Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pancakes

I love pancakes.  So much.  My husband thinks they are below waffles and French toast, but I think they are #1.  Sunday morning I made Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pancakes and they were so tasty.  The batter makes a ton of pancakes, so make sure you're going to be feeding a few people or be prepared to eat leftover pancakes the next couple mornings.  We covered ours in butter, syrup, and peanut butter.  Yum! There's not much better than delicious breakfasts on lazy Sundays.

Caprese Chicken Sandwich

My favorite sandwich in the world!

Ciabatta Bread Slices
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh Basil Leaves
Thin Chicken Cutlets, Baked
Roma Tomatoes, Sliced
Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced

Pour olive oil and balsamic vinegar on one side of sliced Ciabatta bread.  Put in the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes, until the edges are crispy.  Put on fresh mozzarella, tomato slices, fresh basil leaves and baked chicken cutlet.

The best thing, ever.

Pizza Crust & Caprese Pizza

Last night I made homemade pizza. I started with Pioneer Woman's Pizza Crust.


CRUST
Ingredients:

FOR THE CRUST (MAKES TWO CRUSTS):
1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

Then I put on:

Pizza sauce

Fresh mozzarella slices

tomatoes

fresh basil leaves

It was yummy!  I can't seem to make the crust bake in the middle though.  It was really dough-y.  If anyone reads this and knows a trick, will you let me know?  It happens every time I bake pizza.

Pioneer Woman's Orange Mini-Muffins with Brown Sugar Glaze

THESE are tasty!  Especially warm out of the oven.  Mine got a little toasty on the bottoms/sides, but they still tasted good (I think).  They were easy to make, too.  A great brunch idea!

Pioneer Woman's Broccoli-Cheese Soup

Mmmmm..... delicious!  This soup was so easy and tasted so good.  I served mine in a bread bowl toasted and it was so yummy!  This is fast enough to make on a weeknight and makes enough to eat for a few days.  The only issue is deciding what texture I like my broccoli-cheese soup.  Next time I think I'd blend it for longer than I did this time.

HERE is the recipe.  Perfect for a cold winter's night!

Aloha Cake

We had a luau over the weekend and I made Aloha Cake.  It was a piece of cake to make ;) and it turned out delicious. I love cold cake and this one is kept in the fridge.  It's very tropical tasting and I will definitely make this in the summertime.  I had a piece the second day and I think it was better than it tasted on the first.  I love when that happens!  You should definitely make this as a little escape to paradise.

Pioneer Woman's Key Lime Pie

Pie, pie, me oh my, I love pie.  At least key lime pie.  This was SO delicious! I used the key limes (or Persian limes, I don't really know) from my Bountiful Basket this week.  Of course Pioneer Woman doesn't disappoint.  This is soooo limey (which I adore), and so good with whipped cream.  It was totally worth all that man power of squeezing limes for 15 minutes.

I can't wait to have another piece.

MAKE IT!

penne with spinach, garbanzos and feta

I made this recipe from Cooking Light last night.  It was SO quick to throw together - and for someone like me who is starving by 5 PM, fast recipes are perfect.  I made my pasta with wheat penne instead of cavatappi.  It was pretty good - not amazing, but good, and worth making again for an easy work night meal.

Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta

I made Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta for dinner.  Instead of parsley I used basil.  Instead of white spaghetti I used whole wheat.  It was extremely easy to make, quick to throw together and DEEEE-LISH!  I will use this recipe again and again.  I want to try it cold next time -- in the summer.

I served it with hard crusted garlic bread.  YUM!!!

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake

Of all the many things I've baked and cooked, this surpasses all.  

This is THE.BEST.THING.I'VE.EVER.MADE.

I made it for my husband's birthday & he said he wants it every year for his birthday for the rest of our lives.

Not only did it taste amazing but it looked pretty good too, I think.  I almost cried at how it turned out.

I'm in love.

The brilliant person who thought this one up is my hero.  HERE is her original recipe.  I almost don't want to share it in hopes that I'm the only one who will ever make it and get credit for doing so.