I had to confess.
I was having an emotional affair with The Pioneer Woman.
A few months ago, my husband noticed a change in me. He saw me glancing at my phone at all hours of the day, giggling to myself, tearing up more easily, and spending more time in the kitchen.
The time had come.
“Babe, I think I have a crush on the Pioneer Woman.”
That’s right-Ree Drummond in all her fabulousness!
I’ve been familiar with Ree Drummond for several years now. I grew my collection of her cookbooks over time and have seen her flowered cookware lining the shelves of the stores where I shop; though, never actually adding the famous Charlie the Basset Hound cookie jar to my own kitchen.
“I’m not a chef, and I’m not an expert at anything. I’m just a mom and a wife.” -Ree Drummond
Can I get an amen?!
The crush probably started when I opened the first cookbook I owned of hers, The Pioneer Woman Cooks Dinnertime, and made my now favorite salad ever: Chicken Taco Salad. The flavor is oh-my-yum! I told my husband that she’s simply magical. Everything I make of hers, my children eat . . . even the selective eater. It’s a miracle!
I spent a lot more time than I care to admit scrolling my phone this past year. But while I was searching for a dinner recipe, I came across The Pioneer Woman’s Instagram page and started watching her stories. I guess it’s time to admit I have never watched her show on the Food Network, but I was all about the Instagram posts. Don’t discount me yet, Ree! Her kids helped film her show from their ranch due to the limitations of the pandemic, and it was so funny to watch the behind-the-scenes of them helping to cook and film the show.
I think that’s another reason why I adore Ree.
I felt like I got an inside peek at their family. She’s an amazing cook, but she appears to be an amazing mom and loving wife too. She says, “My days are spent wrangling children, chipping dried manure from boots, washing jeans, and frying calf nuts.” She serves up her bites of heaven to her hubby Ladd and the cowboys on their ranch. She can do no wrong in my eyes.
Recently I picked up her book, Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage & Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere, and I was laughing out loud. The book gives a glimpse into her life on the ranch, her marriage, and motherhood. I could not put the book down (and read it in two days)! I laughed so hard at her doughnut story, becoming famous, and just trying to take a relaxing bath, and then cried as she sent her girls out into the world. Hold me, my babies are not leaving the nest!
Tonight I was eating my Cap’n Crunch Chicken Strips (which ALL my children tried) and just kept thinking about how glad I am that The Pioneer Woman is in my life.
Ree, if you see someone looking very lost on the ranch one day . . .it might just be me.
