Dinner with the Pioneer Woman

I'm not sure how I managed an evening without homework but here I sit not having any to get done tonight. I hope I don't log in tomorrow and find I've forgotten something. *sigh* The day at the office even seemed to fly by fast.

I bought the Pioneer Woman's cookbook about a month ago and absolutely LOVE IT! So many "normal" recipes. I like to try new recipes but hate having to purchase 'not-so-everyday' ingredients. Ree's are not like that at all. If you haven't checked out her cookbook, you need to.

Today I made her Simple Easy Chili (beans optional). I like the beans but hubby don't so I make sacrifices for him. :)  Here are a few of my not-so-professional-as-Ree's photos of my chili.

My ground beef was already browning while I got the rest of my ingredients together. I don't have the little measuring/prep bowls, I just used my Tupperware deviled egg inserts. The little egg holders make it easy to measure out several small amounts of things and have ready to dump into whatever I'm cooking. The bottom right holder held the garlic, which I had already dumped into the ground beef. Here I have measured out the oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, and chili seasoning.

This little chopper from Pampered Chef is the best thing ever for chopping up your ground beef while browning. I use a little circular twist of my wrist with each downward motion and it chops it up great.

 Here is the ground beef with all the spices and tomato sauce dumped in... ready to mix and simmer. One more thing I added not pictured here is the can of Rotel shown above.

And my bowl of Chili with Fritos and shredded cheese. YUM!

And yes, that IS a paper bowl. I am way too busy with work, school, wifing and mothering. It was a paper bowl night. :)

I made dessert from Ree's cookbook too. I've had this a lot but never bothered to make it myself until now.

I always enjoyed my aunt's at family reunions. :)

Tonight the dessert was her Chocolate Sheetcake. We always called it Texas Sheetcake but the results are the same. A delicious chocolate cake with an almost fudgy icing. The picture doesn't even do it justice.

This is Ree's photo of the sheetcake too. Mine is still cooling just a bit in the kitchen. Just follow the link above (or click on the photo) to find Ree's sheetcake recipe.