Caprese Salad (Ree Drummond)

(Reviewed by Tammy)

I LOVE Caprese Salad!  I could eat it everyday, just about every meal.  It's so refreshing, so healthy and so easy to make.  Plus it looks beautiful!  You've got to try it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups balsamic vinegar

3 ripe tomatoes

12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thickly sliced

Fresh basil leaves

Olive oil, for drizzling

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Measure the balsamic vinegar.

2.  Pour into a saucepan.

3.  Bring it to a gentle boil over low heat.

4.  Cook for about 15 minutes or until it has reduced to a nice, thick (pourable) glaze.  Cool to room temp.

5.  Cut the tomatoes into thick slices.

6.  Arrange on a platter, alternating them with the mozzarella slices.

7.  Tuck whole basil leaves in between.

8.  Drizzle olive oil in a thin stream over the top.

9.  Drizzle on the balsamic reduction.

10.  Finally sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Perfection!  Now tell me you don't like that!

Our favorite pizza dough

Our pizza dough recipe is a little faster to make than Ree's and in our opinion better (sorry Ree).  Taste is subjective, so try them both and decide for yourself.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1 tsp sugar

 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour*

1 tsp salt

1.Combine the water, yeast and sugar. 

2. Stir in the flour, salt and oil. 

3. Beat until smooth (will be very sticky).  

4.  Let rest for 5 minutes.

5.  Roll out dough and add toppings.

6.  Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.

Yields:  1 thick crust 16" pizza or 1 thin 16" and a thin 12".

Make extra crusts, bake 5 minutes, cool then freeze in plastic bags until ready to use.

*We use freshly ground Spelt flour.  

Pizza Dough (Ree Drummond)

(Reviewed by Tammy)

Ree uses this pizza dough in several recipes throughout her cookbook.  It is very simple to make, but honestly not my favorite crust.  I prefer a chewier crust.  I've posted my favorite recipe for pizza dough here.  Try this one for yourself and see what you think.  Heads up-this dough has to rise at least an hour.

INGREDIENTS

1 scant teaspoon active dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1.  Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl.  Allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

2.  Add the flour to the bowl of an electric mixer. 

 3.  Sprinkle in the salt.

4.  Turn the mixer on low, then slowly pour in the olive oil.

5.  Finally pour in the yeast/water mixture.

6.  Stop mixing when everything comes together.  Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or a Charles Viancin silicone lid like I used.  I LOVE these lids!)

7.  Allow the dough to rise 1 hour before using.

Here I've used it in the Carnitas Pizza.

Carnitas Pizza (Ree Drummond)

(Reviewed by Tammy)

This pizza is a carnivore's dream!  Seriously there was a pile of meat on it!  My husband was out of town so it was just us 4 girls who tried it.  Everyone gave it a thumbs up!  I have to say, one piece filled me up.  The meat was super tender with an incredible flavor from the pineapple mango juice-just a hint of sweet.  Combine that with the cumin, chili powder and tomatillo salsa and you have a marvelous flavor.

If you're thinking of trying this recipe, allow yourself plenty of time.  The roast needs to cook 3-4 hours and the crust has to rise for an hour.  

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

One 3-4 pound chuck roast

2 Tablespoons canola oil

Two 12-ounce cans pineapple, papaya or mango juice

1 recipe Pizza Dough (found here)

Olive oil for drizzling

1 cup jarred tomatillo salsa 

12 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced and sautéed until golden

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced and sautéed until golden

3 green onions, sliced

sour cream and guacamole for serving (optional)

Let's get started. 

1. Preheat the oven to 300.

2.  Mix the chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt.

3.  Rub the spices on both sides of the roast.

4.  Heat the canola oil in a large pot over high heat and sear both sides of the roast until brown.

5.  Now onto the juice.  Pour both cans into the pot with the meat.  Cover and roast for about 4 hours or until the meat is falling apart.  Use 2 forks to shred the meat, then return it to the liquid to keep warm.

6.  Roll out the pizza dough into a rectangle, as thin as it will go.  Drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil and transfer the dough to the baking sheet.  Spoon on the tomatillo salsa, then spread thinly all over the surface of the dough.

7.  Lay the mozzarella slices all over the top, then add the yellow onion and pepper.

8.  Bake the pizza for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

9.  Lay the warm shredded meat over the top.  Sprinkle with the sliced onions, slice into pieces and serve!  Try some guacamole or sour cream on top.

our goal

Hi everyone!

We are Tammy (mom) and Grace (daughter).  Both of us absolutely adore the Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond). We love her show, recipes, giveaways...everything!  I (Grace) decided to try a few of her recipes a couple of weeks ago.  Every one that I tried was delicious.  I'm not the best cook, but her recipes were easy to follow.  We got an idea to choose 30 recipes from her  "Food From My Frontier" cookbook to go through the month of April.  We will post about the recipes we do, and whether we liked it or not.  Tonight, we are making Carnitas Pizza, along with her Caprese Salad.  We both can't wait to try it out and let you know what we think!  Pictures will be posted soon.  (:

Tammy & Grace