Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
I'm Ree Drummond.
I'm a writer, blogger, photographer, and mother.
I live on a ranch in the middle of nowhere,
and all my recipes have to be approved by cowboys,
hungry kids, and me.
Here's what's happening on the ranch.
The cowboys and kids have a long day of hauling cattle.
So, taking them a tailgate lunch is the way to go.
For our cowboy lunch feast,
I'm getting ahead the night before,
making lasagna.
It's warm, hardy, easy to transport,
and it's chock-full of beef --
perfect for kids, cowboys, and ranch mamas.
To go with it, baked garlic cheese bread.
The topping's got cheddar, parmesan,
and pepper jack cheese.
It is so, so good.
And for dessert, individual, fried fruit pies
with delicious short-cut fruit fillings --
just the thing for the guys to eat on the go.
Tailgating, it's not just for football anymore.
Welcome to my frontier.
We're tailgating tomorrow, but not in a football sense.
You know, on a cattle ranch,
there are so many different activities going on.
There's working cattle, sorting cattle.
Tomorrow, the guys are hauling cattle.
They have a ton of cattle to haul from Oklahoma to Kansas.
So, instead of having them come up here for lunch,
I'm gonna take lunch to them.
I'm making delicious, meaty,
very cowboy-friendly lasagna for the guys.
I'm adding three pounds of ground beef
and two pounds of just regular pork breakfast sausage
to a big pot.
And then I'll add about five cloves of minced garlic.
Now, I'm just gonna cook the meat mixture
until it's totally browned.
I actually doubled the recipe for lasagna.
This is the lasagna my mom always made
when I was growing up,
and I call it the lasagna that elicits marriage proposals.
I made if for Ladd very early in our relationship,
and I think it had something to do with clinching the deal.
Okay.
Now I'm gonna add all the tomato products,
and there's a whole bunch.
I'm gonna add two 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes.
And then I'll add two cans of tomato paste.
If you have the little cans of tomato paste,
you'd actually need to add four cans.
This is one of those recipes
that I could seriously make in my sleep,
because my mom made it so much and I have made it so much.
All right.
Now I'll just stir in all the tomato stuff.
And I'm gonna add some salt and pepper.
It's a lot of meat, so it needs some seasoning.
I'll add some fresh herbs later.
It just needs to simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes.
And while that happens,
I'm gonna get the rest of the lasagna elements ready.
The boys are gonna be bringing in the horses tonight.
Sometimes they like to do that the night before
so the horses are in the barn
and ready to be saddled in the morning.
It's one of their favorite activities.
Let's rock and roll.
Hey.
An important part of lasagna is, of course, lasagna noodles.
I've got 20 ounces of noodles that I've boiled
until just before the al dente stage.
They still have to bake in the oven,
so I don't want to overcook them.
In the pasta water, I drizzled a little olive oil
to keep them from sticking together,
and a little salt for flavor.
All right, the sauce has been simmering away,
and it's rich and yummy looking.
So, I'm gonna chop up some herbs to add to the sauce.
I'm gonna need quite a bit of parsley.
Rip off some.
I like to use fresh when I have them.
So, I'll just mince up the parsley.
All right, that parsley's nice and minced.
Just a few big pieces, but that's okay.
And then I'm gonna take the basil leaves
and just give them a rough chop.
I find it's easier if I roll them up into a bunch.
Slice them that way, and that's a good start.
Then I can turn them around and chop away.
Okay, now I'm gonna add half of the herbs to the sauce.
And then I'm gonna save the rest of the herbs
for the cheese mixture.
Okay, the sauce is pretty much ready.
So, I'll go ahead and make the cheese mixture
for the lasagna.
And I need to take a moment
to explain that this cheese mixture
is extremely nontraditional in terms of lasagna.
Instead of ricotta cheese, it uses cottage cheese.
But trust me, it's so good.
I've got two big containers of cottage cheese.
Even if you don't like cottage cheese by itself,
it's delicious in this lasagna.
My husband would not touch cottage cheese by itself
to save his life.
But he loves this lasagna.
All right, now, to the cottage cheese,
I'll add four beaten eggs.
And that helps bind the lasagna all together.
And then a cup of grated parmesan.
Then I'll add a little bit of salt and pepper
and mix it all together.
The cottage cheese mixture is a little more mild
than the ricotta flavor.
So, you really, really taste the meat and the sauce.
All right, that's all stirred together.
Now I'll just throw in the rest of the herbs --
the parsley and the basil -- and stir it in.
All right, the cheese mixture's all ready.
So, I have all the elements for the lasagna ready to go.
I've got the cooked noodles,
the luscious sauce simmering away.
I've got the great, yummy cheese mixture.
And then I have a whole bunch of sliced mozzarella cheese.
Little extra parmesan for the top.
I'm ready to assemble it.
Up next, I'm assembling the lasagna.
Then the day of the big cattle hauling dawns.
While the guys get to work,
I'm making delicious garlic cheese bread
and fried pies
for our cowboy-style tailgating lunch.
The guys are moving a whole bunch of cattle
from Oklahoma to Kansas tomorrow,
so we're gonna tailgate to make lunchtime easy.
I'm making wonderful, rich, meaty lasagna for the guys.
I'm gonna take it to the pens, and we'll have lunch there.
I actually doubled the recipe for lasagna,
making two big pans.
So, all the elements are ready,
and I'm gonna start assembling it.
I'll lay four lasagna noodles
in the bottom of these disposable foil pans.
If we were having lunch here,
I would have used my ceramic pans.
But it's so easy just to take the foil pans out to the pens.
Then I can just toss them when we're finished.
All right, on top of the layer of noodles,
I'm gonna spoon a fourth of the cheese mixture
right over the top.
I have to keep track when I double things.
Okay, There are two layers for each pan of lasagna,
so I use a quarter of the mixture.
Sometimes I lose track.
All right, that looks like about a fourth.
So, I'll just spread that all over the noodles.
Now, on top of the cheese mixture,
I'm gonna lay slices of mozzarella.
You can do grated mozzarella,
but I love using sliced mozzarella.
It just seems to stay together neater.
It kind of defines the pieces of lasagna.
Really handy.
And then last but not least, on top of the cheese,
I'll add a quarter of the sauce.
And it just goes right on top.
I love these disposable lasagna pans,
'cause they're nice and deep.
I have plenty of room for all the ingredients.
Just a big-old spoonful
pretty much on top of each slice of cheese.
All right, and spread that out.
Now I'm gonna repeat the layer exactly like the first one.
Okay, that's one pan done.
Now I'll get the second pan assembled.
The boys are bringing in the horses, I'm making lasagna.
This evening, it's all about getting ready
for tomorrow morning.
Good job, Todd.
Thanks.
All right, second pan of lasagna is almost done.
Just needs a sprinkling of parmesan.
All right, I'm just gonna cover these with foil.
Then I'll park them in the fridge overnight
and bake them off in the morning.
You can also make it well in advance,
put it in the freezer.
It keeps for a long, long time in the freezer.
All right.
Ooh, they're heavy.
Lots of meat in here.
Just get these into the fridge.
They'll be all set for tomorrow.
And we'll be ready for a long day of hauling cattle.
MAN: Morning. We've been waiting on you.
Your sombrero's gonna blow away, buddy.
No, I got it glued on.
Superglued?
We're gonna go.
One thing about making lunch to take to the cattle workers
is that you have to get an early start.
They don't eat lunch at 1:00.
It's usually like 10:30 or 11:00.
Fortunately, I did the lasagna last night.
So, this morning, I'm making some garlic cheese bread
to go with the lasagna.
I have got no less than seven cups
of sharp cheddar cheese.
It's a lot of cheese, but I'm making a lot of garlic bread.
And then I also have a cup and a half
of pepper jack cheese.
A cup of parmesan left over after my lasagna was all done.
Now, I've got about eight green onions,
and I'm just gonna slice up the white and light green parts.
The green onions are gonna add some great flavor --
not that it's necessarily gonna need it,
'cause it's gonna have plenty of garlic too.
Okay, I think that's enough.
I don't want to overdo the onions for the cowboys.
All right, now, to bind all this together,
I'm going to add about a cup of mayonnaise.
That kind of helps turn it into a nice spread for the bread.
And then I'm just gonna add
a half a stick of softened butter.
All right, and then I've got a spatula,
and I'm just gonna smush all this together.
That's about halfway mixed together.
So, I'm gonna add in a little bit of salt and pepper.
The cheese is pretty salty, so it doesn't need too much.
And then I'll just mix this together.
This is the topping for the garlic cheese bread.
And I am tempted to grab a spoon and take a big bite of it now.
But I'm gonna save it for the cowboys
'cause I know they are gonna love it.
Up next, I'm finishing off the garlic cheese bread,
checking out the cattle hauling, whipping up fried pies,
and doing a little hauling of my own
with a hot tailgate picnic for the hardworking crew.
[ COWS MOOING ]
The crew's hauling a bunch of cattle
from Oklahoma to Kansas today,
and I'm pulling together a big tailgating lunch --
cowboy tailgating, that is.
I'm gonna finish up the garlic cheese bread.
It's gonna go great with the lasagna.
I've got two loaves of french bread.
I'm just gonna cut them in half right down the center.
And I'll wind up with four half loaves.
I've always been so good at math.
Are you impressed? [ Chuckles ]
Okay.
Now, I've got a sauce pan of butter,
and I threw some garlic in there
and let it simmer for a while.
So, the butter is just totally infused with garlic flavor.
And I'm just gonna brush the butter lightly
on each of the halves.
If I were to have added
raw garlic to the cheese mixture,
it would be a little bit too strong.
All right. It was just enough butter.
And I'm leaving all the garlic in the pan.
Don't need that anymore.
Now I'm gonna grab the cheese mixture,
and I'll just put a fourth of the mixture
on each half.
This stuff is so luscious.
I'm gonna bake the bread later,
and this is gonna bubble up
and be really gooey and wonderful.
Okay.
Now, I'm just gonna use a dinner knife
'cause it spreads a little more easily.
And I'm just gonna spread the mixture evenly
all over the bread.
I want it to reach the edges.
That way, when it bakes, it'll all be even.
Now, if you're not a fan of mayonnaise,
don't worry.
You won't taste it at all.
It really just serves to make the cheese mixture creamy,
helps it spread.
All right, it's all spread out.
So, I'm gonna get these on two baking sheets.
This is a lot of garlic bread.
And I'm gonna stick these in the fridge.
But before I do that,
time to put the lasagna in the oven.
It needs to bake at 350
for about 45 minutes to an hour,
until it's hot and bubbly.
I'll leave the foil on so the top won't get too burned.
I can smell the lasagna already.
All right, we'll get
the cheese bread into the fridge.
Now, I have a little extra time,
so I'm gonna run to the pens
and deliver some plates and things,
see the guys, and take some pictures.
[ Engine turns over ]
I'm just dropping some stuff off,
'cause I've got a bunch to bring in just a little bit.
Lunch will be here soon, though.
How's your morning going?
Good.
How's working going? Cool.
[ Camera shutter clicking ]
All right.
I never miss an opportunity for pictures.
Now, for dessert, I'm making fried fruit pies.
Fried pies are great
to deliver to the guys when they're working,
'cause they can just grab them and go.
I already made the pastry, and it's chilling in the fridge.
You just mix 6 cups of flour
with 4 tablespoons of sugar
and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.
Then you add a cup of shortening
and cut the mixture together
until it resembles coarse crumbs.
After that, beat together 2 eggs and 2 cups of buttermilk.
Add those to the bowl and mix it together.
And if it needs a little more moisture,
just splash in a little more buttermilk.
Then just divide the dough in half,
put each half into a zipper bag,
and store it in the fridge till you need it.
All right, I got to put the pedal to the metal,
'cause I got more cooking to do.
Up next, I'm making the delicious fried pies.
Then I'm rounding up the cowboys and kids
for a big, ranch-style lunch.
We've got delicious lasagna and garlic bread,
and we're digging in tailgating style.
For recipes from this episode,
go to...
[ Cows mooing ]
[ Indistinct shouting ]
I'm moving right along on
the big tailgating spread I'm making for the crew.
They're moving cattle from Oklahoma to Kansas today.
So, I'm gonna take lunch to them at the pens.
I'm gonna get the garlic cheese bread
in the oven.
Grab my pastry dough while I'm here.
The cheese bread needs to bake at 350
for about 20 to 25 minutes,
till it's nice and hot and bubbly,
and I cannot wait to have a piece.
The lasagna's going in the oven.
It smells so good.
So, I'm gonna go ahead and get started on the fruit pies.
Got the pastry done.
And I'm gonna do one half at a time.
So, I'm gonna really thoroughly flour the board.
And I'll grab one of the balls of dough...
throw it on there,
and I want to get some flour on top.
I don't want it to stick to the board.
And then I'm just gonna roll this out
in a big, oblong shape.
I want to get the dough as thin as I can.
Okay, that's looking good.
Now I'm gonna grab my trusty pizza cutter.
And I'm just gonna trim off the edges
so I wind up with a really big rectangle.
That looks about right. Doesn't have to be perfect.
Now I'll just cut the big rectangle
right across the center
and then right down the middle in the other direction.
So, I made a big plus sign.
And then I will cut
right down the center again.
So, now I'm breaking out the canned pie filling for these.
I do not have time to whip up
a perfect batch of apple pie filling.
And in the top half of each rectangle,
I'll just do a little, neat line of filling.
Now I'll make a cherry one.
I've got two beaten eggs,
and I'm gonna use a little brush just to
brush a little of the egg on the edges of the pie.
This is just gonna act as a glue to hold the pastry together.
Now I'll bring the half without the filling
over the filling,
make sure it stretches out,
and just make pretty good crimps all along.
And that'll sort of seal the deal.
All right, I've got two pies done.
Now I'm gonna finish off the rest of them.
All right. Time to fry them.
I've got some shortening in the pot on the stove.
It's at 350 degrees.
So, I'm gonna drop them in with a spatula
just to be safe.
And they'll start frying immediately.
They only take about three to four minutes.
And then when they're all done,
I'll pull the rest of the meal together.
The first batch is good,
so I'll take them out onto a paper towel.
Then just keep frying them in batches
till they're all done.
I'll check if the lasagnas are ready.
They're looking good, so I'll just
cover them up and keep them warm
so they'll be nice and piping hot at the pens.
The garlic cheese bread is done,
so I'm gonna take it out of the oven.
The very last thing I have to do
is just sprinkle these beautiful pies
with powdered sugar.
And I do believe it is tailgating time.
[ Whistles ]
All right, guys, lunch!
Come get it while it's hot!
BOY: Oh, yeah.
GIRL: Smells good, mom.
Does smell good.
There you go.
Thank you.
Who's next?
Nothing like tailgating on a horse trailer.
BOY: I want cherry.
MAN: Who wants apple?
Pretty good, Ree.
All right, guys.
Time for you to get back to work.
No more sitting around eating pie.
That's my job.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.