The Pioneer Woman--February 2, 2017

This month's Recipe Club theme was The Pioneer Woman! And the food was delicious, as always. Club members cooked a variety of her recipes and brought them to sample and share. It's fun to try new things, especially if it's a recipe you wouldn't normally make.  Some members weren't as familiar with The Pioneer Woman--Ree Drummond as others, but they were up to the challenge, and the results tasted great!

We began with a quick introduction about Ree Drummond. I highly recommend visiting her website, http://thepioneerwoman.com/, which is full of recipes and facts about her life. And then the fun begins...time to sample all the goodies! Take a look at all the recipes...it will make you hungry!

All the delicious Pioneer Woman recipes we sampled tonight.

  

The Pioneer Woman's Chipotle Chicken Chili made by Sarah (me). This recipe is also found in her cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays. I stayed true to the recipe, even buying a giant bag of Masa Harina (corn flour). I actually had the chipotle peppers in my fridge, too! A hearty chili with a light kick.

 The Pioneer Woman's Simple, Perfect Enchiladas made by Sue. This recipe can also be found in her cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. She stayed true to the recipe, even using olives, which are not her favorite things. She did mention working with corn tortillas is difficult. But the results were worth it!

The Pioneer Woman's Guacamole and Pico de Gallo made by Bill. This recipe is also found in her cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. A perfect balance of tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and jalapenos! And you use the pico to make the guac. Two recipes for the price of one! Just add some avocados. 

The Pioneer Woman's Deep Dish Fruit Pizza made by Margene. It has a sugar cookie crust with a light and refreshing marshmallow/cream cheese topping. And fruit, of course. A perfect summertime treat. This will hit the spot if you aren't a fan of chocolate.

The Pioneer Woman's No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars made by Trudy. She used half the amount of mini chocolate chips, but recommends cutting out the mini chocolate chips.  She thinks its chocolatey enough with the 2 cups of chocolate chips for the top. With peanut butter and chocolate, what's not to love about this dessert!

The Pioneer Woman's Pea Salad made by Jan. She felt it was too dry, so she doubled the sauce, but not the bacon, cheese, or onion. It was a very good pea salad!

The Pioneer Woman's Chile Con Queso made by Anna. Using hot pork sausage instead of beef, definitely amps up the flavor in this queso. Cheesy greatness right here!

The Pioneer Woman's Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole made by Pat. The recipe can also be found in The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime. Using two of my favorite ingredients, broccoli and cauliflower, this is a creamy, cheesy and delicious veggie casserole!

The Pioneer Woman's Tomato Tart made by Helen. Not only did it look beautiful, but it tasted delicious, too! A nice, refreshing appetizer!

The Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake made by Marie. I'm not sure how Marie new this, but I have been craving and staring at this recipe for the past two weeks trying to figure out whether I should make it.  I'm so glad she did.  This is chocolatey goodness!  She also mentioned that this cake is very similar to her own version.

This is my plate of food. In the middle are the Pioneer Woman's Cheese Grits made by Jennifer (I missed getting a solo picture of the food). Everyone loved these cheese grits, and she made some modifications. Instead of using stone-ground grits, she used 5-minute grits. She used only 1 stick of butter to reduce fat, and she lowered the amount of cheese to 2 1/4 cups. They were yummy!

Basically, everyone loved all the recipes and enjoyed plowing through Ree Drummond's recipes and cookbooks looking for a new find. To find more recipes check out the following:

• http://thepioneerwoman.com/ 
• http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-pioneer-woman/recipes.html 
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks Dinnertime: Comfort Classics, Freezer Food, 16-Minute Meals, and Other Delicious Ways to Solve Supper! by Ree Drummond, which can be found in the Milwaukee County Federated Library System here
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations by Ree Drummond,
  which can be found in the Milwaukee County Federated Library System here
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier by Ree Drummond, which can be found in the Milwaukee County Federated Library System here
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond, which can be found in the Milwaukee County Federated Library System here

Getting hungry? Join us in March.  The theme is Betty Crocker! All you have to do to join is to cook a dish from the monthly theme, and bring the dish and the recipe to the meeting! It's as easy as pie!