Fruit Oatmeal Bars
a la Pioneer Woman

1-3/4 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces 
1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour 
1-1/2 cup Oats (quick Or Regular) 
1 cup Packed Brown Sugar 
1 teaspoon Baking Powder 
1/4 teaspoon Salt 
1 jar (10 To 12 Ounce) Strawberry Preserves (or any flavors)

 Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 or 8 x 10 baking dish.
Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle half the mixture into the pan and pat lightly to pack it a little tight. Spoon strawberry preserves evenly over the surface, then use a dinner knife to carefully spread it around. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly again.
Bake until light golden brown on top, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan.
When cool, cut into squares and serve. Yum!

Cilantro Slaw
a la Pioneer Woman

1/2 head Cabbage, Sliced Thin 
1/2 head Purple Cabbage, Sliced Thin 
1 whole Jalapeno, Halved Lengthwise And Thinly Sliced (optional)
1/2 cup Whole Milk 
1/2 cup Mayonnaise 
1 teaspoon White Vinegar 
1 Tablespoon Sugar 
1/4 teaspoon Salt 
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper 
2 cups Cilantro Leaves, Barely Chopped

• 
  Combine shredded cabbage and sliced jalapenos in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Pour over cabbage. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours. Before serving, toss in cilantro leaves.
  

Spicy Dr Pepper Pulled Pork
a la Pioneer Woman

1 whole Large Onion 
1 whole Pork Shoulder ("pork Butt") - 5 To 7 Pounds 
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper 
1 can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce 
2 cans Dr. Pepper 
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.
Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.
Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.
Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it's not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.
Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it's cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.
Serve on warm flour tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, salsa, and whatever else you'd like.

Pasta Primavera
a la Pioneer Woman

1 cup Bite-sized Broccoli Pieces (up To 1 1/2 Cups) 
1/2 whole Onion, Diced Finely 
3 cloves To 4 Cloves Garlic, Chopped Finely 
2 whole Medium To Large Carrots, Sliced On The Bias (diagonally) 
2 whole Medium Zucchini, Sliced On The Bias (diagonally) 
1 whole Medium Yellow Squash (optional) 
1 container (about 5 Oz.) White Button Or Baby Porcini Mushrooms, Roughly Sliced 
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Into Strips 
4 Tablespoons Butter 
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 
1 pound Pasta (I Like Penne) 

FOR THE SAUCE: 
1/4 cup Dry White Wine (up To 1/2 Cup), Optional (replace With Additional Broth If Not Using) 
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth 
1 cup Whipping (heavy) Cream 
1 cup Half-and-half 
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese 
5 leaves Basil (or More To Taste), Plus Extra For Garnish 
1/2 cup Frozen Peas

Preparation Instructions

First, prep the vegetables. Chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ cups worth. Dice half a yellow onion. Chop 3 to 4 cloves of garlic. Slice carrots on the bias (diagonally), and do the same for the zucchini and yellow squash. Roughly slice the mushrooms and slice the red pepper (seeded) into strips.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic together and cook for a minute or two, until they start to turn translucent. Then throw in the broccoli. Stir, and add in the carrots.
Stir it around, and PLEASE, PLEASE cook it for only a minute, tops. Transfer the mixture to a plate. Add in the red pepper strips to the skillet. Stir them around for a minute or so, then transfer them to the plate.
Add pasta to slightly salted boiling water and cook to al dente.
Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Add squash and zucchini, cook for less than a minute, then transfer to plate. Cook mushrooms for a minute or two (add salt to taste), and again transfer to the plate.
FOR THE SAUCE
To make the sauce, pour ¼ to ½ cup dry white wine into the skillet (see note below). Add ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth, a tablespoon of butter and scrape the bottom of the skillet to pull up the flavor left behind by the veggie cooking. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the liquid starts to thicken.
Add 1 cup whipping cream and 1 cup half-and-half. Measure out ½ cup grated Parmesan; add to the skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chiffonade 5 to 6 fresh basil leaves and add that to the sauce; stir.
Dump veggies and mushrooms into the sauce along with ½ cup frozen peas right out of the freezer. Add pasta al dente and stir. If the sauce seems a little thick, or if there doesn’t seem to be enough sauce, add a good splash of chicken broth and a little more half-and-half. Top with more Parmesan, salt, pepper, and basil to taste.
Note: if you’re averse to wine, add chicken broth instead. But watch the salt later.