The Pioneer Woman Cooks Dinnertime

Cookbook by: Ree Drummond

“Dinnertime also happens to be the one time of day that home cooks struggle with the most!…But when it comes to churning out dinner several nights a week, I’ve learned through the years that I just can’t fake it till I make it, or things start to get boring and lifeless really fast,” Ree Drummond.

If you were to ask me today which cookbook I use the most – hands down it would be The Pioneer Woman Cooks Dinnertime. I love all the recipes in the book and especially the freezer food section. It is really helpful to have meals on hand that are quick to cook and really tasty when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Potato Soup

Unless I am sick I’m not normally a soup person, however, this is so filling and tasty. I love the little bit of kick that the soup has mixed with the bacon and cheese at the end its perfection. (If you have kids that don’t like anything spicy you may not want to add the cajun spice).

The recipe is really easy to follow – just remember to prep everything first. Otherwise you won’t have the potatoes peeled and chopped when you need them – I know I always forget how long this takes. One night prepping the soup makes ten individual servings. It is a great meal to have from the freezer – just cook up a piece of bacon or two, reheat the soup and you have a nice warm dinner.

Check out these Ziploc containers – great for storing soup in the freezer.

Chili

I didn’t start eating chili until a few years ago. I’m not a big fan of beans which most chili recipes have – but when I saw this recipe and realized you could leave out the beans I decided to try it.

As most of Ree’s recipes are – this is easy to follow. The chili tasted great. I’ve made this so many times now that I can’t even count them all. I store the extra chili in Ziploc quart freezer bags and freeze them flat to save space in the freezer. The chili defrosts really easy and heats well in a saucepan on the stove with a little bit of water. I love to serve this with some tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks Dinnertime is a great cookbook for anyone who wants to do some meal prepping to make dinnertime a little bit easier. Most home chef’s don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen on a weeknight making dinner. I normally make these big recipes on a weekend day and then put the additional meals in the freezer for those weeknights. Don’t forget to check out my review of The Pioneer Woman Cooks The New Frontier.