriately called "The Pioneer Woman".

This is a picture of Ree and her family

Photo shared from Food Network, Pioneer Woamn

She has a couple of cookbooks out now, the one above is her first.  I love her cookbooks because she goes into simple, but great detail in her recipes.  There are photos of every recipe and detailed photos with instructions.  It is a beautifully written and photographed cookbook.  That even tells stories, which I love!

Sample page from cookbook, showing detailed photos.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes, Pioneer Woman Recipe

The recipe that I chose from the cookbook to prepare is Twice-Baked Potatoes. I was making these anyway for a meal, so I thought I would just go with this.  These are very simple and easy to make and they taste delicious!  They can go with anything as well.  My whole family loves them.  The recipe can be found here.  

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Today I made a fresh strawberry cake for a customer.  This is one of my favorite cakes to make.  It's just so pretty and taste delicious!  I mostly go by Paula Deen's recipe but instead of using the frozen strawberries in syrup, I use fresh strawberries with a little sugar to make my own syrup.  

Peanut Butter Pie

This past week we had two very important holidays!  I bet you didn't know that January 23rd was National Pie Day and January 24th was National Peanut Butter Day!  Who knew we had such important holidays!  I am behind a few days so I thought I could combine the two and celebrate by making a Peanut Butter Pie!  This peanut butter pie has long been a favorite of mine. 

The History Behind the Recipe

Peanut Butter Pie Filling

As you know by now, I love the history behind things.  Well, there is a little history behind this pie.  Right outside my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida was a little town called Orange Park, Florida.  In Orange Park there was a little tea room that my grandma, my mother and I would regularly frequent.  It was called, "The Sisters Tea Room". The Sisters was ran by two sisters. Everything was made fresh and from scratch.  It was long known that their specialities were pies and chicken salad.  One just doesn't go to the "Sisters" without having a slice of pie! 

The Sisters put together a little cookbook and sold it.  Thank goodness someone had the sense to get me this as a wedding present back in the day and it has been cherished ever since.

Unfortunately, the Sisters Tea Room is no more.  It closed a few years back when the "sisters", Gwen and Bobbie Jo retired.  Another piece of history gone.  Fortunately a new restaurant bought all the rights to their recipes and opened a new restaurant using some of the Sisters recipes.  I have not had the chance to visit "Honey B's" the new restaurant, but I hope to next time I am back.

The Sisters Peanut Butter Pie was so good, Ronald Reagan even wrote a letter to the Sisters expressing his thanks for the wonderful pies!  Another variation of the peanut butter pie they made was the double trouble peanut butter pie which had a layer of chocolate!

Ronald Reagan's letter to one of the sisters.

Look at those peanut butter "crumbs" that is the best part of this pie!

Above is a picture of the pie I made for you today. The pie starts off as a pre-baked pie crust that has cooled.  Add a mixture of peanut butter & powdered sugar to make "peanut butter crumbs" and cover the entire bottom of the pie crust with these crumbs, saving about 2 T for the topping.

Next, make a basic homemade thick pudding mixture and cool.  Once cooled cover the peanut butter crumbs with this custard filling.

Mix some heavy whipping cream to make a whipped topping and carefully cover the pudding mixture, top with the remaining 2 T of peanut butter crumbs and you have yourself a wonderful tasty peanut butter pie!  For best results cool in fridge for an hour before slicing.

Bake a Pie Today!

Chicken & Noodle Soup

A cold day like today deserves warm soup!  The schools were cancelled today because of ice.  No better time than now to make a homemade batch of chicken & noodle soup with homemade bread.  I have 5 very picky children, two of them will not eat any soup what-so-ever out of a can, but they will gobble this down in a heartbeat!  They ALL love the noodles!

Chicken & Noodle Soup

When it comes to chicken noodle soup this is my "go-to" recipe.  I discovered this on Pinterest and have made it several times.  Like with every recipe I make I have a "secret special ingredient" or my own way of making it special.  My secret in this recipe is Reames Noodles!  These can be found in the frozen foods in the grocery store.  They are egg noodles and can be used for a variety of things, but the only time I really use them is when I make this soup.  Kroger has them for $1.89 a bag.  They take about 20 minutes to cook, or you can cook them longer and it is fine. If you would like to try the chicken & noodle soup recipe it can be found here.

Pork Chops & Rice

Pork Chops & Rice with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Tonight I tried a new recipe for my pork chops.  The only thing I would have done differently is use less chicken broth.  For this recipe I used about a cup and I should have cut it back to 1/2 cup, which I will do next time.

I have made a variation of this before using the old stand by (Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup), but this way is more healthy I'm sure!

I really like browning the meat in the skillet and finishing them off in the oven.  Just be careful not to over cook.  I used boneless chops for this meal and they are very lean and could easily get dried out if cooked too long.

The Recipe Can be found here

Classic Comfort Food

Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes

My favorite comfort food has to be meatloaf & mashed potatoes!  I love most any and every type of meatloaf.  My favorite meatloaf has onions and peppers in it.  Unfortunately I am the only one in my family that likes it that way.  So, I have to go to Cracker Barrel for that!

For my family, I use my mom's meatloaf recipe.  It's pretty basic, but so tasty.  It does not have any peppers or onions or any "stuff" as my children like to call it.  My favorite part of the meatloaf is the special ketchup glaze.  

If there are any leftovers, which around my house that is rare, I love a meatloaf sandwich for lunch the next day.  This recipe is great for that, because the meatloaf holds up so well for slicing.

My meatloaf recipe can be found here

iMom Food

Tonight iMom starts back at church!  I am so excited because we are beginning a new series called "Celebrating Parenting".   Since it's the first night, we have food and this is what I am bringing.  I have never made these dishes before.  I pinned them on Pinterest and put them on my "Recipes to Try" board.  I finally made them and I can't wait to try them tonight!  If they are good, they may be on the menu soon.

 Italian Chicken Casserole

Jalapeno Popper Dip served with Crackers

The recipes can be found here:

Italian Chicken Casserole

Jalapeno Popper Dip