Granola that just takes a few minutes to make…

 
This amazing bread omelette, which has swept the internet in the past two months…

 
And Dalgona Coffee – I tried it, and it lives up to the hype!

The Pioneer Woman: Home Sweet Home airs this Saturday morning on Food Network at 10am/9c and I hope you enjoy!

 
On the ranch, the kids and I are going to continue to shoot our own shows for awhile. My regular film crew is from the UK, and since they aren’t unable to travel this way just yet, we are filming all the footage ourselves and they are putting the shows together for us. A perfect partnership for the time we’re in! We look forward to the day we can all be together again.

We’re calling this continuing series “The Pioneer Woman: Home Sweet Home,” and this Saturday is episode #2! Our first five episodes were called “Staying Home” and we thought it was time to give them a new name as we move into the next stage we’re in…however long it lasts.

 
I’m so lucky to have Alex to help me…

 
As well as Paige.

A bright spot has been spending time with my girls!

 
This Saturday’s episode is a fun one.

 
I make a Dutch Baby, which is in my recent cookbook. It kind of turns out okay, but the oven was too hot and it wasn’t as poufy as I wanted it to be…but there’s no reshooting with these episodes!

 
I also make granola in a skillet, which only take a few minutes. Granola is a weakness of mine—among four hundred other weaknesses, so it’s in good company.

 
I make this internet sensation of a sandwich for Ladd—and I didn’t practice beforehand.

 
“No matter what happens, no one in this room give me a hard time. I’ve never made this before.”

 
This photo cracks me up. You’ll have to tune in to see what preceded it!

 
Have you heard of Dalgona Coffee? I made it for the first time, too!

 
It is…AMAZING (all caps, that’s how good it is.)

 
Yummy!

I hope you are still enjoying the shows the kids and I are shooting. They may be a little silly at times, but they very accurately depict what things are like in our kitchen, our lives, our daily routine. It’s nice to just start cooking and see what happens–the good, the bad, and the tasty.

“The Pioneer Woman: Home Sweet Home” is on Food Network at 10:00 am Eastern/9 center Saturday morning.

Love to all of you!

Although my Grandma Inez doesn’t do quite as much magic in the kitchen as she used to, she’s known for her delicious desserts and cozy comfort meals.

And she has converted MANY people to baby lima beans. She’s a magician, I tell you.

So, this oatmeal cake. Let’s chat about that.

It’s a fluffy, cinnamon-scented cake with a coconut-pecan topping — similar to what you’d put on a German chocolate cake. But better.

I noticed the card for this recipe in my binder—in my grandma’s handwriting. And I know it needed to be made soon.

Do you have recipes in your grandmother’s handwriting? My grandma has such perfect script. And she shows her love by feeding you delicious things.

I think I take after her in that way. But not the perfect script.

Let’s make this cake!

First soak some rolled oats in boiling water for about 20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Or take a quick shower.

Or make a cup of cocoa.

Cover it with a towel, too.

Beat the butter and sugar and add the eggs. This should feel familiar if you’ve ever made cookies.

I really hope you have. It’s an important life skill.

Then fold in that oatmeal, which is pretty much cooked through by now. There shouldn’t be any water left in the bowl.

Sift in the dry ingredients (don’t forget the cinnamon!) and stir it gently.

You’ll end up with mixture that looks like a cross between oatmeal cookie dough and porridge.

Now grab your tube pan (the one you make angel food cake in—is there any other use for it? Asking for a friend.)

Make sure it’s buttered and floured well, too.

What if you don’t have a tube pan?

Well, because it has a topping that goes on it, using a bundt pan would be really awkward.

You could use a 9×9-inch pan, but you may have to lengthen the cooking time so the middle will be cooked through nicely.

Bake it for about 45–55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. It’ll be a rather dark golden brown, too. Mmm.

VERY IMPORTANT: DO NOT TAKE IT OUT OF THE PAN YET.

Like I mentioned before, this cake has a special topping: a buttery, caramelly mixture of nuts and coconut. I used pecans because they’re my favorite.

And they remind me of my grandma explaining how they’re pronounced “puh-KAHNS” and not “PEE-cans”.

How do you say it where you live?

This topping goes right on the cake—that’s still in the pan.

Put the cake under the broiler for just a few minutes, until the coconut is toasty brown.

Toasted coconut is one of my favorite things ever.

You’ll want to let this cool off quite a bit before attempting to get it out of the pan.

Of course, I’m impatient and reckless and would rather risk burning myself or destroying the cake just to get the cake into my face faster.

See how the butter from the topping soaked down into the sides of the cake? I die.

To get the cake out of the tube pan, run your knife around the edge of the pan and around the middle tube. Then, push the bottom of the pan up and out of the edge piece of the pan. (The pan is two pieces, in case you’ve never used a tube pan.)

I also run a knife under the bottom of the cake to separate it from the other part of the pan. I actually cut the cake in half and transferred each half to a cutting board.

You could try to get it out in one piece by lifting both sides at once. You might need a partner for this.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I should have asked my grandma how SHE does it!

This cake, y’all.

(I was raised in Idaho, but my mom is southern, so I feel like I can get away with y’all.)

It’s SO, SO good.

We polished this off in two days, but only because we had some restraint and wanted it to last longer.

This is one of many recipes that reminds me of my grandma, too! I love how food can hold such strong connection and memories with family.

Do you have any recipes or meals that remind you of your childhood? Of special occasions? Of your family members?

I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below and let me know!

 
Here’s the link to the printable recipe on Tasty Kitchen: Grandma’s Oatmeal Cake

First, they use up brown bananas that are languishing on your counter. Second, they’re the perfect way to put your excess sourdough starter/discard to good use!

This is a quick sourdough recipe, which means that if you have a mature starter on hand, you don’t have to wait for it to ferment! You can have these muffins ready in less than an hour.

What’s a “mature starter,” you say?

I’m so glad you asked—I love chatting about all things sourdough!

A mature starter (sometimes called an active, ripe, or unfed starter) is one that’s been fed 8-12 hours previously, has risen, is bubbly, and passes the float test. Make sure to check out my Sourdough 101 post for more info on the float test.

Another thing to note: I keep my sourdough starter at 100% hydration. This means that I feed it equal weights, not volumes, of flour and water. So instead of feeding it 1/2 cup each of flour and water, I would feed it 120 grams of flour and 120 grams of water. If you use a starter that’s a different hydration percentage, the texture of your muffins will be different than mine.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, we can get on with making these sourdough banana muffins!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, sourdough starter, and bananas.

Oh, and I almost forgot the chocolate chips! I’m a dark chocolate fanatic, but you can use milk or semisweet if you prefer!

First, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.

Next, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Okay, this is one of my favorite parts of this recipe.

Did you know that you can “mash” bananas with a hand mixer? This saves on dirty dishes, which is a big deal for me.

Just make sure the bananas are well “mashed” before moving on to the next step!

Next, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Then pour in your sourdough starter and beat just until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat on low just until combined.

Finally, add the chocolate chips and gently fold them in.

Butter or spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil. I like to use this avocado oil spray.

Distribute the batter evenly between the muffin tins.

This is totally optional, but you can save out a few chocolate chips and poke them on top of the batter. Definitely not necessary, but it sure looks cute!

Bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the muffins to loosen them. You may have to do a bit of coaxing to get them out of the pan, but it’s totally worth it, my friends.

Yes, they’re messy. But they’re also scrumptious.

Notes:

1. This recipe makes large muffins. If your muffin tin is smaller than mine, you may need to bake the extra batter in a ramekin.
2. If you opt to use muffin papers, you may end up with extra batter. Again, you could bake it in a ramekin. Save it for after supper, top with ice cream, and you’ve got dessert sorted!
3. I find that 1/4 cup of sugar is plenty when you use very ripe bananas. If you prefer your muffins sweeter, feel free to increase the sugar up to 1 cup.
4. If chocolate chips aren’t your thing, you could leave them out or substitute them for toasted pecans or walnuts.
5. I didn’t include the time it takes for your starter to ferment in the recipe. Make sure to calculate that in if you don’t have a mature starter ready to go!

Here’s the link to the printable recipe on Tasty Kitchen: Sourdough Banana Muffins

Here are the stats, answers, and winners.
 
STATS

1,493 people took the quiz.
332 people aced it!

The question that gave people the most trouble (only 64% got it right) was the one about The Godfather trilogy.

The question most people (96%) got right was the one about dolphins.
 
ANSWERS

1. Oklahoma is north of Kansas. (False. It’s south of Kansas.)
2. All cacti are succulents. (True.)
3. Othello, Hamlet, and Pygmalion are all Shakespeare’s plays. (False. Pygmalion was George Bernard Shaw’s play.)
4. The capital of China is Beijing. (True.)
5. Dolphins are mammals. (True.)
6. Baking at 250 degrees Celsius gives you a nice gentle bake using low heat. (False. That’s over 480ºF!)
7. “The Final Countdown” was a 1986 hit song from the rock band Europe. (True.)
8. In the Bible, the book of Proverbs was written by David. (False. Most of it was written by Solomon.)
9. Alexander Graham Bell invented the phonograph. (False. Thomas Edison invented it.)
10. A gingham pattern often features extra wide multicolored stripes. (False. Gingham is often a checked or plaid pattern.)
11. A mandolin is a musical instrument, and a mandoline is a kitchen tool for slicing. (True.)
12. The Pythagorean theorem is often used in geometry. (True.)
13. Martin Scorsese is best known for directing The Godfather trilogy. (False. Francis Ford Coppola directed them.)
14. Singapore, Monaco, and Vatican City are all considered city-states. (True.)
15. Albert Einstein formulated the Three Laws of Thermodynamics. (False. He was responsible for the Theory of Relativity.)
16. The Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the deepest oceanic trench in the world. (True.)
17. When baking bread, a long, thin loaf with tapered ends is called a boule. (False. Boules are round loaves.)
18. In Toy Story, Woody is a sheriff. (True.)
19. Ascorbic acid is also known as vitamin D. (False. Ascorbic acid is vitamin C.)
20. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from England. (False. It was a gift from France.)

 
WINNERS

The first winner is…Patricia G…!
The second winner is…Valorie R…!
The third winner is…José C…!

 
Congratulations, winners! Contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your gift card!

The Big, Bad True or False Quiz starts now! Remember, we’ll be showing you the answers immediately after you take the quiz. So to keep things on the up and up, only ONE entry per person please!

 
TO ENTER

To enter, answer the questions below and submit your answers.

***IMPORTANT: SELECT THE BEST POSSIBLE ANSWER.***

Winners will be selected and announced tomorrow.

 
THE PRIZES

We’re giving away $100 Amazon gift cards to three (3) winners! One will go to the first person to get a perfect score, another to a randomly selected person from the first 15 perfect scores, and the third gift card will go to a randomly selected person from all perfect scores.

 
Okay! Ready…set…GO!

(Feel free to shout out your score in the comments!)

 
Here’s the direct link if the questions below don’t show up: Big, Bad True or False Quiz

This pizza is a copycat version of one we had at Regina Pizzeria in Boston. I think it might be our most favorite pizza ever: BBQ pulled pork, roasted chiles, caramelized onions, and a couple different kinds of cheeses. It’s pizza heaven.

And it’s not hard to make, either! Especially if you have some leftover pulled pork laying around.

The first thing you need to do is to get your caramelized onions started. Diced onions caramelize faster than strips of onion and the faster I can get that pizza made, the better.

I like to cook the onions for a full 20 minutes on the stove to get them nice and dark and sweet. The first photo shows them right when they go in the pan, the second photo is after 10 minutes of cooking, and after 20 minutes of cooking.

Also, you don’t need sugar to make caramelized onions. Just some onions, butter, and salt. That’s it. I’m always amazed at how something as pungent as an onion can transform into “onion candy”.

Meanwhile, put a few seeded jalapenos under your broiler until they’re dark in spots and nicely roasted.

And gather the rest of the ingredients: leftover pulled pork, BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese, and smoked mozzarella.

I found smoked mozzarella a little hard to find, but after making this pizza with and without it, I can tell you it’s totally worth hunting around for. It makes a big difference and gives the pizza some extra WOW.

Also, have you ever made pulled pork in an Instant Pot? It’s the easiest thing ever. Almost dangerously easy. I’ve got an Easy Instant Pot Pulled Pork recipe on my site if you need one!

Get your pizza dough spread out. I like to make the crust on the thicker side since this pizza is a bit ingredient-heavy and some of the ingredients are wet. You don’t want a soggy crust, trust me.

If you need a homemade pizza crust recipe, Ree has her favorite one here: My Favorite Pizza. And don’t forget to check out Erica’s post with 12 Best Tips for Homemade Pizza!

Tip: You could pre-bake this crust, too, if you wanted it on the crispy side.

For this pizza, we use BBQ sauce instead of red sauce.

Add the pulled pork, diced jalapenos, and caramelized onions.

Now for the cheeeeeeeese. I used half pepper jack and half smoked mozzarella.

One of Erica’s pizza baking tips (which I also do!) is to bake your pizza on parchment on a preheated surface. If you have a pizza stone, this works well.

If not, you could use a large inverted rimmed baking sheet to slide the parchment with the pizza onto another inverted rimmed baking sheet in the oven. And you want that oven hot, too. Like 450-500ºF.

Just make sure your pizza isn’t bigger or wider than your baking sheet. I cut it close with this one.

And, done! Isn’t it beautiful?

If you’re a fan of BBQ pork, this will be the pizza of your dreams. If you’re not a pork eater, you could also use BBQ chicken or BBQ beef.

Finally, if you happen to be avoiding carbs or follow a keto diet, you’d love this BBQ Pulled Pork Spaghetti Squash Bake. I took all of the toppings and made them into a grain-free, lower carb casserole type of thing. (My husband and I have been eating it all week!)

 
Here’s the link to the printable recipe on Tasty Kitchen: BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza

 
When I say “cameras” I mean “iPhones!” It’s amazing what they can do these days.

 
I remember getting a Kodak Disk camera when I was in sixth or seventh grade, so I still have an old fashioned perspective on photography.

Raise your hand if you had one!

 
Paige and Alex usually alternate filming with the main camera, which is the one that I speak directly to.

 
Stuart helps with the wide shot, which captures most of the kitchen and everything happening in the periphery. It’s nice to cut to here and there, so the show doesn’t get too monotonous, visually. Stu (and Mauricio, Alex’s boyfriend) also operate the Go Pros, which are mounted up high in a couple of places in the kitchen—they sort of have a security camera feel, but are nice to have in case Todd scares me with a fake snake and Alex doesn’t catch it on the main camera.

 
The fake snake happens on today’s show, by the way—which is why I’m sort of punching Todd in this photo.

 
Duke is head of production. He oversees all the table scraps.

 
And the food today is GLORIOUS! This is broccoli-cheese orzotto, a cross between orzo and risotto. The kids loved it, man!

 
And this is a smoothie bowl, which has a pineapple whip base…and in no universe could this pass as a healthy snack, but that’s okay.

I hope you enjoy this morning’s episode. The kids and I had lots of fun shooting it.

 
And I hope you would like to see more…because the kids and I are officially shooting ten more!

I’m going to go take my vitamins…

2,053 people took the quiz.
889 people aced it. (Woohoo!)

The question that gave people the most trouble (only 69% got it right) was the one that listed photography terms.

And EVERYONE (100%!) knew their board games.
 
ANSWERS
 
Banh mi, croque monsieur, pinwheel
✓ sandwiches
• cakes
• drinks
• candy
 
Plover, thrush, lark
• felines
• reptiles
✓ birds
• canines
 
Battleship, Operation, Balderdash
• types of dolphins
• Broadway shows
• TV romantic comedies
✓ board games
 
Bangladesh, Tanzania, Benin
• world capitals
• lakes
✓ countries
• languages
 
Enterprise, Discovery, Atlantis
• works of Plato
✓ space shuttles
• U.S. submarines
• Mac operating systems
 
Cavaliers, Bucks, Pistons
• NHL teams
• NFL teams
• MLB teams
✓ NBA teams
 
Alstroemeria, larkspur, gladiolus
✓ flowers
• diseases
• insects
• birds
 
Bokeh, hot shoe, metering
• racing terms
• baking terms
✓ photography terms
• sewing terms
 
Peugeot, McLaren, Bentley
✓ cars
• specialty pastries
• suspension bridges
• cell phones
 
Montevideo, Colombo, Monrovia
• tropical islands
✓ world capitals
• South American trees
• Caribbean beaches
 
Redbook, Family Circle, Harper’s Bazaar
✓ magazines
• department stores
• fashion podcasts
• beauty stores
 
Changeup, slider, sinker
• golf swings
• basketball dunks
• poker hands
✓ baseball pitches
 
Hosea, Micah, Amos
• Greek poets
• Egyptian rulers
• Jewish kings
✓ Hebrew prophets
 
Gypsy, Chicago, Mame
• horror films
• silent films
✓ musicals
• animated films
 
Chicory, hyssop, chervil
• small animals
✓ herbs
• bugs
• beans
 
Dooney & Bourke, Vera Bradley, Tory Burch
• jazz artists
✓ handbags
• athletes
• cleaning products
 
Green Day, Rush, Heart
✓ rock bands
• volunteer groups
• gardening clubs
• motorcycles
 
The Old Man and the Sea, A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises
• William Faulkner novels
• John Steinbeck novels
• F. Scott Fitzgerald novels
✓ Ernest Hemingway novels
 
Elementary, Castle, Monk
• medical dramas
• documentaries
✓ crime shows
• children’s shows
 
Syfy, ID, Science
• toy companies
✓ cable channels
• The Who album titles
• space stations

 
WINNERS

The first winner is…Vicky H…!
The second winner is…Sue T…!
The third winner is…Patrick B…!

 
Congratulations, winners! Contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your gift card!

I put my own spin on naan by using sourdough to naturally leaven it. It takes longer for the dough to rise, but getting all the benefits from sourdough is totally worth the wait! Also, the tang from the sourdough plays well with the yogurt in the dough.

Traditionally naan is cooked in a tandoor oven. But today I’m going to show you how to recreate it in your own kitchen with a cast iron skillet!

First, the ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make sourdough naan: sourdough starter, water, flour, an egg, sugar, salt, ghee, and yogurt.

You want to feed your sourdough starter about 8-12 hours before you begin this recipe. You can read my Sourdough 101 post for all my tips about sourdough starters.

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and briefly stir it with a whisk, wooden spoon, or spatula to make a shaggy dough.

Knead the dough using the dough hook for 8 minutes. You want the dough to be quite soft, but still clean the sides and bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, it can be difficult to work with when you get to the rolling stage.

Cover the dough with a tea towel and allow to ferment at room temperature for 8–12 hours…

Or until doubled in bulk.

Plop the risen dough out onto a well-floured surface. You don’t want to go too crazy with the flour, otherwise it will stick to the naan and burn when you cook it.

Divide the dough into pieces. You can do 12 or 16 pieces, depending on how large you want the naan to be.

Roll the dough out to about 6 inches across and 1/8 inch thick.

Preheat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Cook the dough for 2 minutes on the first side…

Or until it’s deeply browned.

Flip and cook for 2 more minutes, or until the underside has very dark, almost black spots.

Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. You can brush the tops of the naan with garlic butter, or leave them plain.

Here are some ways I’ve served this sourdough naan bread:

• Alongside chicken curry for dipping.
• As the crust for mini pizzas.
• Filled with chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a tzatziki sauce.
• Spread with butter and cinnamon sugar. Yum!
• Wrapped around hot dogs.

Notes:

1. I’m sure you could knead this dough by hand if you don’t own a stand mixer. It’s quite easy to work with.
2. You can substitute olive oil for the ghee if you like.
3. If you’re planning on using the naan for pizza crust, I recommend dividing it into 12 or fewer pieces so they’re bigger.
4. You can roll the dough out even thinner if you plan to use the naan for a sandwich wrap. Be careful not to overcook the dough!
5. If you have more than one cast iron skillet, get them both going! That way the naan bread will cook twice as fast.

Do you have a creative way that you like to use naan bread? Share with us in the comments!

 
Here’s the link to the printable recipe on Tasty Kitchen: Sourdough Naan