Dad and I had this a few weeks back and it was very good. I also made the Mexican rice on the next page to go with it. I don’t remember any changes to either recipe.

1 1/4 c. Seeded and chopped ripe plum tomatoes
1/4 c. Kalamata olives, halved (did not use)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 T. Minced fresh chives
2 T. Chopped fresh basil
1 T. Olive oil
1 T. Capers, drained
2 t. Lemon juice
8 six ounce red snapper filets or 2 pounds large scallops
2 T. Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper

To make salsa, in a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, (olives), garlic, chives, basil, 1 T. olive oil, capers, and lemon juice. Cover salsa with plastic and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. Salt and pepper fish, grill or sauté. Top with salsa and serve.

We’re off with a bang!  Ree’s Breakfast Pizza is “indubitably delicious!” (Anyone else remember Crispy Critters?)  Bacon, eggs, hash browns, cheese…what’s not to love?  I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter, except I roughly halved the recipe.  It was still huge.  I think the Pioneer Woman usually cooks for more than two at a time.

Next time I would crisp the hash browns more before putting them on the pizza.  Also, I would make sure to make little nests for my eggs, so I don’t break the yolk when the egg starts to roll right off the crust!  In fact, the more I think about it, this recipe would lend itself to little mini pizzas, and thousands of variations.  I’ll probably make this again with whatever I have on hand.

Matt gave this a solid 8 out of 10, and I’ll give it the same score.

After being sick for almost an entire week, I was craving something home style and delicious. I decided to make Chicken Spaghetti but didn’t have any cream soups (I don’t particularly care for them, so I don’t keep them on hand). After looking up some recipes, I decided to create my own.  What developed was a semi-spicy Southwest style Chicken Spaghetti. The panko spread on top of the dish gave it a nice color and crunch.  It was tasty and easy. I’m excited because I froze half of it for a quick meal later. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

Season-All or Lawry’s seasoned salt

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

8 oz dry spaghetti or angel hair pasta

1/2 bell pepper (whatever color you prefer), chopped

1 stalk celery, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1/4 cup butter, plus 1 tbsp (5 tbsp total)

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup milk

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 can Rotel Tomatoes, drained

2 1/2 cups grated cheddar

1 cup panko bread crumbs

kosher salt and pepper

Directions:

Season chicken with seasoned salt or kosher salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until done.  Meanwhile, cook spaghetti to al dente in a large pot of salted water. Drain spaghetti and return to pot; add chicken to the pot. In the same skillet used for the chicken, add 1 tbsp olive oil if needed.  Cook vegetables until crisp-tender in juices from chicken.  Add chili powder, cayenne and oregano and salt and pepper to taste.  In a small sauce pot, heat butter over medium-low.   Add flour and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth and milk, stirring or whisking to combine.  Cook over medium heat until thick, about 4-5 minutes.  When sauce had thickened, stir in 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a small dish, mix in Panko bread crumbs.

Add vegetables and drained Rotel tomatoes to the stock pot already containing spaghetti and chicken.  Pour in the sauce, stirring to combine.  Spread mixture into a greased 9×13 glass baking dish, or two smaller dishes, if you wish to freeze half for later.  Spread remaining cheddar cheese and Panko bread crumbs over the top.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bread crumbs are browned. Enjoy!

The Wilhelms are off on a calorie-laden, butter-filled, delicious journey through the Pioneer Woman’s frontier.  Here is what’s cooking from each section of the book.

The next cookbook we cook through will need to have the words “healthy,” “low-fat,” and “So you survived a diabetic coma: Now what?” somewhere in the title.  Start your research.

Do I get bonus points for being the first to post about a recipe? 🙂 Um, this was awesome.  Seriously, you should make it (she says that in her book and blog, so I figured I would too!).  We really liked this, but I did make a few tweaks…

First, the recipe calls for 5-7lbs pork butt.  It would take Will and me about a year to eat 7 lbs of pork. Okay, not really, but it would take a long time.  So, I did a 3lb pork butt and halved the rest of the recipe.

Secondly, I did a little less than 1/2 of a can of chipotles in adobo. I was not feeling super well and did not want it to be too hot on account of my stomach.  She says in the book that it’s sinus clearing spicy, and while I enjoy that on occasion, I wasn’t in the mood for too hot.  It was the perfect amount of spicy!  Enough to burn your tongue a bit but not be BYA (ask Matt) status! 😉

Third, I cooked it in a crock pot.  The shame of my kitchen outfitting is that I do not own a big pot that can go in the oven.  I need and want one, it just hasn’t happened yet. And I LOVE my crock pot.  In fact, the crock pot was so easy, I would do it that way even if I had a pot!  I did not get the dark color she talked about, but the flavor was incredible and meat juicy…

When I was at the grocery store, I looked up the recipe to see the amount of meat (or what half would be) on the PW website and I saw this coleslaw that she made with it…I made that also, well, half of it, and served the meat on buns.  SO GOOD.  Here’s the slaw recipe for your convenience.  (Please make this too!).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1/2 head Purple Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Halved Lengthwise And Thinly Sliced
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 cups Cilantro Leaves, Barely Chopped

Directions:

Combine shredded cabbage and sliced jalapenos in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Pour over cabbage. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours.

Before serving, toss in cilantro leaves.

5 1/2 to 6 c. flour
1 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1 T. margarine, softened
1 3/4 c. very warm tap water
cornmeal (optional)
1 egg white
1 T. water

In a large bowl thoroughly mix 1 1/2 c. flour, sugar, salt and undissolved yeast. Add margarine.
Gradually add tap water to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 3/4 c. flour. Beat at high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, then a towel. Let rest 20 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Roll each half into an oblong 15X10 inches. Beginning at wide side, roll up tightly; pinch seam to seal. Taper ends by rolling gently back and forth.
Place on greased cookie baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. (I have stopped using cornmeal because it is so messy when you use the bread.) Spray loaves with PAM. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 to 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator. Uncover dough carefully. Let stand 10 minutes. Make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts on top of each with a sharp knife. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with egg white mixed with cold water. Return to oven; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer, until golden brown.

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
3 T. butter
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
1/2 c. water
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. distilled white vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. salt
2 t. chili powder
1 t. ground mustard
1/2 t. celery seed
1 clove garlic, minces
1/8 t. hot pepper sauce

Directions:
1. In a shallow dish or bowl, combine flour, 1/2 t. salt and black pepper. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown chicken on all sides. Remove from skillet, and drain on paper towels.
2. In the same skillet, combine the tomatoes, water, brown sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, chili powder, mustard, celery seed, garlic and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and return chicken to skillet. Cover, and simmer for 35-40 minutes, or until chicken is tender, no longer pink and juices run clear.

3 1/2 slices white bread, torn into pieces
1/2 c. pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 T. yellow cornmeal
2 T. fresh parsley
1 1/2 t. chopped garlic
1 1/2 t. finely chopped fresh sage or 1/2 t. dried sage
1/2 t. cayenne
1/4 t. salt
1 T. egg white
3 T. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t. water
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or thighs (about 2 lbs. total)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease large baking pan. In food processor, combine bread, toasted pine nuts, cornmeal, parsley, garlic, sage, cayenne, and salt. Process to fine crumbs. Add egg white and pulse 3-4 times. Transfer to shallow dish. In small bowl, combine mustard and water. Spread evenly over chicken. Roll chicken in bread mixture and press to coat evenly. Arrange in prepared pan. Bake until coating is crisp and browned, about 30 minutes.

I thought I posted this, but I can’t find it on here anywhere.  Matt loves this dish, and it is quite delicious, especially with rice.  I suggested it for dinner tonight and the response was, “OHHH, YEAH!”

Mongolian Beef
From Noshings

Sauce:
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 – 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb. flank steak or cube steak, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 T canola oil
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large green onions, sliced
2 c. broccoli, chopped and cooked until crisp tender
Rice, for serving

Whisk together the first four ingredients in a small bowl.  Set aside for sauce.  Blot meat dry with a paper towel.  Evenly coat meat with cornstarch.  In a large skillet, saute the meat in oil over medium-high heat until cooked through.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  (This may need to be done in batches so that meat sits in a single layer in the pan.)

In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon oil if needed, and add the garlic, green onions and ginger.  Saute for 1 minute.  Add the sauce to the pan and cook until the sauce begins to boil and sugar is dissolved.  Add meat and broccoli and cook until sauce thickens, 3-5 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Serves 3.