Last week I gave you a wonderful recipe for Chocolate Sheet Cake from one of five Pioneer Woman’s recipe books. Today, I thought I would pass on some information about Ree Drummond, 48, and where she came from.
Lee lives in Pawhuska, Oklahoma (a sleepy town of 3,500) on a 433,000-acre ranch with her husband Tad. Growing up nearby, she left her Oklahoma home and headed to Los Angeles to attend college.
Taking to the big town like a duck to water she soon gave up the “party girl” after meeting a handsome “cowboy.” That is all it took for her to give up her city life to move back to Oklahoma and marry her dream-boy rancher.
Her friends could not believe Ree would make such a big change in her life and dubbed her with the title of “Pioneer Woman”; the name stuck and became the title of the #1 cooking show on TV. She started out blogging recipes and the rest is history.
Not only is she one of the busiest women on TV (hosting a daily TV cooking show for the last seven years), she is a hands-on mom to four kids ages 13-20, helps on the ranch with her husband, owns and operates the Mercantile, a lively restaurant and retail store, and is in the process of building a hotel for the hundreds of fans that visit Pawhuska each year.
Although Ree has never had any culinary training, she grew up reading Martha Stewart’s cookbooks and cooking soon became her hobby. Cooking became a necessity when she found herself raising four kids.
Grocery shopping is a job in itself as the nearest major town is hours away. She has her main house along with a separate lodge for guests, group entertaining and accommodating her working kitchen.
She spends her days cooking, canning and freezing to get prepared for 20+ meals a week. With a working ranch employing several other “cowboys”, a lunch meal can grow to a boat load of hungry ranchers.
The Pioneer woman show follows her through her kitchen along with stories of her family on HGTV several times a week.
Ree has written five cookbooks which feature gorgeous pictures of her family and the ranch (she is also a trained photographer) as well as tons of recipes. Today I have included two of her best recipes for you to try and enjoy.
MARLBORO MAN SANDWICH
A sandwich made for a man!
1 large onion (thinly sliced)
4 tablespoons Butter + 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons
2# Cube steak
Lawry’s seasoned salt
Lemon Pepper
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Tablespoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
4 French or deli rolls
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onion, stirring occasionally until they are soft and light brown (5-7 minutes). Remove and set aside.
Cut cube steak (against the grain) into 1” strips and season with a nice sprinkling of seasoned salt and lemon pepper. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the same skillet (cast iron works best) that you cooked onions. Increase heat to high letting butter start to brown; skillet should be HOT! Add enough meat to hot skillet to cover the bottom of the skillet. Let brown good before stirring to cook the other side, brown then remove to plate. Repeat until all meat has been browned. Move all cooked steak back to skillet and add the cooked onion. Add Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce (if you opt to add it) along with 2 tablespoons butter. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.
Cut each roll in half and spread with butter (yes more butter!) and grill to brown. Place meat on grilled bun and spoon a little of the juices over the meat. Enjoy!
CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
A nice variation from Italian spaghetti. Love the cream sauce!
1 Whole chicken (cut in pieces) or 4 breasts with bones
1# thin spaghetti, broken
1 4 oz. jar of diced pimientos
1 small onion
1/4 finely diced green pepper
1 Can cream of chicken soup
1 Can cream of mushroom soup
2 1/2 Cups of grated cheddar cheese
1 Teaspoon seasoned salt
Ground pepper to taste
1/8 (or less) Teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
2 Cups chicken stock from cooked chicken
Add chicken to stock pot. Cover with water and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked and begins to fall apart.
Remove the chicken from the water, drain and set aside on plate. Remove 2 cups of broth from the cooked chicken and set aside.
Bring the remaining broth to a boil and add the spaghetti (add additional water if needed) until al dente. Drain the spaghetti, discarding the cooking liquid, set aside
With 2 forks (or your fingers) remove chicken from bones and shred or cut meat into bite-sized chunks. Dice onions and peppers.
Place cooked spaghetti in a large bowl. Add the cream soups and 2 cups of cheese. Add onion, green pepper and pimientos. Stir in salt and pepper. Finally add chicken and broth stirring until well mixed.
Pour the mixture in a large baking pan (greased), top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 35-45 minutes until bubbly.
Sheryl Sollars, a Clinton County native, is an accomplished cook and homemaker. She contributes her column “Welcome to My Kitchen” out of her love of homemaking and of sharing her thoughts with her readers. If you have cooking questions or a recipe you want to share, please contact Sheryl at [email protected].
