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I'm Ree Drummond.
I'm a writer, blogger, photographer, mother,
and I'm an accidental country girl.
I live on a ranch in the middle of nowhere,
and all my recipes have to be approved by cowboys,
hungry kids, and me.
It's a big day of working calves
over at Ladd's brother Tim's place,
and the family and cowboys are out in force.
So I'm cooking up lunch and hauling it over there
for them to eat off the back of a truck.
Everything's going in the oven.
There's delicious, slow-cooked spicy ribs
with twice-baked potato casserole --
a real ranch favorite --
slow-cooked jalapeño corn,
yummy roasted green beans,
and two delicious dump cakes -- cherry-pineapple and peach.
It's cowboys, cattle, kids, and me,
all pitching in for a busy day of work.
This is what you might call a family affair.
Welcome to my frontier.
-- Captions by VITAC --
The whole gang is over at my brother-in-law Tim's ranch,
working calves, today.
It is a huge morning of work,
and the whole family is pitching in.
Since they're gonna be working hard all morning,
I'm gonna take them a big lunch.
I'm gonna start by getting two dump cakes in the oven.
I love dump cakes.
They're an old recipe, always a crowd-pleaser,
and the ingredients are so easy.
Now, I'm gonna make two varieties of dump cake.
The first one is cherry-pineapple.
So that starts with a big can of cherry pie filling --
nice and bright red and sweet.
And then a can of crushed pineapple.
It's a little bit of an unusual combination,
but this is a classic dump-cake recipe,
and it is so delicious after it bakes.
Okay, I got that all mixed together and spread out evenly.
So now I grab cake mix --
another essential component to a dump cake.
That's what makes it so easy.
This is a white cake mix.
And I'll just sprinkle it all over the surface of the fruit.
You can use absolutely any kind of cake mix you want.
I've used the cherry pie filling before with chocolate cake mix.
Oh, boy, is that good.
Okay, now I'll just get it all covered.
Make sure there's no fruit showing.
And now I'll move forward with the second variety,
which is even simpler than the first.
I've got a big can of sliced peaches in syrup,
and the whole thing goes into the pan.
It looks like a lot of liquid, and it is,
but the cake pretty much absorbs it all.
Now, for the cake mix for this one,
I'm using yellow cake mix.
There's absolutely no rhyme or reason
to what kind of cake mix you use with the fruit.
It's just a matter of what you have in your pantry.
It's pretty much six of one, half-dozen of the other.
It still winds up delicious.
All right, I'll make sure it's totally covered.
Okay, now I'll just spread the cake mix around.
Now, the thing that makes all of this make sense --
I cut 3 sticks of cold butter into pieces,
and I just lay the pieces of butter
all over the surface of the cake mix.
This is an incredibly decadent cake.
I don't know if you've noticed that by now.
[ Chuckles ] There is nothing redeeming about it.
The name is hilarious, the ingredients are simple,
and I'm proud every time I make one. [ Chuckles ]
The great thing about dump cakes is
they are so rich that a little goes a long way.
And since I'm feeding a crowd today,
that's exactly what I'm looking for.
Okay?
Got all the butter on.
I think that's probably enough butter.
So, I'll just get these in the oven.
They need to bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour,
until they're nice and hot and bubbly and golden.
And while they bake,
let me fill you in on what the guys have been up to.
Before the sun was even up,
the guys were saddling up their horses in the barn.
How are you this morning?
Real good.
Take him over and put him in the trailer.
REE: They loaded them into the trailer
and headed over to Tim's ranch.
Is everybody bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?
They met up with Cowboy Josh and his crew.
Hey, guys.
We're gonna gather all these cattle down there
and then bring them back,
and we'll take them all down to the southeast corner.
Then we'll go out the gate
and go in towards the homeplace, all right?
And they set out into the sunrise to gather the cattle.
Chh-chh, chh-chh, chh-chh, chh-chh, chh-chh, chh-chh.
[ Cattle mooing ]
They rounded up the ones they planned to work
and took them to the pens on Tim's ranch
to sort the babies from their mamas and work them.
And that's what they're doing now.
After such a long morning of work,
the guys are gonna be so hungry,
so I'm making them a huge batch of sticky, spicy ribs.
These are so delicious, and they really feed a crowd.
Now, the ribs have been in the oven for a couple of hours.
I made a sticky, spicy sauce yesterday
and let them marinate overnight.
And I'm just brushing more of the sauce on.
I want them to be
really nice and coated with a thick layer of sauce,
so I'm doing it in stages.
It's sticky and spicy and rich,
and it's really, really easy to make.
I just threw a bunch of brown sugar into a pan
with a couple of cans of pop,
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce,
barbecue sauce,
some brown mustard,
white vinegar,
and minced garlic.
Then I stirred it all together
and boiled it for about 20 minutes
until it was reduced and thick.
When it was completely cooled, I poured half into a container
and kept it in the fridge to use later,
and I brushed the other half of the marinade
all over the ribs on both sides.
Then, this morning,
I got them into a 275-degree oven for a couple of hours,
and that's where I'm up to now --
brushing the ribs with more sauce.
Oh, I tell you, this sauce is so amazing.
The ribs are gonna be delicious.
Okay, I got them totally basted.
So, I'm gonna leave them
slightly uncovered, with the foil peeled back
so the sauce will set.
I'm gonna let them cook for another 30 to 40 minutes or so,
then I'll give them a final basting
and let them finish cooking until they're fork-tender.
[ Cattle mooing ]
Today we're gonna do about 300 calves.
We're gonna run all the calves down this small chute,
catch them one by one,
and brand them and vaccinate them
and give them everything they need to get.
REE: Up next, more delicious cowboy favorites --
twice-baked potato casserole,
roasted green beans with bacon,
and fabulous slow-cooked jalapeño corn --
all ready to be delivered to the guys.
The guys are having a big morning of working cattle
over on Tim's ranch today,
and I'm making them a rib-sticking, ranch-style lunch.
They are gonna be hungry when they're finished.
To go with the ribs, I'm making twice-baked potato casserole.
It's pretty much
everything that's wonderful about twice-baked potatoes
but in casserole form.
Now, of course, twice-baked potatoes in any form
have to have bacon,
so I fried up a bunch, and I just need to chop it up.
You know, you can use store-bought bacon bits
for twice-baked potatoes,
but I think nothing is like bacon you fry yourself,
particularly when you're cooking for cowboys.
They detect things like this. [ Chuckles ]
They might run me out of town
if they find out I used artificial bacon pieces.
Okay, I got the bacon all chopped.
I'll let that sit for a sec.
Now, I've got to add a lot of butter to this casserole,
because I baked a lot of potatoes.
So, I've got 4 sticks of softened butter.
I want it to be really, really soft.
Then, when the warm potato mixture goes in,
it melts really quickly.
Okay, and 4.
And a whole container of sour cream.
Everyone likes sour cream with potatoes.
Let's face it.
Okay, now for the potatoes.
I've got 16 big baking potatoes,
and I rubbed them in a little bit of vegetable oil
and then baked them at 400 for about an hour.
They're nice and tender, very hot.
So, I'll just cut it in half.
Ooh! Nice and hot.
And I'll use a little towel so it won't be too hot in my hands.
And I like to use just a big tablespoon
to slowly scrape the insides out.
The great thing is,
this mixture is not going back into the shell,
so I can be as clumsy as I want,
tear up the shells a little if I need to.
I just want to get as much potato out as possible.
And if a little skin goes in there, no big deal at all.
It'll just make it extra flavorful.
Okay, the second half.
This is gonna take me a little while.
I'm making a lot of potatoes,
but I've got a lot of hungry mouths to feed.
[ Cow moos ]
We have to give all the calves their vaccinations.
You also have to brand them,
'cause, if you don't, somebody can steal them pretty easily.
Now, these cattle are Tim's,
and they're half Bremer, half Herefords.
That half-Bremer side comes out in them,
and they'll get a little wild.
So you really want to handle them as easy as you can
to make it as easy on them as possible.
Heifer!
[ Cattle mooing ]
Okay, that's the last potato scooped,
and I've got nice little flecks of potato skin all throughout.
So now I'll season all of this. It's a lot of potato.
So it needs a good amount of salt
and, of course, plenty of black pepper.
And then I also like to add some seasoned salt.
It just adds a few different flavors,
little bit of extra saltiness.
All right, that looks great.
Now I'll throw in all of this delicious bacon.
I may or may not have sneaked a piece of bacon
while it was frying.
I'm not admitting anything.
I'm just saying it's a possibility.
[ Chuckles ]
Okay, now, I've got some green onions.
I always put green onions in my twice-baked potatoes.
It just adds a great sharp flavor.
All of this food I'm cooking today
is really, really portable, and it holds well.
Everything has to be able to make it
from the kitchen to the pens.
Okay, now the green onions go in.
I also grated a lot of cheese --
a couple of cups of cheddar jack,
and I'll sprinkle that over the top.
And then I definitely need some milk in here
so that everything will mix together well,
so I'll just pour in a couple of cups of milk.
All right.
Now I just need to break out my muscles.
I've got a potato masher,
and I'll just go right in and smush all this together.
This takes a little while.
There are a lot of ingredients in here.
The potatoes don't have to be completely smooth,
but I don't want there to be any huge chunks.
So, I'll just keep on mashing
until my heart tells me it's done.
[ Chuckles ]
I follow my heart in the kitchen.
I'll tell you, those cowboys think they work hard.
They have no idea what I go through in this kitchen.
[ Chuckles ]
Okay, looks perfect.
Get the extra off.
Now, I'm gonna put all of this into a big foil container.
I think it'll all fit.
Whenever I'm making twice-baked potatoes for a crowd,
it can get a little much to refill the skins
after the mixture is done.
This is the perfect solution.
Just put it into a big pan, warm it up,
and it's ready to serve.
This looks amazing.
There is not a cowboy on the ranch or a kid on the ranch
that won't go crazy for this.
Okay? Now I'll just smooth out the surface.
Doesn't have to be perfect.
This is a great dish to make if you're having a big party,
'cause you can actually make it the day ahead
and pop it in the oven when you're ready.
I wasn't that organized. [ Chuckles ]
I did it the same day.
Okay, now I'm gonna sprinkle more cheese over the top.
The potato mixture has plenty inside,
but I like for the top to have a nice layer of melted cheese.
This is cheddar jack,
but you can use all cheddar, all jack,
or you can do pepper jack.
That's always delicious, too.
Okay, now this just needs to go back into the oven
for about 30 minutes until it's warmed through.
All right, now I just need to pull the ribs out of the oven
and give them another basting.
You know, I do believe this lunch may happen.
Up next, the cakes are baked
and it's fabulous frontier-style sides --
roasted green beans with bacon
and slow-cooked jalapeño corn --
perfect for the busy cattle-working crew.
The whole gang's over at my brother-in-law Tim's ranch,
working cattle,
and I'm gonna deliver them a big rib-sticking lunch.
I made simply delicious dump cakes --
cherry-pineapple, my favorite, and the peach.
Oh, they just look perfect.
Now, these don't have to be served hot,
so I'll just let them cool.
Now I'm gonna crank up the oven temp...
and I'll get started on the roasted green beans.
[ Cattle mooing ]
Get! Hurry, Missy, hurry! Heifer.
[ Cattle mooing ]
I'm making roasted green beans with bacon as a side dish.
Everyone on the ranch loves green beans.
And roasted in the oven with bacon,
they are out of this world.
Now, I've got 4 pounds of fresh green beans,
and I just cut the tops and tails right off.
And I'm just getting them onto baking sheets.
Now, I'm gonna chop up some onion.
There is nothing better than onion and bacon together.
I love the smell of the two cooking together.
So, I'm just gonna chop up one whole onion.
I don't want it to be too, too fine,
'cause I don't want the little pieces to burn in the oven.
Usually, when I make green beans,
I either sauté them or steam them,
but I really love to roast them,
because they get these nice, dark places all over.
Gives them great flavor,
and it's really easy just to throw these in the oven.
Okay, now I'll just sprinkle onion right over each pan.
I pretty much love any roasted vegetable.
The flavor is just out of this world.
Now I'll drizzle on just a little bit of olive oil.
The bacon is gonna give off plenty of grease,
but I just want to
get the green beans a little bit coated in oil.
And then plenty of salt and pepper.
Okay, now, I have a whole bunch of thin bacon.
I diced it really, really fine.
I didn't want there to be big, rubbery pieces of bacon
after the green beans were roasted,
so dicing them fine takes care of that.
Pretty much everything that has bacon in it, the cowboys love.
I've got bacon in the twice-baked potato casserole,
bacon in the green beans.
It's an automatic no-brainer.
One great thing about this dish is how quick it is.
It took no time at all for me to throw this together.
Okay, now I'm just gonna get these in the oven.
The green beans are gonna roast in a 425-degree oven
for about 18 to 20 minutes.
All right, now, when everything's ready,
I'm gonna slice up the ribs, pack everything up,
and deliver lunch.
Things are looking good.
[ Cow moos ]
Hey, Halle, tell me what we got left.
HALLE: About 11.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
LADD: Heifer!
Last one!
REE: Up next, the lowdown on my slow-cooked jalapeño corn.
Then it's time for a rib-sticking lunch
with the family and cowboys.
They are gonna dig in.
For recipes from this episode, go to...
So, we got the hard part over.
Now all we got to do is spray them and turn them out.
[ Cattle mooing ]
LADD: What we're doing here is
we're just spraying them with a fly spray.
It keeps the flies off of them for a while,
make them more comfortable.
Well, the whole crew has been over at Tim's ranch all morning.
They've been working cattle.
And after all this hard work, they are gonna be hungry,
so I'm gonna deliver them a big lunch.
I've got ribs, delicious potatoes,
gorgeous green beans, and to go with them,
I made some slow-roasted jalapeño corn.
I put it in the oven earlier this morning.
I started with 36 cobs of corn,
and I just sliced the kernels right off, into a roasting pan.
Then I added butter, cream,
and a couple of thinly sliced jalapeños
that had the seeds and membranes removed.
After that, I just threw in
some minced garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Then I stirred it together, covered the pan,
and put it into a 275-degree oven
for an hour and a half to two hours.
I just love recipes that do their thing slowly and gently
and don't require a lot of fuss or intervention.
My family loves corn, too, so it's a bonus.
All right, just about there.
Tim?
I think Ree's here with the food.
You want to eat before we turn these out?
All right.
REE: Hey, guys!
Hey, honey. You need some help?
Sure, I'll take some help.
Potatoes.
Really hot, really heavy.
Hold it on the sides. That's dessert.
LADD: Start dishing you some out.
Hi, Missy! How are you? Oh. [ Scoffs, laughs ]
Cheesy twice-baked potato casserole.
Here are the ribs.
Did you guys work up an appetite?
I think everybody did. [ Chuckles ]
Todd, you want some potatoes?
Stop and get the good stuff.
How are you, Mr. Kill?
Did you work up an appetite this morning?
Yes, two of them.
Two of them. You sound like me.
What's your favorite part of it, Liza?
The meat.
The meat. The meat's always the best part.
Rowdy -- Rowdy ate the most ribs, and she's the smallest.
I can't believe how much you've eaten!
[ Chuckles ]
All right, guys, when you're ready for dessert,
I've got dump cake -- two different kinds.
Of course, he's first in line for dessert.
Todd, did you even eat any real food?
Yes, sir.
This is peach, and this is cherry-pineapple.
Amazing.
And we need an adult supervision on the whipped cream.
Adult supervision, you said.
[ Chuckles ]
You cannot trust the kids with a can of whipped cream.
Well, the gang is definitely all here today.
LADD: Yeah, we got a full crew.
Pretty soon, you and Tim
might be able to sit back and relax a little bit.
We just leave Josh in charge of all the kids,
and we can just go do something else.
[ Chuckles ] Something tells me that's not gonna happen.
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.