Me, myself and my Pioneer Woman

About six weeks ago I discovered The Pioneer Woman/Ree Drummond on the Food Network.  I really have no idea how I stumbled across her show but it has literally changed my life.  It's only taken me 16 years (the time I've been married to Mike) but dang it, I can now cook!  I honestly think even God could see how distressed my family was with my cooking so he might have had something to do with my new found love affair with Ree!  Through the years I have ordered cooking magazines, surfed pinterest for recipes and I have loads and loads of cookbooks but I could never get the cooking thing right.  The thing is I have desperately wanted to learn how to cook for years.  I have longed to have my family smile after a meal and say, "Wow, that was really good!"  Well........drum roll please, thanks to Ree that has finally happened.  I am cooking and cooking well and with variety!  It's all visual to me and I finally found a woman who is cooking for a meat and potatoes husband and the rest of her 4 children, who include two boys.  Plus she lives on a ranch in Oklahoma (and on a side note, Nick loves watching the show with me because he's intrigued with the ranch and what it takes to run a ranch).  I've even gone shopping with Ree (ha) and learned her tips for picking things up at the store.   My family is experiencing red bell peppers, stir fry, meatball sandwiches, etc.....What I'm most proud of is I'm able to plan things out and everyone in my family gets a hot meal and trust me, that's an accomplishment in my house when we have some kind of practice each week night.  The other night I made hot meatball sandwiches & french fries for Mike and Nick.  Mike was taking Nick to football where he met up with Jay.  I packed up some meatball sandwiches for Jay and french fries and he ate them on the field & devoured every last bite.  It does take planning and I've noticed our grocery bill is higher but I'm really enjoying it and plus we are eating healthier with more variety.  What's on the menu this weekend?  Sloppy Joe's, french silk pie, and the best green beans ever - YUMMY!