Iced Coffee

I was at the grocery store the other day and overheard the woman behind me tell her two young children the following, "Mommy needs to get some coffee so she can be a nice person again". I couldn't help but chuckle because I'm that mom too!!

I need my coffee in the morning (and some times in the afternoon too). When I make a Starbucks run (more often than I should) I always get the same drink, an iced vanilla latte. I love coffee and I love iced coffee even more!!

I've been trying to recreate this drink at home for quite some time without much success.


I even purchased these iced coffee K-cups for my Kuerig but they were so disappointing and I was back to the drawing board.


Then I saw that Pioneer Woman had posted a tutorial on her preferred method for iced coffee and I was intrigued. I gave it a try and it works great! The recipe is listed below but I do recommend you visit PW site HERE for step-by-step directions and information why this method works the best.

On a side note, I found this tonight and thought I would share. (click to enlarge)



Ingredients:

1 pound Ground Coffee (good, Rich Roast)
8 quarts Cold Water
Half-and-half (healthy Splash Per Serving)
Sweetened condensed milk (optional)
Note: Can Use Skim Milk, 2% Milk, Whole Milk, Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, Syrups...adapt To Your Liking!

Preparation Instructions:

In a large container, mix ground coffee with water. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature eight hours or overnight.
Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a pitcher or other container. Pour coffee/water mixture through the strainer, allowing all liquid to run through. Discard grounds. Place coffee liquid in the fridge and allow to cool. Use as needed.

To make iced coffee, pack a glass full of ice cubes. Fill glass 2/3 full with coffee liquid. Add healthy splash of half-and-half. Add 2-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (can use plain sugar instead) and stir to combine. Taste and adjust half-and-half and/or sweetened condensed milk as needed.

Source: Pioneer Woman
Poem: Ohmyhandmade.com

Penne Rosa

This is Pioneer Woman's recipe for pasta with a tomato-cream sauce but I renamed it because I used penne and....and well, I like how "Penne Rosa" sounds:)

This is a simple and delicious sauce. Give it a try next week....you will love it! Your kids will love it, your husband will love it...your hips, well not so much :-)


I will defintily be making this again soon and may add some grilled chicken too--so yummy!!

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cans (15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)
1 cup Heavy Cream
Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
Fresh Basil, Chopped
1-½ pound Penne

Direction:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

Source: Pioneer Woman

Doughnuts

This past Sunday I made raised yeast doughnuts. Yes, homemade, from scratch doughnuts...and they were as good as you would imagine.

I had been a little intimidated to try them up until now. However, I've been working more and more with yeast (and my deep fryer...but that's another story) and finally felt like I was ready to give these a try.


I used Pioneer Woman's recipe after reading several positive reviews and also because she always does step by step photos for her recipes. I know a lot of people are not fans of seeing so many pictures on food blogs, but I'm a visual learner and find it very helpful...especially when trying something for the first time.


I did have one problem with these. When I placed the doughnuts on the cookie sheet for their final rise, I didn't space them far enough apart.


As you can see by the picture above, when they puffed up they got stuck together. When I went to pull them apart, they deflated a bit and really made for a not so pretty doughnut :( Luckily, I still had another cookie sheet of doughnuts that were spaced a little further apart.


I ended up with 3 different doughnuts. The regular sized that I covered in the sugary glaze and sprinkles, these doughnut holes that I tossed in some cinnamon sugar...


and the pink "Diva" mini doughnuts that got hot pink glaze, sugar sprinkles and white nonpareils.


These tasted great but were a little dangerous to have around the house. So, I gave some to our neighbors and even sent the cable guy who was here to do some rewiring work with a doggy bag :)

Ingredients

Doughnuts
1-⅛ cup Whole Milk, Warm
¼ cups Sugar
2-¼ teaspoons (one Package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
2 whole Large Eggs, Beaten
1-¼ stick Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups All-purpose Flour
¼ teaspoons Salt
Canola Oil

GLAZE
3 cups Powdered Sugar
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Vanilla
½ cups Cold Water Or Milk

CINNAMON SUGAR
1/2 sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon


Directions:

To Make the Dough:
1. Make sure milk is nice and warm, but not overly hot.
2. Add sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add yeast into a small bowl.
4. Pour milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, then let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Melt butter in separate bowl until butter is almost melted. Stir to finish melting so butter won’t be overly hot.
6. Add beaten eggs to melted butter, stirring constantly to make sure the butter’s not too hot for the eggs.
7. Add the egg/butter mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
8. With the mixer on 3 or medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture.
9. Allow the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it’s thoroughly combined.
10. With the mixer still going, add helpings of the flour mixture in 1/4 to 1/2 cup increments until all the flour is gone.
11. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer on the same speed for five whole minutes.
12. After five minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl.
13. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds.
14. Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to sit in the bowl undisturbed for 10 minutes.
15. After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge.
16. Refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

To Make the Doughnuts:
1. Remove bowl from fridge and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/3-inch thickness.
3. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out remaining dough and cut as much as you can, etc.
4. Cut holes out of each round using a 1 1/2-inch cutter.
5. Place both doughnuts and holes on a floured baking sheet.
6. Cover with large tea towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen; my kitchen is very drafty, so I have to briefly warm the griddle, then turn it off and set the sheets on top to keep warm.
7. Allow doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least 1 hour; 1 hour 15 minutes if necessary. Doughuts should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.

To Fry the Dougnuts:
1. Heat plenty of canola oil in a large pot until the temperature reaches 375 to 380 degrees—do not let it get hotter than 380 degrees! 375 is ideal; keep the thermometer in the pan to continually monitor.
2. One to two at a time, gently grab doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly.
3. Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all oil to drip off.
4. Place doughnut immediately on several layers of paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over onto a clean part of the paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over again; the purpose, obviously, is to drain as much grease as possible before it soaks into the doughnut.
5. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes. The holes will cook more quickly than the doughnuts; about 30 seconds per side.
6. Allow doughnuts to slightly cool.

To Glaze:
1. Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.
2. One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)
4. Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.) Add sprinkles if desired.
5. Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.

To Make Cinnamon Sugar:
1. mix sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
2. Add doughnuts and toss to coat

Source: Pioneer Woman

Penne a la Betsey

Penne a la Betsey is one of Pioneer Women's most popular dishes and for good reason. This dish is quick and delicious! It's named after her little sister Betsey and features pasta with plump shrimp in a creamy tomato sauce-YUM!

I have made this about half a dozen times since discovering PW"s blog last spring. I really love this dish and the only changes that I make is that I don't chop up the shrimp. I actually like the shrimp bigger and it saves me a step during cooking. Also, I normally do use penne or mini penne but this time I decided to go with bow tie pasta. The bow ties makes this dish look "pretty"...don'tcha think?

Ingredients:

1 lb. penne pasta (or other similar pasta)
2 tbsp. butter, divided
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. large shrimp
1 small white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine (or chicken broth)
1 (14.5 oz.) can plain tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
6 basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
salt and pepper to taste

Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, while water heats and pasta cooks, make the sauce. Melt 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes, until opaque. Remove to a plate to let cool. Heat 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil in the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally. While the onion and garlic are cooking, chop the shrimp into small, bite-sized pieces. Add the wine (or chicken broth) to the pan and allow to reduce for a few minutes. Chiffonade the basil leaves and set aside. Stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Add shrimp back to the skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the parsley and basil and mix well.
Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the sauce to the pot and stir well to combine. Serve.

Source: Pioneer Woman

BBQ Meatballs

This is the Pioneer Woman's recipe for BBQ meatballs. She describes this dish as "comfort food to the max" and she is not kidding! Holy cow!! This is tasty, filling and yes, total comfort food. Serve this up with mashed potatoes,fresh green beans and a roll...Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!

For those not familiar with PW, she is a very popular food blogger named Ree Drummond. Her blog is an award-winning website,which showcases her photography,recipes,and documents her hilarious transition from city life in California to ranch wife living in Oklahoma. Ree just published her first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks:Recipes from an accidental country girl.

Ingredients:

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
plenty of ground black pepper

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
4 to 6 tablespoons onion
Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.
Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.
Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.
Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.