Pioneer Woman Pot Roast

The Pioneer Woman has NEVER let me down. Seriously, I have never made a Pioneer Woman recipe and not been impressed. And this pot roast is no exception. It's delicious, moist, fresh, and amazing. I think the herbs really take it up a notch. Even if you don't normally like pot roast, you MUST try this pot roast. Tonight. And if you've never heard of The Pioneer Woman, crawl out from under your rock CLICK HERE, and be amazed! The photography, the cooking, the witty banter, it's all fantastic!

This roast does take a little bit more prep than the typical pot roast that you just throw in a pan, but the work you do before putting it in the oven is really what elevates this roast to another level. Now, although it pains me to disagree with the pot roast aficionado herself (Pioneer Woman, of course!), I have found one serious flaw in her pot roast doctrine. She declares that she does not include potatoes in her pot roast, because she finds them to be mealy, and dumb. However, the potatoes, after soaking up all of the delicious juices from the meat, and other veggies are, in fact, my favorite part of a pot roast. So, of course, I included them in my rendition. Also, I happen to like my pot roast to be more juice than gravy, so I add a lot more beef broth than she does. Now, PW notes that you can use wine in the pot roast as well, and I think some red wine would be DIVINE here. However, I happen to live in a state which restricts the sale of wine (and any other alcoholic beverage except beer) to the state liquor store. And since I'm sure that taking my 4 year old son, and 10 month old daughter into the liquor store would win me Mother-of-the-Year, I stick with plain old beef broth here, and it's STILL delicious!

Also, a quick little tip about a key kitchen tool for this pot roast, and dozens of other recipes. I, like many other home-cooks, am DYING for a Le Creuset French oven like this one:



Unfortunately, my pocket book (and my husband!) is not dying to drop $270 on one pot. However, my husband is a pretty amazing man. You don't think he'd leave me wavering, without another tool to conquer the same job, do you? Of course he wouldn't! So, for Christmas last year, I found this beauty under the tree. She comes from my other culinary hero, Paula Deen.



This bad boy can go from the stovetop, to the oven, and back again! It's great for browning veggies (as you'll see in a moment), and braising meat, and making soup, and just about all the things that the amazing Le Creuset brags about doing. All for a grand total of...$29! That's right, almost 1/10th the cost! So, if you're in need of oven safe cookware, and have not yet hit the lottery, put on your best dress, and head on down to Wal-Mart, and pick up one of these babies. You will NOT be disappointed!

Now, onto the FOOD!

Hallelujahs:Delicious, beautiful, literally falls apart it's so tender, smells heavenly!
Hellfires:A little bit more work than the average pot roast, you have to smell it for 3 hours before eating!

Pioneer Woman Pot Roast
-Place a couple of tablespoons of oil in the bottom of your pan, and heat it up!
-Add in 2-3 small onions, halved, and brown on two sides. This can happen fast, be careful not to burn them!



-While your onions are browning, take a few carrots, and wash them, peel them, and cut them on the bias. Because it looks much more rustic, and homemade that way.
-When the onions are done, take them out of the pan, and add in the carrots. You're going to sear these as well, getting a nice, rustic browning on them. For some reason I did not take a picture of this, but it looks BEAUTIFUL when done!



-When the carrots are browning, salt and pepper your chuck roast. You want to be VERY generous with your salt and pepper here. Like my inspiration, the PW, I prefer Kosher Salt here, because it seems to "stick" well to the meat. Of course, all I had this day was sea salt, which worked just fine, too:


-Remove the carrots, and place in a bowl with the onions.
-Sear your chuck roast on all sides. You want your pan HOT for this. You're going to want to get a nice, deep, brown sear on it. The more brown bits on the bottom of the pan, the better! It takes about 2-3 minutes per side to achieve this. PW says 1 minute, but she must be cooking with gas, because even with my amazing Shelby, it takes at LEAST twice this. Be patient, it's worth the wait.



-Be sure to grab some tongs, and hold it up to sear the short sides of your meat, too.
-The seared meat:

-Now, add about 1-2 cups of your beef broth (or wine, if you're into that kind of thing...which I would be if I could get it in my grocery store!), and whisk away, loosening up all of those delicious brown bits on the bottom of your pan.



-Now, we're going to add our garlic. Have I mentioned our love of garlic in this house? It's almost unhealthy. Except that garlic is VERY healthy! So, although PW's recipe doesn't call for garlic, I add a healthy dose of it. At least 4 cloves. Incidentally, is my grocery store the only one who has started selling purple garlic recently?! Anyone know what the deal is here?


-Just throw it in that handy dandy garlic press we discussed a few posts back, and you're good to go! No peeling necessary.
-Now, if you're feeling rebellious, like me, slice yourself some potatoes. However many you like. Nevermind PW's hatred for roasted potatoes, trust me, they are soft, and flavored and DELICIOUS. Totally worth it!

-Add your chuck roast back into the pan, then throw in the potatoes, carrots, and onions.
-Add another box of beef stock. I prefer stock to broth. It's a richer flavor.
-Now, for the best part! Add your herbs! I have made this with both fresh, and dried, herbs, and trust me, BOTH are delicious! I do about a palmful of rosemary, and a hair less thyme.

-Cover that baby up, and pop it in your oven for at least 3 hours at 275 degrees. Note, when I made this, my roast was much larger than 3 lbs, and I was in a hurry, so I did it at 350* for 3 hours, and it was just as tender, and delicious. In Microbiology they call these "equivalent treatments," meaning it's okay to cook it for less time at a higher temperature!



-The hardest part of this recipe is leaving that beauty in the oven for 3 hours while you smell it's heavenly scent all day. But it is WELL worth the wait!
-After 3 hours, the broth has cooked down just enough for the meat to poke its little head through at the top. See it there?

-Stick your fork in there, pull yourself off a big hunk (no knives necessary here), and put it on your plate. Ladle on some vegetables and broth, and be ready to be in comfort food heaven!



Plain Text Recipe

Pioneer Woman Pot Roast

Ingredients:
3-3.5 lb Chuck Roast
Salt and Pepper
Carrots (however many you like, 3-5)
2-3 small onions, peeled, and halved
2 boxes beef stock (I use the small Swanson boxes because that's what Wally World carries)
2-4 garlic cloves
Rosemary
Thyme
Olive Oil


-Place a couple of tablespoons of oil in the bottom of your pan, and heat it up!
-Add in 2-3 small onions, halved, and brown on two sides. This can happen fast, be careful not to burn them!
-While your onions are browning, take a few carrots, and wash them, peel them, and cut them on the bias. Because it looks much more rustic, and homemade that way.
-When the onions are done, take them out of the pan, and add in the carrots. You're going to sear these as well, getting a nice, rustic browning on them. For some reason I did not take a picture of this, but it looks BEAUTIFUL when done!
-When the carrots are browning, salt and pepper your chuck roast. You want to be VERY generous with your salt and pepper here. Like my inspiration, the PW, I prefer Kosher Salt here, because it seems to "stick" well to the meat. Of course, all I had this day was sea salt, which worked just fine, too.
-Remove the carrots, and place in a bowl with the onions.
-Sear your chuck roast on all sides. You want your pan HOT for this. You're going to want to get a nice, deep, brown sear on it. The more brown bits on the bottom of the pan, the better! It takes about 2-3 minutes per side to achieve this. PW says 1 minute, but she must be cooking with gas, because even with my amazing Shelby, it takes at LEAST twice this. Be patient, it's worth the wait.
-Be sure to grab some tongs, and hold it up to sear the short sides of your meat, too.
-Now, add about 1-2 cups of your beef broth (or wine, if you're into that kind of thing...which I would be if I could get it in my grocery store!), and whisk away, loosening up all of those delicious brown bits on the bottom of your pan.
-Now, we're going to add our garlic. Have I mentioned our love of garlic in this house? It's almost unhealthy. Except that garlic is VERY healthy! So, although PW's recipe doesn't call for garlic, I add a healthy dose of it. At least 4 cloves. Incidentally, is my grocery store the only one who has started selling purple garlic recently?! Anyone know what the deal is here?
-Just throw it in that handy dandy garlic press we discussed a few posts back, and you're good to go! No peeling necessary.
-Now, if you're feeling rebellious, like me, slice yourself some potatoes. However many you like. Nevermind PW's hatred for roasted potatoes, trust me, they are soft, and flavored and DELICIOUS. Totally worth it!
-Add your chuck roast back into the pan, then throw in the potatoes, carrots, and onions.
-Add another box of beef stock. I prefer stock to broth. It's a richer flavor.
-Now, for the best part! Add your herbs! I have made this with both fresh, and dried, herbs, and trust me, BOTH are delicious! I do about a palmful of rosemary, and a hair less thyme.
-Cover that baby up, and pop it in your oven for at least 3 hours at 275 degrees. Note, when I made this, my roast was much larger than 3 lbs, and I was in a hurry, so I did it at 350* for 3 hours, and it was just as tender, and delicious. In Microbiology they call these "equivalent treatments," meaning it's okay to cook it for less time at a higher temperature!
-The hardest part of this recipe is leaving that beauty in the oven for 3 hours while you smell it's heavenly scent all day. But it is WELL worth the wait!

Original recipe can be found at: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/01/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/

S'mores cupcakes, Four Ways!

Is there anything more quintessentially American than sitting around a fire pit with some good friends, and making some delicious s'mores? Who would have thought that three things as simple as graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey bars, could combine to make something so amazing as a s'more?

And combining a s'more with a cupcake? Genius. Really. Right up there with Einstein, and his theory of relativity. Now, there are several schools of thought on how to best turn a s'more into a cupcake. Chocolate cake, with marshmallow frosting, and crumbled graham crackers, graham cracker cake with chocolate frosting, and marshmallow filling, graham cracker cake with marshmallow frosting, and chocolate filling...The list goes on, and I decided to try them all!



Now, originally, I was planning on posting all of the recipes for the cupcakes here, in detail, but then I served the cupcakes to The Family, at Sunday dinner, and one version was such a far and away winner that it seemed almost silly (and LONG) to share the others. Want to know the funniest thing about it? The winner was the cupcake that I didn't make from scratch! The chocolate cupcake with marshmallow frosting, and crumbled graham crackers. At the end of the post, I'll provide a link to the from-scratch graham cracker cupcakes, and a few general tips, but mostly, I'll cover the winning version. I tried this version two ways, one with graham cracker crusts pressed into the bottom of each cupcake liner, and one without. The one with the graham cracker crust was definitely better!

Hallelujahs: Amazing, Easy (a boxed mix, could it get any easier than that?), ADORABLE!
Hellfires: Very sweet. The frosting is more sugar, and less marshmallow that I had expected, but regardless, it is DELICIOUS. However, you can definitely only eat one at a time. Unfortunately, it also requires a graham cracker crust. See Cheesecake post for my thoughts on those.

When something involves these ingredients, how can it NOT be good?


-Note: Okay, yes, I cheated, and used a boxed mix. But, when something tastes this good, who cares?! Also, give me a break, I was making 4 different kinds of cupcakes. I needed a little helping hand, and Betty is my right hand woman. She's always there when I need her. Betty Crocker, that is.

S'More Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Crust
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (3 packages per box, only use one package)
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sugar

-Combine the crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter.

-Press about 1 tbs of the mixture into each cupcake liner

-Place in oven at 350* for about 5 minutes, to pre-bake the crusts, and prevent them from getting soggy.
-And if you hate making graham cracker crusts as much as I do, be smart about this. Put your two favorite men to work, and make them do it for you! (Aren't I a lucky woman?)


Cupcakes
1 box of Chocolate Cake Mix, prepared as directed
-I used a Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Mix, which called for some oil, water, and 3 eggs.
-Mix up your cupcake batter, and pour into pre-baked liners.
-This is where we'll highlight another must-have tool we've talked about before. Remember way back in the peanut butter cookie post? We introduced the pampered chef scoop? Well, there are two sizes of that scoop. The larger size is PERFECT for cupcakes. 1 full scoop perfectly fills the cupcake tins 2/3 full. Seriously, I LOVE these things!

-Once your cupcake liners are full, place in the oven, and bake, following the directions on your cake mix.
-Tip: I always set the timer for my cupcakes at least 5 minutes earlier than the box tells me to. There's nothing more frustrating than dry, burnt cupcakes.
-Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Marshmallow Creme Frosting
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
14 oz of marshmallow cream
-Mix all ingredients in your stand mixer
-Place into Ziploc bag, cut off the tip, and pipe onto cupcakes. Or, if that's not your style, grab a knife, and ice them the old fashioned way.

Decoration
-Once your cupcakes are frosted, dust with crushed graham crackers, and 1 rectangle of your Hershey Bars


Recipe for Marshmallow Creme frosting can be found here: http://sewdarncute.typepad.com/sew_darn_cute/2007/04/smores_cupcakes.html

Okay, if you decide you MUST try the other variations with the graham cracker cupcakes, instead of chocolate cupcakes, here are a few tips.
1) I found the recipe for the graham cracker cupcakes from here: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1255031
2) A note about from-scratch cake batters in general. They are MUCH thicker than boxed mix recipes. Don't be alarmed, it makes for a much denser, more delicious, cake. See how it sticks to the mixer paddle, here? MUCH thicker, and that's okay!

3) For variations, I tried these 2 ways. For the first 12, I inserted a square of a Hershey's bar into the center of each before baking:

They were iced with the Marshmallow creme frosting listed in the winning recipe, and then drizzled with chocolate ganache for artistic effect (you'll see why I'm a pre-med major, and not an art major).

-For the second option, I baked them with nothing in the center, and then when they were cooled, I cut out a section in the middle of each cupcake, and filled with plain, marshmallow creme (NOT the frosting). Then, I frosted them with chocolate ganache.


-And one more quick note about the ganache. Normally, I make my ganaches with semi-sweet chocolate because I love that deep, slightly bitter flavor to them. However, in this case, it just did not work with this recipe. I think next time I make this recipe, in order to stay true to the inspiration (the s'more) I will use Hershey's milk chocolate in order to make the ganache.

Good Luck with your s'more cupcakes! I hope they turn out beautifully!

Plain Text Recipe

S'More Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Crust
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (3 packages per box, only use one package)
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sugar


-Combine the crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter.
-Press about 1 tbs of the mixture into each cupcake liner
-Place in oven at 350* for about 5 minutes, to pre-bake the crusts, and prevent them from getting soggy.

Cupcakes
1 box of Chocolate Cake Mix, prepared as directed

-I used a Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Mix, which called for some oil, water, and 3 eggs.
-Mix up your cupcake batter, and pour into pre-baked liners.
-Once your cupcake liners are full, place in the oven, and bake, following the directions on your cake mix.
-Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Marshmallow Creme Frosting
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
14 oz of marshmallow cream

-Mix all ingredients in your stand mixer
-Place into Ziploc bag, cut off the tip, and pipe onto cupcakes. Or, if that's not your style, grab a knife, and ice them the old fashioned way.

Decoration
-Once your cupcakes are frosted, dust with crushed graham crackers, and 1 rectangle of your Hershey Bars

Peanut Butter Madness, part DEUX!

Here are the DELICIOUS peanut butter cookies I alluded to in an earlier post.

A little background on me. Around here, with the family, I am known as the cookie queen. I'm CONSTANTLY baking cookies, even in my terrible, old oven I like to pretend never existed. I'm known to start baking and freezing Christmas cookies in November, and for making 100's of batches for family parties. So, I don't think it would be too immodest to say that I am pretty qualified to judge a cookie recipe. In case you want some proof, here is a picture from one of my cookie trays last Christmas:



I happen to love almost ALL cookies. Except oatmeal cookies. Because seriously, the LAST thing I want in my cookie is oatmeal. I mean, really who thought it was a good idea to bastardize something so delicious as a cookie with something so disgusting as oatmeal?!?! Of course, my father-in-law disagrees, as oatmeal raisins are his absolute FAVORITE cookie, and I have been known to indulge him by making some from time to time. Of course, I can't vouch for the taste, because chances of me trying one are pretty much nil.

Anyway, other than oatmeal cookies, I would have to say that peanut butter cookies used to be pretty far down my list of great cookies. I didn't hate them, but I didn't love them either, though I made them often, because they are my Mom's favorite. Let me tell you this, after making this recipe, peanut butter cookies have SKYROCKETED to the top of my favorite cookie list. I mean, these cookies are so good, you could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Oh, and dessert, too. Can't forget dessert. They are without a doubt the best cookies I have ever made, or eaten, in my life. Of ANY kind. They are fluffy, and chewy, and almost melt in your mouth, without being gooey (I'm not a fan of gooey cookies). And the peanut butter/semi-sweet chips inside just elevate them to a whole different level.

An important note about these cookies, the taller you make them, the better. I used a pampered chef cookie scoop, and my secret helper (the husband) rolled them in sugar, and pressed them with a fork for me. The ones that we BARELY pressed with the fork, and left almost golf-ball shaped were the BEST texture, as opposed to the ones we flattened. I would say the cookie scoop is pretty important in these cookies, or if you don't have one, get ready to get your hands dirty (your best tool in the kitchen, according to my hero, Paula Deen!), and roll them into golf-ball sized cookies, instead of just using two teaspoons.



Unfortunately, I was in a hurry while making these, and didn't snap any of the dough, or sugar rolling, but if you go to the link below, to the smittenkitchen site, there will be PLENTY of those for you, and much better photo quality too!

Here they are, as Shelby does her work!



And cooling, on the counter. Here, you can see the difference in heights. The taller cookies, that weren't significantly pressed were SO much better.



I also want to point out what a HUGE difference rolling the entire cookie in sugar before baking made. I always sprinkled my PB cookies with sugar before baking, but never knew why, or really noticed when they were done. With these cookies, you roll the entire cookie in sugar before baking, and it really makes a MAJOR difference (which of us can't use a little more sugar in our lives?). It lends a contrast in textures, and an instant "melt-in-your mouth" sweetness that just can't be beat.

LIFE CHANGING Peanut-Butter Cookies
a la Smitten Kitchen
Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth is what we used, but I am pretty sure they use chunky at the bakery)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern (I used the back of a small offset spatula to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

*Important notes:
1) I used SMOOTH peanut butter, as I, personally, think that chunky peanut butter is from the devil. It looks all silky and smooth, and then you are unpleasantly surprised by these miserable chunks of nuts. ALMOST as bad as biting into a beautiful brownie, and finding it's full of nuts. Sins of the highest level, in my book.

2) Do NOT use a spatula to flatten these cookies. Another of the 7 deadly sins, according to Kelley. Peanut butter cookies are supposed to have a beautiful cross-hatching pattern on top. That's what makes them peanut butter cookies. That's how it's always been done, and how it should always stay. There's something so homey, and old fashioned about it, and you know how I feel about all things homey, and old fashioned!

Original recipe/blog post/beautiful photos found at: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/12/peanut-butter-cookies/

Lunchbox Lovin', and a trip down memory lane...

I know, it's amazing, I'm here, alive, AND posting recipes. My finals are over, so I should have a lot more to share with you guys now that time isn't such a hot commodity.

Today's recipe is so simple, I'm almost embarrassed to post it as my first "original" recipe on the blog, except it's so delicious there's nothing to be embarrassed about! This recipe is one that was inspired by my hometown, and my Mom. Good thing I introduced her, huh?

I grew up in NE Ohio, but, right now, I happen to live in Utah. Which, is a beautiful place, but probably one of the most generic, "white bread" places in the world. Now don't get me wrong, I happen to love white bread, nothing beats a plain old PB&J on Wonder Bread. And don't even get me started on the monstrosity that is "white wheat bread," BLECH! Anyway, what I'm getting at is that Utah County is very devoid of a lot of the immigrant communities I grew up around in Ohio. You want great Mexican food? You can find it on almost as many corners as a Mormon church. But, you want some delicious homemade Polish pierogis? You're SOL (which means "SORRRY out of luck," you crazy sinners, this is a revival, you know!). A quaint little Italian Bakery? Not a chance. Which, in my opinion, is a real tragedy.

I grew up near some really GREAT Italian bakeries, and pizza places (can anyone say Guido's in Chesterland? YUM!). Two of my favorites are T&T Bakery in Painesville, and Ianiro's, in Chardon, and if you're ever in NE Ohio, you MUST go there (and bring me back some Pizzelle's and Pepperoni Rolls!). You want great donuts? Biaggio's in Willoughby, but that's another post. This post is about something more savory, and more practical for your lover's (or your own) lunchbox. The number one specialty at these great Italian bakery's is something that is so incredibly simple, you can't believe how good it can be. They are called Pepperoni Rolls (say it with me now, pepp-er-oni-rolls, NOT pizza rolls), and if you want one from T&T bakery, you'd better be there at exactly 10:30 am, or they'll be sold out before you get one, and that would be a real travesty.



T&T and Ianiro's have two different takes on Pepperoni rolls, T&T's is cheese-less, completely reliant on the DELICIOUS bread they wrap around giant-sized pepperonis. Ianiro's, on the other hand, involves delicious bread, AND melty cheese, a winning combination in anyone's book. The husband and I don't agree on which is better, I prefer the simplicity of T&T's, and he prefers the melty goodness of Ianiro's, but really, let's face it, when you're talking about homemade italian bread, and perfectly seasoned pepperonis, is there really a wrong way? I think not.

Now, if you are unfortunately stuck residing somewhere outside a 200 mile radius of either of these two delicious bakeries (because I would SO drive 200 miles for a good pepperoni roll!), and in a location so white bread as to be completely devoid of immigrant bakeries, what are you to do? Suffer in silence, begrudging your locale? NO, my friends! Not if you're ingenuity is still intact...you make your own to hold you over until you can get into town, and get some deliciousness again.

Now, these pepperoni rolls are NOT as delicious as the one's they serve at my favorite Italian bakeries. And it's not because I'm not an Italian immigrant, it's because I'm using frozen bread dough here, and as good as it's gotten, nothing matches hand-kneaded bread in an Italian bakery. Again, this has nothing to do with laziness, it just never occurred to me before now to make my own bread. I think now that I have some more time, I might try it. When I do, I'll let you know how it goes.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but my husband has a job which affords him no lunch hour. He typically has 10-15 minutes to grab something in his car, between hospitals. Which either means fast food, or soggy bologna and white bread sandwiches, neither of which sounds like a good option to me. Put this together with my nostalgic longing for Italian baked goods, and my ingenious Mother (who came up with the idea), and you've got a winning recipe to makeover your lunchbox, or your lover's!

Now, you will notice a key difference in my original recipes, and the recipes I post from other websites, particularly in the measurements, or lack thereof. In true Southern style, I very rarely measure ingredients in family recipes. Mostly because my Mother never did, and neither did her mother, or hers, and so on and so on. I think there must be an edict somewhere that Southern women aren't allowed to measure ingredients when cooking savory dishes. It would be grounds for ejection in my Mother's kitchen, and I just can't risk that.

Also, I should note that while I prefer the cheese-less pepperoni rolls at T&T, when I make these at home I make them WITH cheese. The homemade bread is what really makes T&T's pepperoni rolls stand out, without that delicious bread, you really need the cheese.

Okay, onto the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 loaf of frozen bread dough, thawed (I use Rhode's, but only because that's all my evil, giant-box store carries)
1 stick of butter
Italian herbs (I use Italian seasoning, rosemary, and garlic powder...LOTS of garlic powder.)
Pepperoni
Shredded Cheese (I use whatever I have on hand, Parmesan, Asiago, Cheddar, whatever)

Directions:
Preheat Oven according to directions on your bread. I think last time I did 375, but I'm not sure that's what Rhode's recommends...sue me, I like to live adventurously. And everything turned out just fine.

Melt your stick of butter in a bowl. Once melted, add your preferred herbs, and stir them together. Now, if like me, you thought 2 sticks of butter might be better than one, and are left with GOBS of melted herb butter, don't throw this stuff out! Place in small tupperware container, and stick in the fridge for next time you get the inkling to add some buttery herb deliciousness to your recipes.



Now, roll out your bread dough into a looooooong rectangle. This part is not easy, and requires a little muscle. Frozen bread dough does not particularly prefer to be rolled out, but don't worry about hurting its feelings, Just push a little harder, and use a little muscle. Incidentally, I'm 99.9% sure that this hard labor COMPLETELY makes up for the calories in the food you are about to eat. So, go with it, and enjoy your cardio. I typically break the loaf into two halfs, to make the last steps easier, which means I get TWICE the workout.

-This reminds me of an important tool you MUST have in your kitchen. A good, heavy, MARBLE rolling pin. I don't want to see any of you using those flimsy $2 wooden ones from your favorite big box store. NO. They just will not do. They don't work very well, and they always make me think of wooden splinters getting stuck in my food. Nasty. You need to invest in a good quality, marble rolling pin. It will make ALL the difference in the world for so many of the recipes I will share with you. So, take the money you're about to save on fast food lunches, and put it towards one of these babies:

Oh, and I just did a quick google search, and you can get one of these babies for $11, so no excuses!

Once your dough is rolled out, spread some of the melted butter/herb mixture over it, until it looks nice and golden. Then, add some of your shredded cheese, sprinkling until you think there is enough. Then, add some more, just because. Layer your pepperonis, until you have enough to satisfy your craving. Add a bit more cheese, because you really can't have too much melty goodness.




Then, you're going to roll this entire thing up, longways, kind of like a jelly roll. Go slow, the pepperoni makes it so that the bread doesn't easily stick to itself, and you don't want to dislodge it all.




Once it's all rolled, cut it into 3-5 inch sections, and place on greased baking sheet. Cut vent holes in the top of each pepperoni roll, spread on some more butter/herb mixture (because really, you can't have too much butter. And before you get your panties in a wad about calories, don't forget all the cardio you did, rolling out the dough).



Place in your hot oven, and bake until they look done. About 15 minutes or so, usually. They come out with pepperoni, and cheese sticking out the sides, and smelling HEAVENLY.



Place in a ziploc bag, and store in the fridge up to 1 week. Place one of these babies into your lover's (or your own!) lunchbox next week, and see how quickly your fast food bill starts to decline! Because who's going to trade one of these for grease laden fast food?

Two more introductions...

Well, more like one new introduction, and a few more details on an old friend.

First for the new. It has been brought to my attention that I did not include my Mom on my initial cast of characters post. This was not because I'm lazy (see a recurring theme here, I am NEVER lazy...even when I am. Don't try to do the math there, just accept it as the gospel truth. This is, after all, MY revival), but because unfortunately, she happens to live 2000 miles away in the land of sunshine, and lollipops known as Ohio. One day, we, too, will get to live there again, with green grass, and yards larger than postage stamps, but for now, we're stuck 2000 miles away. Because of this distance, it's unlikely that she will be tasting many of my new recipes, but I would be remiss not to include her, because most of the "oldie, but goodie" recipes I'll post here are from her brain, and not my own. And, I am sending her some of the peanut butter cookies that I will be posting shortly. So, here she is, my beautiful Mom, who informed me today that her parents took her to ACTUAL Southern tent revivals when she was little, so if anyone can speak knowledgeably about fire, and brimstone, it's her.
Here she is, with my sweet little Ashlyn (aka The Tempter), when she was only 2 weeks old (Ashlyn, not my Mamma!)



As for the old friend, it has come to my attention that many of you had not heard of the amazing machine that is the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer. Which is a sin. Seriously, if you love to bake, you MUST have a Bosch. Especially if you love bread. I could not make bread without this machine. Of course, it does much more than make bread, but it's why I HAD to have it. I won't even tell you the things I had to do to for Santa (aka my sweet Jonny) in order to have this amazing device come down the chimney. If I did that, we'd all need more than a revival to come out forgiven. Anywhoo...This device is simply wonderful. It's like a KitchenAid Stand Mixer on steroids. For bread, it kneads bread PERFECTLY in no-time flat, and most importantly, NO WORK for you! For large batches of cookies, it simply can't be beat. You can triple, and even quadruple your chocolate chip cookie recipe in here, with no problem. It also comes with a blender attachment, that makes the most powerful blender I've ever used. Not to mention the several other attachments you can purchase. I have the food processing attachment that allows me to grate cheese, potatoes, onions, and just about anything else you can think of quickly, and most importantly painlessly. I don't think anyone's missing that nice iron-y taste of blood in their latkes. I'm going to show you a few links/videos on the mixer so you can get acquainted, and then give you some time to plan what you need to do to for Santa in order to have this come down your chimney, but I'm only going to do it if you PROMISE me you won't faint when you see the price. I don't want to have to start putting legal disclaimers in here for the head injuries if you do. I'm not a doctor yet, I don't want to be uninsurable when I apply for that malpractice insurance! Also, you should know that these machines last FOREVER. Seriously, my mother-in-law's Bosch is over 20 years old, and still works as it it were brand new. Yes, TWENTY years old. That's almost as old as me, and still works like new, which, incidentally, is more than I can say for myself!

Okay, here is a good website that lists a lot of the features of the Bosch, but I'll warn you, it's wordy!

http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/Bosch_Universal_Plus_Mixer_MUM6N10UC.aspx

Here are a couple of youtube videos of the Bosch in action. You'll have to excuse the uber weird people in the videos, but it's early in the morning, I'm not dressed, nor do I have make-up on, so I assure, a demonstration by me right now, would be even weirder.

Kneading Pizza Dough:



Making NINE loaves of bread at once: (there are three of these videos, and they are LONG, but it will give you the idea)



The blender attachment:


Next time I make a double batch of cookies in the Bosch, I'll make a video of it, to show you how awesome it is!

I promise to post the recipe for the AMAZING peanut butter cookies I made from Smitten Kitchen's website, they are really wonderful. Make them ASAP, and then don't get on the scale for at least a week.