THe Pioneer Woman in Me!

Lately, I have been comparing myself to the pioneer women of our past... I tend to this when I get scared... like when Adam left for Afghanistan... I told myself "The pioneer women's husbands went west before them to claim land and it would be years before they would see or hear from them again and most of them couldn't read or write so if they got letters in was rare... you have email, and web cams... you can do this!"

And then again before childbirth... I told myself "Hundreds of pioneer women gave birth in the back of covered wagons with nothing but a stick to bite on or a swig of moonshine, ... you have a doctor AND a hospital, plus ice chips, the birthing ball, AND great meds...you can do this!"

Right now it is more like... "The pioneer women loaded up all their belongings and family and moved West not knowing EXACTLY where they would end up. They faced bears and Indians... and they didn't even have cell phones to call and get pep talks from their moms, u-hauls, or dvd players for their kids to watch while they packed... you can do this"

What I am trying to say is that I am in touch with my inner- pioneer woman... like the great modern pioneer woman... Ree Drummond... If you have not read about her life adventure... please check out her blog. Inspiring!

A few months back I was at the doctor's office and found an article on The Pioneer Woman... Needless to say I had seen her recipes and made a few and even though she has them on her amazing blog... I couldn't help but rip out all four pages of her recipes and hide them in my purse (ya, I do that from time to time)

We added her Chicken Spaghetti to our 30 meals and it has been a great hit with all of us... I like to make it and then divide into two small dishes, so I can freeze one. Plus, if you cook your chicken like she does on her blog- you will never buy chicken broth again! Chicken Spaghetti

Like The Pioneer Woman Makes

2 C cooked chicken

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 C finely diced green peppers

1/2 C finely diced onion

4 oz, jar of pimentos, drained

3 C dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces

2 C reserved chicken broth from pot

1tsp Lawry's season salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste 1 C additional grated cheddar

Directions:

Cook 1 cut up fryer chicken and pick out meat to make 2 cups of chicken. Cook pasta in same pot with chicken broth until al dente. Do not over cook! Combine drained pasta with all ingredients in a large bowl, except additional cup of cheddar.

Place mixture in a casserole dish and cover with additional cheddar. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake

From The Pioneer Woman

This cake is so big we shared it with some neighbors and it was so good one stopped mowing to come tell me how much he loved it. I am thinking about making it for the staff at the kids nursery school or the next time all the family is together. Perfect to bring to a bbq or pot luck!

See Mikey likes it... and it is even better with a big glass of cold milk!