Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cilantro. It's my very favorite herb ever. Deliciousness personified. 

And, I made some baked corn-tortilla strips to go with...

Pioneer Woman's recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's delicious, just the right amount of spicy, and I made a triple batch today! Some for my friend Gina, who is recovering from surgery, some for Trilogy (who just had a baby boy), and some for our own family, because if you're house smells this heavenly, there is no way that you can't keep some for yourself!

You can find the recipe right here. And, it is easy, easy, easy to whip up. The hardest part is the shopping! Enjoy!!

A Very Merry Year: August

So, instead of going crazy with holiday baking last year, I decided that it would be much more fun to spread the joy out over the year and gift someone each month with something lovely from my kitchen.

This month was a double-header...

We have a little buddy named Alexandria who loves to hang out with the kids, most especially with Madeline, and whenever "tea party" or "restaurant" or anything related is played, she's all about "Lemon Cookies," so I had to make some lemon cookies for the little sweetheart. I found a promising recipe on the Weight Watchers site, and it's great — really lemony, a little sweet and soft. They're called Lemon Cookie Snaps, and I modified the recipe by adding at least 2 Tablespoons of lemon zest, since I had a very large lemon, and nonfat Greek yogurt instead of light sour cream. Extra zing is always a good thing!
Alex's Tea Party Lemon Cookies
(adapted from Lemon Cookie Snaps recips on WeightWatchers.com)
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 large egg yolk(s)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp (or more) lemon zest, finely chopped
1/4 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream, or nonfat Greek Yogurt which is what I used

Mix dry ingredients, set aside. Cream sugar and butter, then add egg yolks, lemon juice and zest. Combine well. Finally add Greek Yogurt OR sour cream and mix. Add flour mixture, mix and then scrape onto plastic wrap. Fridge for 2 hours up to 24, or pop in the freezer for 30 mins. or so. Tear off 1 Tbs. pieces, roll into balls and flatten with fork (in a criss-cross pattern) dipped in sugar on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Should make about 30 cookies — 2 cookies are a serving at 3 POINTS total.

And, second, our friend Miki had baby Rhys on July 21st, so among other baked and dinner treats that we delivered to her family last week, we also made a couple dozen of The Pioneer Woman's Oatmeal Crispies for Miki. Oatmeal is good for milk production, and a nursing Mama needs to be able to eat said oatmeal with one hand... hence, cookies!!

Wordless Wednesday: Rainbow Salad

Holy Flapjacks, Batman!

I've been searching for a great pancake recipe for a long time. In high school, in South Africa, I found a wonderful recipe in a library book about Au Pairing. But, of course I lost that recipe long ago, and the source is a bit far away. And mixes really don't do it for me. I mean, I've used mixes and they are okay, but... I think I must've been spoiled in my formative years with awesome pancakes.

About six years ago, Miki made her mom's recipe at the office when different teams were planning breakfast for everyone. They were divine, and she gave me the recipe. But, when I made them, they weren't the same. However, last Fall when she made them at my house, again, they were heaven. So, I thought maybe it's just me and pancakes – bad luck. Or, maybe it's the fact that food is nearly always better when someone cooks for you!  I do feel the need to tackle Miki's mom's recipe again though... clearly, there's something I'm missing there.

But thankfully, this morning, I tried a new recipe for pancakes that is easy, makes light and moist pancakes, and they are utterly delicious. The trifecta of perfection. This is my new recipe. Mmm...  And, a good thing too, since Madeline adores pancakes. Seriously, she's always begging me to make them, and would eat them for every meal if she could.

The Best Pancakes Ever
(AKA Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes, not adapted at all from The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond)
Makes a dozen 4-inch pancakes


1 c. sour cream (I used light, they were fab)
7 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Butter and real maple syrup


Heat a cast iron pan over medium low while you make the batter. Do not be impatient (like me) and turn the heat up, although these cakes are good even if they do get a little charred. Anyway, in a medium bowl, mix together the sour cream, flour, sugar, soda and salt. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 


In a separate bowl, mix eggs and vanilla, and then pour this into the sour cream mixture. Again, mix until just combined.


Melt about 1 Tbs. of butter in the pan, and then cook the pancakes. Be patient. They are worth the wait. Delicious!