Pioneer Woman Review: Cowboy Mike

It's the beginning of March, and while this winter refuses to slow down, Ree is embracing the weather and whipping up a hearty, warming breakfast menu to celebrate a visit from her brother, Mike.

We've met Mike before on PW, but it's great to see him back, spending quality time with his nieces and nephews and getting to experience the ranch with the family.

While Ladd and Mike are out feeding cattle, Ree starts the breakfast menu with a batch of sweet, citrusy muffins.

Orange Mini Muffins are something that Ree and Mike ate as kids, so Ree is making a batch just for Mike. They start with butter and sugar creamed together in a mixer. To the butter, Ree adds eggs, flour, buttermilk, baking soda and plenty of orange zest.

The batter gets divided between two mini muffin pans and baked until golden. Ree tops these muffins with a sweet orange glaze made with brown sugar and fresh squeezed orange juice. The warm muffins soak up all of the glaze and I'm pretty sure I could eat a million of these. I'd be happy to give it a try.

To go along with the muffins, Ree is whipping up a batch of Mexican Hot Chocolate. This simple but sweet hot chocolate recipe starts with a combination of whole milk and half and half.

To the warm milk mixture, Ree adds two Mexican chocolate tablets. A few cinnamon sticks and sugar finish off this sweet, decadent drink. To top the hot chocolate, Mike and the Drummond kids toast marshmallows by the crackling fire place. Yeah, that's my kind of winter drink.

For the main breakfast course, Ree is making individual Eggberts Sunrisers inspired by a local diner. These single serving skillets start with fried up frozen hash brown potatoes and potato wedges. Ree then cooks up some onions, bell peppers and jalapeño peppers. To the veggies, she adds some diced ham then seasons everything with salt and pepper.

Ree builds each serving of sunrisers in small, adorable cast iron skillets. To each skillet she layers hash browns, veggies and ham, cheese and potato wedges. The small skillets get baked to melt the cheese and then topped with fried eggs. These Eggberts Sunrisers look fantastic and endlessly versatile. You could add any combination of cheese and veggies to create your own little breakfast skillets.

When the kids and Mike get back from their driving adventure around the ranch, the entire family digs into this full and hearty breakfast that Ree has waiting for them.

From the looks on everyone's faces, they are more than pleased with the feast. While this meal isn't the most realistic for a weekday breakfast, it is perfect for a weekend start and would make any family happy in the middle of this crazy long and cold winter. 

Thanks for reading - and remember to check out our section of Pioneer Woman recipes!

via Food Fanatic http://ift.tt/1kkRRCh

Put the internet to work for you.

via Personal Recipe 3564685

Homemade Tortillas: Pillowy Flatbread

I absolutely love Southwestern and Tex-Mex cuisine, and flour tortillas are probably one of the most common ingredients in this type of food. Think about it. Burritos, wraps, quesadillas, and chimichangas all require flour tortillas to reach their maximum level of deliciousness!

But have you ever made your own flour tortillas at home? They're really not that difficult, and the taste of a fresh tortilla is simply amazing.

While these homemade tortillas are tasty by themselves, they can be a bit boring in the flavor department. Instead, it's how tortillas are used that make them so valuable (and tasty) in the kitchen. Take these Grilled Chicken Quesadillas for example. This recipe features delicious marinated, grilled chicken and onions, but the grilled quesadilla wouldn't be possible without flour tortillas.

Similarly, flour tortillas can be used for sweet treats, too. These Cinnamon Cheesecake Dessert Samosas rank pretty high up there on my list of favorite desserts.

Making homemade tortillas is oddly very similar to making homemade pie dough. The dry ingredients are combined in a bowl, and then the fat is cut in until uniformly mixed. For pie dough, I prefer to use butter, but tortillas require vegetable shortening or lard. Lard is actually a better bet (and more traditional) for making tortillas if you happen to have it available. Shortening is an acceptable substitute when lard isn't available, though. Believe it or not, fresh lard (available from your butcher) actually has less saturated fat than shortening too. The same can't be said for shelf stable lard at the grocery store, so beware there.

Once you've decided on your fat, just mix some water into the dough, let it rest for a few minutes, and then roll it out into super thin pieces. While the dough behaves a bit differently than pie dough, the process is still remarkably similar. So, while it might be easier to just open a bag of store-bought tortillas, try your hand at making the homemade version, you will be well-rewarded for your efforts!

Homemade Tortillas Recipe

Print This Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening, or lard
• 1-1 1/4 cups warm water

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Using a party cutter (or your fingers), cut the vegetable shortening into the flour mixture until it is fully incorporated.
3. Add 1 cup of water to the mixing bowl and stir until no loose flour remains. (If needed, use up at ¼ cup of additional water.)
4. Knead the mixture for 1-2 minutes, or until a soft dough forms.
5. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.
6. Divide the dough into 15 pieces of approximately equal weight. Shape each piece into a tight ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 more minutes.
7. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each tortilla into a circle about 8" in diameter.
8. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat until a drop of water "sizzles" when dropped in the skillet.
9. Place one tortilla in the skillet and cook for about 35-40 seconds. Flip tortilla and cook for another 35-40 seconds. (Note: The tortilla will bubble slightly and light brown spots will form as the tortilla cooks. This is normal. If the spots are black, then reduce the temperature of the pan.)
10. Store cooked tortillas in a 200°F oven or tortilla warmer until ready to use. Leftover tortillas can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

via Food Fanatic http://ift.tt/1pJ8IiX

Put the internet to work for you.

via Personal Recipe 3564685

Recommended for you