First Pioneer Woman Meal!

Yesterday was a stressful day at our house. We found out that we are going to have to have yet more work done on our car, which was not good news. We also discovered that I had made a small clerical error that is going to cost us a lot of money. I felt so bad, and I knew that the error was completely my fault. We spent the day yesterday upset and not really sure what to do.

Today I decided that we are not going to stress out about this. We are going to put it in God's hands and just trust. I believe that women can really set the tone and mood in a home ("When Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!") So I felt that it was my job to lighten the mood, and stop us from stressing out.

So how did I lighten the mood? First of all, while Luke was at band practice this afternoon, I cleaned the house. The floor badly needed to be mopped, and I know at least MY stress level was decreased significantly when that was accomplished ;-)

Then I decided that I was going to make a nice meal. This month I've been making a lot of the easy go-to meals that I use when I'm not feeling creative or motivated. So I thought I'd try something new today. I've been drooling over Ree's recipes on The Pioneer Woman website for months. I decided it was finally time to make some of them. I looked for some comfort foods, since I was trying to help us chill out and stop worrying.

First of all, I've been wanting to make her Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin for awhile. It looked easy enough, so I made it!It really was so easy, and they were DELICIOUS! I would definitely make these again. It's a great side dish to go with just about anything. I love how Ree has step-by-step directions with pictures on her website! It was SOO helpful! I wish I had discovered her website when I first started to cook a-year-and-a-half ago!

Anyway, here is the finished product. Did I mention that they were delicious??

Next I decided that a sandwich would be good to go with my potatoes. Nothing too fancy or complicated-looking. I decided upon "Marlboro's Man's Second Favorite Sandwich."

It was extremely easy to make, and sooo filling and tasty. It was just chicken breasts seasoned with lemon pepper, topped with peppered bacon and cheddar cheese, served on a hamburger bun. Here it is in the pan when it was just about finished
Mmmm, look at all that cheesy goodness! I think we may have overdone it with the cheese tonight!

I think it was a hit! Luke couldn't even finish his whole sandwich because it was all so filling, but I will definitely make it again. The peppered bacon added so much flavor!

Look how huge it is! No wonder neither one of us could finish them!

So did this meal help to de-stress us? I think so! It's funny how food can do that ;-) I'm ready to just chill out here tonight...maybe pop in a movie later after Luke's done watching the Cavs game. I feel a lot better about everything today! I know God will take care of us :-)