‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond’s ‘Foolproof’ Recipes

The Pioneer Woman showed home cooks how to make what she describes as “foolproof” recipes. Here’s how to make Ree Drummond’s easy meals.

Ree Drummond’s chocolate sheet cake with vanilla bean frosting

Drummond starts by mixing the dry ingredients (two cups of flour, two cups of sugar, and a pinch of salt). Next, she has a second mixture in a pan containing two sticks of butter and four heaping tablespoons of cocoa.

She then adds one cup of hot water. Drummond says she turns up the heat just enough so that the mixture starts to bubble. Once the mixture bubbles, she turns the heat off. Drummond lets the mix sit while she mixes the wet ingredients, which include ½ cup of buttermilk, two eggs, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and one teaspoon of baking soda.

Next, Drummond adds the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients. After the chocolate and dry ingredients are mixed, Drummond adds the buttermilk. Drummond bakes the sheet cake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. You can find the complete recipe here.

Ree Drummond’s pasta-stuffed peppers recipe

For this recipe, Drummond combines stuffed bell peppers and baked ziti. She starts by making the filling. She begins sautéing onions and garlic in a skillet. Then she adds chopped bell peppers. Drummond uses four types of peppers (green, red, yellow, and orange). Next, she adds Italian sausage. She says it takes about five minutes to completely brown.

Next, Drummond adds cooked ditalini, a jar of marinara sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese. She stirs the mixture. She prepares the bell peppers by pulling out the “innards” and then filling the inside with pasta. Then, Drummond adds mozzarella on top of the peppers and places them in the oven.

Before placing the peppers inside the oven, she pours a little water inside the baking dish and covers the peppers with foil so that the peppers get steamed. She bakes the peppers at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Then, she removes the foil and finishes cooking it for another 15 minutes. You can find the complete recipe here.

Ree Drummond’s Tex Mex chicken spaghetti

Drummond cooks the spaghetti until it’s al dente. She uses a rotisserie chicken shredded into large chunks. One ingredient she likes to add that’s different from other chicken spaghetti recipes is cream of chicken soup. Next, Drummond adds diced onions, diced red bell peppers, and diced poblanos. Then she adds adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers and a sprinkle of seasoned sauce.  

Drummond stirs the mixture and places it inside a casserole dish. Then she places more pepper jack cheese on top. She bakes the casserole at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes. She says she likes to bake the casserole until everything is melted and “bubbly.” For the finishing touches, Drummond sprinkles cilantro on top of the casserole. You can find the complete recipe here.

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