At Home with the Pioneer Woman

Ree Drummond

You don’t really know “middle of nowhere” until you drive west from Pawhuska, Oklahoma, turn down a long dirt road and find yourself surrounded by vast stretches of dry grass and rolling hills dotted only with wild horses and roaming cattle. Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman) calls this place home. Miles from the nearest grocery store, gas station, or strip mall, this place feels wild and free, with space to breathe and time to watch slow sunsets. Ree, her husband (“The Marlboro Man”), and their four children run this working cattle ranch. It’s a nonstop job of hard, dirty work from sunrise to sunset, but they love it and do it together, as a family.

Blogging Sensation

Lucky for us, Ree started blogging about her unique world a few years ago. Her site (thepioneerwoman.com) now boasts thousands of devoted followers. She dazzles us daily with her ranch-life confessions, inspiring photography, and mouthwatering recipes―we’re still trying to figure out how she does it all. We asked Ree to share recipes and tips that any busy cook will love. Here’s what she had to say.

Advice for Busy Cooks

Your top 5 tips for the busy home cook?

• Clean as you go, even if it’s against your nature. You’ll thank yourself once dinner’s over!
• Whenever possible, brown extra ground beef and freeze it, dice extra onions and keep them in the fridge to use all week, grate more cheese than you need and save it for later, etc.
• Roast a large cut of meat (a turkey, for example), and try to see how many meals you can stretch it into! We like turkey enchiladas, turkey and homemade noodles, barbecue turkey pizzas, and turkey Tetrazzini. (You might need to freeze some of it for use later lest your family stages a turkey revolt by week’s end.)
• Every once in a while, serve the kids’ milk or water in beautiful wineglasses. It makes them feel fancy and special.
• Recruit the kids to set the table, pour water, clear the table, and help do dishes. It’s character-building, conveys a powerful message about the importance of contributing to the household, and allows you to curl up on the couch and start watching TV much earlier. That’s what kids are for!

Favorite Kitchen Tools

 5 kitchen tools you can’t do without? 

• My KitchenAid mixer. I’ve had mine since the day I got married, and it’s my best friend and constant companion.
• My Wüsthof Santoku knife.
• My Cuisinart food processor. It’s the best, and it reminds me of my mom cooking in the early eighties.
• Iron skillets. Big, small, old, new.
• Flat whisks. They flatten against the bottom of the skillet and scrape up the good stuff

• Recipe: Cowboy Nachos

Grocery Store Trips

How many times a week do you go to the grocery store?
I try to go to the store once a week, but it usually winds up being twice. I keep ground beef in my freezer and a pantry full of staples. I try to fill in the perishables―milk, bread, eggs, fruit―at my local grocery store.

• Recipes: Braised Beef Brisket
• Slow-Cooked Mushrooms

Kitchen Secret

What’s your best kitchen trick?
Making homemade buttermilk. I rarely keep store-bought buttermilk on hand, so when I need it (particularly when I make chocolate sheet cake and buttermilk pancakes), I add a tablespoon or so of white vinegar to regular milk and let it sit for five minutes. I pour in the amount of milk the recipe calls for, less a tablespoon or two. Then finish the amount with the vinegar.
  

 

In the Pantry

Your pantry must-haves?
Canned whole tomatoes. Tons of dried pasta. Pinto beans. Different flour and baking ingredients. Then I have a special shelf where I have jars of sundried tomatoes, prepared pesto, and kalamata olives as well as specialty panini spreads and things I pick up when I visit civilization.

• Recipe: Cowboy Dip Sandwich

Favorite Splurge

Your favorite splurge ingredient?
Whole beef tenderloin. It’s so expensive, but it’s just so darned good.

Your favorite convenience product?
When I don’t feel like cooking, I send my husband and kids to the store and tell them they can pick out whatever they want. They always come back with Hamburger Helper. I’m not sure how to feel about that, but it sure is easy to whip up!

• Recipe: Scrumptious Apple Pie