1,2,3,4 PAWS UP

Since last I left you, I have been busily working my way through the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I've lost count as to how many recipes I have successfully completed, but in the midst of all of the baking and cooking, we have developed a rating system which is based on an.......hmmmm......amusing (perhaps not the right word depending on whom you ask) story. If you recall, I was happily dancing around my spacious kitchen cooking Chicken Spaghetti. It made an enormous amount of food so I decided to divide it up and freeze part of it for a meal for us later or for another family to enjoy later. I quietly said a prayer asking God to send a needy family our way. Who knew how quickly he would answer that prayer! Bob arrived home and I thanked him for our lovely kitchen and worked on finishing dinner. He sat down to relax, The Scribbler left the immediate area as the dog was sleeping in the hallway and I took a moment to visit the facilities. All too soon, I heard the dog being reprimanded and it didn't sound good. I quickly responded to the scene to find that Griffin, our dear beloved retriever, had devoured over half of the chicken spaghetti from the casserole dish placed prominently on the counter awaiting baking in the oven. He was banished to the yard and Bob threatened to make him an outside dog permanently and soon! Fortunately, I was able to retrieve that EXTRA dinner from the freezer and add to our own (I could safely do this since we could tell where he had eaten due to the cheese sprinkled on top). Since Griffin had to place TWO PAWS up on the counter to get at our food, we have decided to rate the food by number of paws up. The best being 4 paws up and a tail wag. However, we are hoping Griffin doesn't get to sample any more of the food.

Given that, I would give the Chicken Spaghetti FOUR PAWS UP. It was a hearty meal that we served with a salad and garlic bread. I liked that it made enough for two meals and will make it again. I think it would be a great potluck meal too. I don't have a picture of it.........

The next day, I whipped up a batch of the Oatmeal Crispies to take to the band concert. I also set aside ingredients for the Mocha Brownies. (at the time I was lacking unsweetened chocolate). The cookies I separated into two balls and then wrapped them in wax paper rolling them into two rolls. After they chilled, I cut them into 1/2 inch slices and baked them. They were great. Chewy and soft at the same time and I loved the flavor. She says they freeze well so I hope to make more to freeze so they will be on hand when cookies are called for! I liked being able to slice them as it seemed simpler than scooping them or having to roll them out too. Four Paws up for these too!

Later that same day, I intended to make the brownies, but ran out of time. I made the Enchiladas for dinner and they were a bit time consuming. I chose to buy my corn tortillas although I often make my own. There were three separate parts to this recipe: the meat, the sauce and the tortillas. We set up an assembly line to get them done. Also, I usually make chicken enchiladas so using hamburger was different for me, but they were yummy. I would give these 4 paws up and a definite tail wag! The picture does not do them justice.



The next afternoon, Farmer Girl and I, finished up the Mocha Brownies. I attempted to take pictures of the steps, but they are not as good as Ree's (she has a better camera, I think) I loved how the chocolate swirled as I added it to the batter.

It called for a 9 by 9 pan, but I chose to use my 9 by 13. Farmer Girl didn't stop at simply icing them but added a border and other embellishments. I think the icing was thicker than the brownies and VERY rich. I would highly recommend eating with a glass of milk or a scoop of ice cream.


Before serving to our guests, she added a bit of chocolate syrup to the plate. A small square is more than enough of this ultra rich desert. I would give it 4 paws up, but have to stop at the tail wag due to the extreme richness of it. I loved making brownies from scratch though. I felt like such a pioneer woman :) We served this to our company when they arrived in the evening.

We started the morning with these Maple Scones. Very flaky due to the butter, but definitely good. We finished them off today. I am sad they are gone as they were quite good.....but also rich. FOUR PAWS UP.

Later that day for lunch, I made Cowboy Calzones. I didn't get a picture and it got mixed reviews too. We eat calzones about once a month at our house and really like them. In case, you don't know what they are, they are kind of like small pizzas that are then folded over in half and baked. We use the same kind of toppings that you would use on a pizza like pepperoni, sausage, peppers, mushrooms and cheese. These called for a more traditional filling and probably more true to the original, more similar to what they had in them where I grew up back east in a more heavily populated Italian area. These had ricotta cheese in them as well as sausage, Ro-tel, and mozzarella cheese. The crust was good and I liked the filling although I think more red sauce and less cheese might be better. (we added some pizza sauce for dipping). We didn't eat them the day I made them, but kept them for lunch the next day. That may have something to do with our rating too. I would give them 2-3 PAWS up only. If you try them, let me know what you think.

For dinner, that evening we had beans planned. I decided to make Ree's Skillet Corn Bread to go with them. I used a cast iron skillet and, although I over baked them a bit, we liked them a lot. Typically, I make a sweeter cornbread that is more like desert, but I like to switch it up sometimes. I think I am beginning to like the less sweet. You can always add honey to sweeten them up like we did too! 3 and half PAWS UP.

After that rush of baking, I have slowed down a bit. I had to stop as we were getting overwhelmed with richness and leftovers. Most importantly, I think we are out of butter! Bob said perhaps we should buy some stock in butter......... :)

Don't know what I will make next, but we are considering the jalapeno poppers to go with our ribs tomorrow night. I have also decided to opt out of the Sangria and some kind of mushroom dish that takes brandy or something like it. Since I last posted I have returned twice to Costco to buy two more cookbooks, one for each of my girls and their hope chest. The building of those are on Bob's new punch list!

Good night, Ellie~