• TTTLauren on April 27, 2022

  This is the first and only Ree Drummond book I own. I have rented a couple others, and looked through a few more. I see a lot of overlap in the recipes, with a little change in technique or ingredient from one book to the other. That said, I really enjoy a number a bunch of recipes in the book, and have returned to a handful of them mulitple times. One is the Orzo Mediterranean salad. I have made many variations of that one. Its a pretty book illustrated with excellent pictures of each step of cooking which makes it fun and helpful. I would love to find another one of her books that is as good as this one, without a bunch of overlapping repeats. But maybe for Ree this is the one for me.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chili dogs

  • louie734 on March 31, 2016

    The goldmine in this recipe is in the batch size of freezer-ready, simplified chili. My freezer is now stocked with quick-thaw chili packets for topping not only dogs, but nachos, tacos, or just gussying up into a hearty bowl of chili. I feel like a genius.

  • Kojak on December 05, 2016

    Such a simple idea. Very good and easy to put together.

• Sweet potato fries

  • BethNH on November 12, 2017

    Recipe calls for 6 sweet potatoes - I used 2 and cut the butter to 3 Tbl but left the spices the same. The weird thing is that some of the fries burned while others were barely warm despite all being the same size. I don't understand how they could be cooked but not warm. That being said, they were good and my youngest was very appreciative.

  • hbakke on November 05, 2020

    I halved the recipe and used a mix of white and orange sweet potatoes. These were easy and good with the dipping sauce. I would make them again. T didn't like these because he wanted them to be crispy like regular potato fries, but that's not really going to happen in the oven with sweet potatoes. I liked them how they were.

• Chicken enchiladas

  • BethNH on November 12, 2017

    I made quite a mess making this recipe but it was well worth it. My chicken breasts were awfully thick so took longer to cook - I should have halved them. I subbed red enchilada sauce for green and flour tortillas for corn just because that's what I prefer. This made a delicious dinner on a Saturday night when I didn't need to worry about how long it took or the mess it made.

• Beef with snow peas

  • redjanet on April 13, 2016

    Another excellent stir-fry from this book with a delicious sauce. Also, surprisingly healthy for PW! I think next time I may substitute broccoli florets for the snow peas as suggested as I think the textures would work better, but overall this was another hit I will be making again.

  • averythingcooks on January 06, 2018

    I am more annoyed at myself than anything else. While making the sauce I absolutely knew that there wasn't enough there for a full flavored stir fry sauce. As much as I did add some minced garlic (clearly not enough!) and extra minced ginger, I ignored the contents of my fridge (including oyster/hoisin/ fish sauces and siracha etc). And yes, the sauce was pretty bland. I did use a mix of broccoli, onion and red pepper for the veg, a nice steak for the meat and our favorite noodles....but this was a miss for us and we really have liked several other PW recipes.

• Cashew chicken

  • redjanet on March 23, 2016

    This was a resounding success. The combination of flavours (the sauce is incredible) and textures was perfect and I would be very happy if a dish I ordered in a Chinese restaurant tasted as good as that. This also reheated very well for lunch the next day. I will definitely be making this again.

  • averythingcooks on January 13, 2021

    I have been eyeing this recipe for a while. I cut the sauce/aromatic ingredients in 1/2 and used 1 good sized chicken breast. I also eyeballed a mix of veg (chopped yellow peppers, thinly sliced red onions, matchstick carrots, diced celery & broccoli florets). I served this over basmati rice with a finishing “squirt” of sriracha stirred in with the chopped green onions & cashews over top. Absolutely delicious.

• Breakfast potatoes

  • jenmacgregor18 on February 13, 2017

    Very easy and delicious. This is a keeper for me. As written recipe makes enough for 10 - 12 people - 2 half sheet pans. I took to a breakfast potluck in a 6 qt crockpot. They held up well.

  • averythingcooks on October 26, 2019

    We love this mix of oven roasted potatoes and veg (a mix of red & yellow peppers with chunks of red onions & garlic ). It cooks beautifully on my large stoneware bar pan and the technique of starting at 425 then upping the oven temp to 475 works well. A great side for tonight's grilled rib eye.

  • anya_sf on November 04, 2019

    I scaled the recipe down for 1.5 lbs potatoes. After 15 min at 475, the veggies were overcooked, but perhaps that's because the sheet pan wasn't completely covered. Anyway, I'll check sooner next time. The potatoes were tasty, but benefitted from extra seasoning. I'd make them again.

• Shrimp scampi

  • Shannoncooks17 on August 26, 2019

    Good and very easy to make! Could easily add more veggies to add to the dish (it's summer here and our garden is growing crazy). Will make again!

  • Jviney on June 09, 2023

    It isn’t authentic, and it isn’t fussy, but my kids slurped this down as fast as possible. I didn’t add the second two Tbsp of butter, and felt like I could have cooked the whole pound of spaghetti for the amount of sauce I had, but these are minor complaints.

  • Rebeccajwj on April 15, 2022

    We make this a lot. I add lemon zest as well. This recipe to me actually taste even better the next day so I use it as a mega head or for lunches. One of my favorite recipes in this book.

• Sausage, potato, and kale soup

  • Shannoncooks17 on October 09, 2019

    This is a lot like a certain chain Italian restaurant's recipe. I have made this before and it is always good. Once made with chorizo and butter beans since I didn't have any potatoes at home. Still wonderful!

  • averythingcooks on April 10, 2020

    I made "about a 1/3 recipe" of this with a few necessary changes. A mix of 2% milk, heavy cream and veg stock from the freezer made up the liquid, frozen spinach was a perfect sub for kale and I jazzed it up at the end with a spoonful of sun dried tomato pesto, some chopped roasted red peppers and a bit of grated parm. Wow - it is really good :)

  • TTTLauren on April 27, 2022

    Oooh this one was good. Ive made it twice, so far. Its got a subtle sweetness to it, and a background spice. Its a soup you might ge tempted to drink like a bowl of leftover milk from a bowl if cereal. Its simple and tasty.

• Swedish meatballs

  • Shannoncooks17 on November 03, 2019

    Made with the meatball recipe in the same cookbook. Was easy and quick to do. Baked the meatballs at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. About 1 1/2 inch balls (about a golf ball size). This was a little salty so Tom added 1/2 tsp of white sugar and then a 1/2 tsp of brown sugar and that fixed the problem.

• Pork chops with pineapple fried rice

  • mharriman on August 11, 2019

    Good! This was a hearty South Pacific tasting meal. My husband and I left the table feeling stuffed. The author doesn’t explain what to do with the grilled pineapple even though the photo shows it tucked between the rice and pork chop. I just served mine on the side since it was attached to a skewer. The only change I made was using small diced red bell pepper instead of the jarred pimento. The fried rice had enough vegetables in it that it tasted healthier than what I typically experience in Asian restaurants.

  • anya_sf on October 29, 2019

    The online and book recipes don't exactly match. The book recipe has you cook pineapple slices in the pan prior to sauteing the pork. I grilled pineapple wedges per online, then cut them into chunks. However, I cooked the pork and rice per the book, which has you cook the rice separately. I used my big wok for the rice, since I used a bit more, plus a whole red bell pepper instead of pimientos, and some chopped cabbage. I cooked the bell pepper and cabbage after the eggs (temporarily removing them) and before adding the rice. The rice needed more seasoning, but I still kept it fairly bland since the onion sauce was so flavorful. The book directs you to stir the pineapple in at the end, but doesn't tell you what to do with the remaining green onions (sprinkle them on top?). My pork probably simmered too long, so it was rather dry. It would benefit from brining. Overall, we liked this.

  • Kduncan on October 15, 2023

    This was fine, a bit heavy. Our 1 year old liked the fried rice. As talked about below the online recipe does not go into how to incorporate the pineapple into the plating of the dish.

• Oven barbecued chicken

  • mharriman on August 29, 2018

    I agree with mamaRumCake! This is an easy and very tasty recipe. I found it online. Used apricot preserves with store bought jar barbecue sauce and followed the baking instructions. Really good with corn on the cob and coleslaw. Definitely will repeat.

  • mamacrumbcake on June 29, 2016

    This was easy and very tasty!

• Pumpkin wonton ravioli

  • Kirstin_the_Kiwi on July 02, 2016

    Lovely flavour. I roasted 500 grams of pumpkin and then mashed it. I didn't find the wonton wrappers very pliable - had to dampen them with water.

  • Rebeccajwj on April 15, 2022

    I used pumpkin puree. I did increase the spices and add a pinch of salt and nutmeg and a quarter teaspoon of leftover bacon grease. For the topping I added some pancetta I happened to have in the fridge. The pancetta, Parmesan, pinenuts,& sage topping was excellent. I used dried whole sage that I crumbled with my fingers since I dehydrate that every year for my garden. I serve the raviolis on a bed of baby spinach leaves and then topped with brown butter sauce and then the rest of the topping. It was a huge success and everyone loved it.

• Vanilla pudding

  • Summerlandsky on April 03, 2019

    This and all the variations are truly the best - not to mention simplest pudding recipe. Smitten Kitchen is almost exactly the same, but Ree's has a little more sugar and adds four egg yolks and it takes it to another level. My kids are crazy for adding peanut butter and milk chocolate chips to this, but when I do I decrease sugar to one cup.

• Ready-to-go chili packets

  • Kojak on December 05, 2016

    It was fine. Nothing wonderful, but worked well for chili dogs.

  • Shewi128 on October 31, 2022

    This was not a memorable chili (most aren't to me), but it was a decent basic chili recipe. I would consider making it again for freezer packets like she does in the cookbook.

• Huevos rancheros

  • Kojak on December 05, 2016

    Delicious. Would make again.

• Wild rice pancakes

  • rpepper on June 01, 2016

    This was a fail for me. I think the recipe calls for way too much milk. I had to add at least 1/2 cup of flour to get a reasonable batter.

• Ready-to-go taco chicken

  • averythingcooks on November 25, 2020

    I cut this recipe to 1/3 & used the taco seasoning from Magnolia Table (vol 2). The chicken very good as it came out of the pan but I felt that the sauce it was shredded into was kind of one note. With just tomato sauce (I used passata) & water plus the seasoned chicken, it just didn't have enough flavour for us. I added some homemade BBQ sauce & a splash of pickled pepper brine. We used this to make a platter of chicken nachos and with lots of cheese, green onions & pico de gallo, this was a good "snackie" dinner with a green salad.

• Chicken nachos

  • averythingcooks on November 25, 2020

    This was the inspiration for a simple dinner (nachos & salad). I have already commented on the taco chicken recipe (needed some tweeking to boost flavour) & we added more toppings than she calls for (but she does suggest possible add ons). We added green onions and then a fresh pico de gallo after the bake with sour cream & Nigella's lovely roasted salsa for dipping. A fun and different dinner for us....I will try Chrissy Teigen's next time .

• Baked ziti

  • averythingcooks on August 13, 2020

    This is a good pasta bake which freezes really well. I like this method where some of the meat sauce & all of the ricotta etc are both actually stirred into the cooked pasta. This mixture is then used to make 2 layers with the remaining sauce and shredded cheese. As I typically do make a 1/2 recipe, I just use the whole can of tomatoes without any jarred marinara. I also use 1/2 lb of ground beef with 1 or 2 (depending on their size) hot Italian sausages and I add a good splash of red wine, fresh basil and a parm rind to the sauce. This is a reliable favourite.

  • anya_sf on August 13, 2024

    I made 1/2 recipe. For the sauce I used a 24-oz jar of marinara plus some crushed tomatoes, 8 oz Italian sausage, 12 oz mushrooms, and 8 oz frozen spinach stirred in at the end of the simmering time, so overall there was probably more sauce than the original recipe. This version of baked ziti definitely has more sauce and cheese relative to pasta than our usual; I think it could take 50% more pasta. But it was certainly delicious! The mixing/layering assembly was easy and worked well to distribute everything.

  • mdagl on April 06, 2022

    Pre-made and froze in advance of the whole family's arrival a few days before Thanksgiving. Was a great meal to have hot and ready to eat when they all arrived after a long travel day. Everyone gave rave reviews and it makes a ton so we had leftovers the next day. It's now become a favorite make-ahead meal and my go-to baked ziti recipe.

• Chicken with mustard cream sauce

  • averythingcooks on April 27, 2022

    I made this with the brandy and although I came dangerously close to immediately burning the garlic, we both enjoyed this. I cut the chicken into fork sized chunks and coated with the creamy sauce, it was really good. Also, the suggestion of serving this with/over her buttered parsley noodles was a good one.

• Hamburger soup

  • averythingcooks on September 21, 2020

    I also say “not fancy but really good”! I cut it 1/2 using a 1 lb ground beef/pork mix and followed most of ingredients/quantities but also took advantage of the opportunity to clean out my crisper and my growing collection of “little freezer jars” (various stocks/liquids, stewed tomatoes etc). I also added Montreal steak spice and the brine from hot peppers near the end to up the seasoning. I made it on Saturday to eat tonight (Monday) and both of us are really pleased with the results.

  • anya_sf on November 13, 2019

    This is the kind of soup you can adapt to your own taste/whatever's in your fridge. I used 2 lbs ground turkey, 2 bell peppers, 4 carrots, 4 medium potatoes, diced tomatoes instead of whole, and some frozen corn. The soup did need about 4 cups broth and extra seasoning; I added thyme and extra salt and pepper. This soup isn't fancy, but it is good and filling.

  • Jviney on February 05, 2019

    We love this, although I add an extra cup of broth right off the top, and sometimes a little more water later. Wholesome and delicious.

• Sweet-and-sour meatballs

  • averythingcooks on January 17, 2023

    I was making a different meatball recipe (rescuing some ricotta cheese) and wanted a "not tomato based" sauce to serve with them. This sauce is delicious with a big hit of sriracha to offset any hints of "too sweet". I added sweet peppers (as suggested) + red onions and I would repeat this simple dinner bowl for sure

• Meat and potato scramble

  • averythingcooks on March 10, 2020

    So I really don't need a recipe for scrambled eggs but having said that, I did a quick search to see what was in my book collection and was surprised at how many recipes did pop up. I followed Ree's guidelines for cooking the bacon, sausage and onion (to which I added diced red, yellow & orange pepper) before adding the cooked potato etc. For anyone who is a novice looking for a great "eggs for dinner" option, this was a really good pan of eggs :)

• Homemade enchilada sauce

  • averythingcooks on October 19, 2019

    There is always a 500 ml mason jar of this really tasty enchilada sauce in my freezer. I don't usually have bouillon cubes but a teaspoon of steak spice (or some other similar thing hanging around in the spice cupboard) seems to work fine and I typically use jarred passata instead of canned tomato sauce. I make a somewhat freestyle chicken enchilada recipe that uses 6 small corn tortillas and this is the perfect amount of sauce.

• Salisbury steak

  • averythingcooks on February 27, 2020

    Sometimes you just want good old fashioned meat & potatoes and this was perfect. I had 1 lb of ground beef so to bring it up to quantity, I added the meat from a "largish" hot Italian sausage. Otherwise the only change is that I seldom have "beef bouillon cubes" BUT I do have a little mason jar of finely ground onion soup mix so I used a tsp of that instead. I guess it could be "fancied up" but really - it was good as is over mashed potatoes with peas on the side.

  • GretchenHicks on December 15, 2020

    This was so good. I added mushrooms to mine which was a suggested possible addition. I definitely recommend. I was hesitant about the ketchup but it really did add! This went into my favorites bookmark. I did mashed potatoes (really a must with this IMO) and roasted broccoli. The family LOVED it.

• Pawhuska cheesesteaks

  • averythingcooks on February 21, 2024

    I had some deli roast beef on hand and used Cheez Whiz (I know - so many opinions here!) to make the creamy sauce. With grilled sweet peppers & red onions + the chopped sizzling meat & the spicy cheese sauce, this is a very tasty, substantial and fun dinner sandwich which we ate beside a green salad. And yes, I would make this again.

• Green chile chicken

  • averythingcooks on February 28, 2024

    We enjoyed this cheesy chicken using roasted Anaheim chiles from my "garden to freezer" stash, served alongside a corn & black bean salsa/salad. However, I think next time, I will try butterflying/crumb coating/airfrying the chicken for more even cooking & some crunch and then adding the chiles & cheese in the last few minutes of the cooktime. So yes, I will make this again.

• Colorful coleslaw

  • averythingcooks on March 15, 2020

    We have a current favourite coleslaw dressing but I am trying to try different versions looking for the next 1st choice. This dressing did use some different ingredients ( i.e. milk instead of yogurt or sour cream) and was good BUT the 1:1 ratio of white vinegar to sugar was simply not in large enough portions for our palates - I kept adding more of each until I got the big hit of flavour we like. So...... Dorie Greenspan is STILL our preference.

• Mini blueberry galettes

  • averythingcooks on March 18, 2017

    Well.....I broke my rule of no first time recipes for dinner guests but this seemed pretty straight forward. I resisted the urge to just use my regular sour cream pastry recipe and made the all butter version suggested. The first 4 went into the the oven and a few minutes later I looked in the oven and freaked a bit. They had all opened up completely flat and butter was bubbling everywhere. I left them in far longer than was called for to try and bake / crisp the pastry without burning the blueberry filling that was leaking in all directions. While that was happening , I resolved that the next 4 would work. Rolled the pastry thinner and worked very hard to fold up/pinch the dough and egg washed far more thoroughly and carefully. 5 minutes in the oven and the exact same thing happened. My guests ate them with a lemon curd whipped cream....I guess they tasted okay but certainly didn't look okay. Very disappointed about the fate of fresh blueberries and 2.5 sticks of butter.

• Buttered parsley noodles

  • averythingcooks on April 27, 2022

    I made this with egg noodles to serve with her creamy mustard chicken. The method of heating all of the flavourings with the melted butter before stirring in the cooked noodles worked well to coat the pasta. I added basil with the parsley and we didn't mind the lemon as it did seem to compliment the sauce we were eating. I would use this method again for a simple but tasty side.

  • anya_sf on November 15, 2019

    I served these with beef stroganoff, so I used wide egg noodles and went a little light on the butter. They were good, although my son thought the lemon zest was weird, but I liked it. If these noodles were the featured dish, I'd go heavier on the butter and seasonings.

• Cheese biscuits

  • averythingcooks on October 02, 2023

    What sets these apart from other biscuits I make is that they are baked in a muffin tin. They came together quickly & my large Pampered Chef scoop gave me 9 biscuits and not the expected 12 for a 1/2 recipe but I don't think I would want them smaller. I was surprised that they were better once cooled & then reheated compared to straight out of the oven. We will happily eat them but I think I would return to regular "drop" style biscuits before repeating this one.

• Tomato tart

  • averythingcooks on July 14, 2018

    With a mound of grape tomatoes & basil to use, I did an EYB recipe search for a tomato tart. There were LOTS to choose from but because I also had a lump of pie dough in the fridge to use up (rather than the frequently called for puff pastry), I went with a smaller version of this one. I rolled out the pastry as thin as I could (as instructed) and chose a suitable sized removable bottom tart pan from my collection. I scaled the ingredients to fit that pan and the only changes I made were that I quartered my tomatoes (personal preference over leaving them whole) and added a drizzle of balsamic syrup with the basil at the end. The caramelized onions were a delicious addition over the cheese layer and the oven temp / timing resulted in a crisp and flaky crust with no prebaking. This will be made again!

• "Slice-baked" potatoes

  • averythingcooks on February 20, 2024

    With my smallest biscuit cutter (1.5" from a nested set of 4) & potatoes with a suitable circumference to create the circles of potato skin, this is a fun riff on twice baked potatoes. I used a ricer & a fork for the filling (rather than a mixer) and added chopped scallions to the filling. Because I made/chilled them early, I baked them for around 8-10 minutes to heat the filling before topping with the remaining cheese & running under the broiler. They were a great addition to dinner and they reheated really well on day 2.

• Rice pilaf

  • averythingcooks on September 25, 2023

    As usual, even a 1/4 recipe (in this case 1/2 cup dry rice) makes LOTS for the 2 of us but that's okay because this was a very tasty side for a saucy pork tenderloin skillet. I liked the inclusion of lots of vegetables (+ I added a little sweet red pepper to mix) and the wine added a lovely background flavour. This one is worth repeating.

• Chow mein

  • mfranklin125 on July 06, 2017

    Simple and good dinner. Not exciting but happily eaten

• Sesame chicken salad

  • mfranklin125 on July 06, 2017

    Great salad. Very filming

• Breakfast quesadillas

  • anya_sf on November 04, 2019

    My hungry family ate one whole quesadilla each for dinner. They were delicious! I pretty much stuck to the recipe except only used 9 oz bacon, which was enough for us. I used Mexican cheese blend and didn't measure it. Next time I'll just use 2 eggs per quesadilla.

• The bread

  • anya_sf on November 13, 2019

    The recipe doesn't specify salted butter, but definitely use that for more flavor. I figured I owed it to Ree to try this as written before cutting back on butter. My family liked it, but thought it should be called "The Butter", not "The Bread". Next time I'll use 1/2-3/4 of the amount and I bet it will still be awfully good and buttery.

• Beef Stroganoff

  • anya_sf on November 15, 2019

    A good, easy version of beef stroganoff, Maybe my sirloin steak just wasn't flavorful enough, but I wanted more beef flavor. I doubled the mushrooms since we love them, and added some frozen peas at the end. I'd make this again, but amp up the seasonings.

• Chicken Marsala

  • TangoTosca on December 03, 2017

    Very good, but next time I’ll use a bit less liquid. It created more sauce than we could use.

• Mediterranean orzo salad

  • Shewi128 on July 11, 2022

    We loved this salad. Simple, easy to put together, and really flexible with ingredients. I added some leftover sliced Portuguese chorizo. I don't like raw grape tomatoes, so I blistered them under the broiler. It would also be good with bell peppers or asparagus. I also added a small amount of dijon mustard and white balsamic vinegar. I would probably add a little bit more of both. This is a repeat recipe.

  • TTTLauren on April 28, 2022

    Another winner! The simple dressing is the magic here. I have made this about 5 times. Always with asparagus, sometimes bell pepper, sometimes bulgar wheat or another grain instead of orzo. Ive yet to make it with tomatoes actually. When I get peak in season tomatoes I would. I think the asparagus is terrific in it.

• Bow-tie chicken Alfredo

  • Shewi128 on June 16, 2021

    This was delicious and definitely a make-again dish. I cooked bacon prior to the chicken, and then cooked the chicken in the bacon fat. I ended up adding more liquid to make it more saucy. The kids and I both loved it.

• Skillet lasagna

  • mdagl on April 06, 2022

    Made for a friend's meal train. Simple, easy recipe that received positive reviews.

• Mexican tortilla casserole

  • mdagl on December 20, 2022

    Made ahead prior to hosting many family members. Everyone loved this! Would make again. A great freezer meal to have on hand.

  • TTTLauren on April 28, 2022

    Very good recipe. What is special is the use of both roja and verde enchilada sauce. Having been a unofficial student of Rick Bayless, I have learned how to make both! But the roja works well for smoky-ness and the verde gives the dish a brightness. And all the stuff rice beans and corn in the middle make it hearty and the cheese makes makes it comfort food!

• Tomato soup with Parmesan croutons

  • TTTLauren on April 28, 2022

    Enjoyed it. Simple recipe much better than a can of soup. I think I made mine a little too chunky. Nothing a few spins of a stick blender can not fix.

• Kale citrus salad

  • TTTLauren on April 28, 2022

    Highly recommend this. Its a light salad with the perfect dressing. You know those premix salads with dressing packets at the store? Forget that! Buy some curly kale, mix the dressing and voilà! I made it in winter but would be a fantastic picnic or potluck side dish!

• Black bean burgers

  • LemonVerbena on June 02, 2023

    These are easy to make and very tasty, but the finished product is rather crumbly.

• Ready-to-go beef taco filling

  • estanzler on July 17, 2024

    For an easy weeknight/freezer meal, this was fantastic. I used trader joes enchilada sauce and added canned green chilis.

• Refrigerator rolls

  • estanzler on July 28, 2024

    These were easy to make and they were pretty good, but a little dense.

• Leite's Culinaria

  The how-to photos and beauty shots for each recipe as well as the reliable results of each recipe we’ve tried make it a godsend...these recipes work. Spectacularly well.

  Full review

• What's Gaby Cooking

  Dinnertime by Ree Drummond – I’ve loved each and every book Ree has ever published and this is no exception! It’s packed with everything you could need for dinner – and you’ll never be bored!

  Full review