The other thing I've done the last few months is to find some cooking blogs that I enjoy, none more than Ree Drummond's "The Pioneer Woman". I hadn't set out to find any cooking blogs, but after seeing her show on Food Network a couple of times by accident, and liking what I saw her make I decided to learn more. Maybe it's this way for everyone on Food Network, but it really seems like people either *really like* her, or they *really dislike* her - I fall into the former category. I think the main reason is how and what she cooks. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching people make complicated and fancy things, but reality for me is that I'd rather watch somebody cook things that I can make myself reasonably well. I don't feel the need to make my own pasta from scratch, or cure my own bacon. I'm sure that for the people that do these kinds of things, their end product may be better than mine, but I don't think it's enough better to justify the time that it would take away from other things.
I'm not saying all her recipes are things I'd make, or that I always follow her recipes to the letter - I don't. But I am saying she has quite a few that have worked well for me and that J/M/etc have really liked. And the fact that I can watch her prepare them versus simply reading a recipe and instructions is something that goes a long way with me. So with that being said, here's a few of my favorite "Pioneer Woman recipes".
As I've done in the past, I've included the original links, any modifications I've made, and some thoughts on each.
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Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion/Blue Cheese Sauce
The original recipe that I got came from HERE.This is something that I only make for J and myself since the rest of the crowd here aren't onion fans and won't touch blue cheese.
Recipe Modifications:
None - this is great "as-is".
Thoughts:
I've made this a few times, the one "issue" I had is when the store only had "thin" Rib-Eye's. I should have went somewhere else and gotten regular sized ones or chosen a different cut of meat as the thin steaks just didn't work as well. However, that's my fault and not an issue with the recipe.
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Skillet Cookie Sundae
The original recipe that I got came from HERE.
I actually bought my first cast iron skillet (and shortly thereafter a second larger one) to try this recipe and it did NOT disappoint. One of my "go to" desserts these days..
Recipe Modifications:
- I'm not a coffee person and even though J/M are, they use a Keurig so we don't keep instant coffee around, therefore I've never used that when making this.
- I also vary the chocolate chips that I use, sometimes it's all semi-sweet, sometimes I'll put in some dark chocolate chips, basically whatever I have sitting around that looks good.
Thoughts:
Tastes great and is easy to make. What more could you want in a dessert?
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Crash Hot Potatoes
The original recipe that I got came from HERE. However, the original credit would appear to go to Jill Dupleix.
Recipe Modifications:
- Sometimes, right before the potatoes are completely finished I will pull them out and sprinkle on some freshly grated cheese and/or add some chopped bacon; but even without either/both of these they are great. If I do add these, I will tend to use the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish them off.
- While I do prefer to use the New Potatoes as per the recipe, I've made them with several types of potatoes and they've always come out very good.
Thoughts:
As I mentioned above, we all love cheese and bacon, so I do often add those things. But with or without those additions, this is a side dish that everybody here likes and that's an extremely rare occurrence. Definitely a "go to" side dish.
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Twice Baked Potato Casserole
The original recipe that I got came form HERE.This was my first "Pioneer Woman recipe" and it's among my favorites. Truthfully I was never a twice baked potato fan, but watching her make these they looked so good I had to try them and we all love them. Just beware, this recipe makes *a lot* of potatoes, you may want to half it, or even quarter it, just saying.
Recipe Modifications:
- As mentioned above, I often half this recipe.
- On occasion I may add a layer of bread crumbs or a 50/50 mix of bread crumbs and panko to the top to give it a little crunch.
- Once of twice I've swapped out half the sour cream for some ricotta cheese. Personally I like it better that way, but it really depends upon what I have in the house at the time.
Thoughts:
An exceptional side dish; and one I probably like better than the aforementioned "Crash Hot Potatoes" above. However, it is far more labor intensive than those, so I don't make it as often, and as has been mentioned the original recipe makes potatoes for a small army so keep that in mind.
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With that I'll wrap this post up. As always, tastes differ, but I would have no qualms recommending any of these recipes as they are all exceptional. I wish I had better pictures, I have tried to get photos of things I've made, but for whatever reason most of these things didn't get pictures. I do have one of the Grilled Ribeye with the Onion/Blue Cheese Sauce from above - it's not a great photo, but it'll have to do. :)
- M
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