Moving on.
I've been doing a lot of cooking lately. A lot. I've had some really horrendous flops and some very triumphant successes. Flops include Naan and Whole Wheat Sourdough breads. Not good. Not good at all. Of course, it's highly probable that they were flops due to my own usual inadequacy when it comes to baking. They are both from cookingbread.com, the same website that I've gotten really great recipes from. Case in point: a success, French bread. FABULOUS. I used it to make Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese bread. Oh. My. Gosh.
Olive Cheese Bread
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
1 loaf French bread, sliced in half horizontally
1 14 oz can black olives, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
approx 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
Mix the olives, peppers, mayo, and cheese together in a bowl. Spread the mix onto the French bread and bake on 350 for 20-30 minutes. Slice and devour.
My mother-in-law gave me The Pioneer Woman Cooks for Christmas, and I've already read it cover to cover. I know, I'm a nerd. The pictures in it are amazing! My maternal grandmother gave me the family cookbook for Christmas, for which I was ecstatic. It has so many of her fantastic recipes in it, I couldn't wait to get started.
This next recipe is a fusion between the Pioneer Woman and my MawMaw.
Meatballs
(meatballs from MawMaw, sauce from Pioneer Woman, adaptations made)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 yellow onion, diced fine
1/2 cup saltine crackers, crushed
1/3-1/2 cup milk
1 egg
seasoned salt
black pepper
1 cup ketchup
1tbsp sugar
3 tbsp white vinegar
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
several dashes of hot sauce
dash of garlic powder
Preheat oven to 350. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Shape into balls and put into a 9x13 baking dish. Mix the last 6 ingredients together and drizzle evenly over the meatballs. Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.
The Olive Bread and the Meatballs and salads were our dinner tonight. Delish! as Rachael Ray would say :)
Many more cooking adventures are going to occur this week. I'll try to be better about keeping my imaginary audience posted.
