How to Take Proper Care of a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

The Lodge Cast Iron Skillet was founded by Joseph Lodge in 1896! Over a hundred and fourteen years ago!Do you want to know what is more amazing? It is still family runned today. The Cast Iron Pans made generations ago are still being used in kitchens today. They are timeless!

Though always been afraid to purchase one, I am now an owner of a cast iron skillet. Not just any cast iron skillet a US made Lodge Cast Iron Skillet.

Why so reserved you may ask? As I encountered the cuisine of southern womanhood, each discussion about their secret weapon was intimidating. This was a club no Ohio River Valley Girl should attempt to join. Besides, their wares had decades of uses to get that “unique” flavor. Seasoning? I HAD NO IDEA what a seasoned pan meant. I thought they put a little bit of salt and pepper on the pan, ha. Really, really hard to take care of and a huge pain to maintain?



Don’t tell the daughter of a Pipefitter, raised in the rust belt, that this piece of metal was out of my league.



I have since learned a lot from my Lodge Cast Iron. Again, this is my experience so please consult Auntie Lou Ann in case I missed something.


1. Cast iron is naturally non-stick. But if food begins to stick in a cast iron pan it may need seasoned.

I have learned that seasoning is a way of maintaining the pan. To season a pan you lightly oil the pan with a neutral oil (that is high in saturated fats) on the entire inside of the pan and flip and put it in the middle of the oven. Put a foil lined baking pan below on the last oven shelf. Bake on 500 for thirty to sixy minutes. Remove. Do over if needed.

If a pan is not seasoned correctly food will stick and it will be prone to rusting.

Seasoning correctly causes the oil to become permeated into the pores of a cast iron skillet. It causes a tough and hard film in the pan. This is the BIG secret of maintain a non-stick and an amazing cast iron-skillet.

2. If seasoned correctly nothing will stick to your cast iron pan. Because of this you will not need to add oil to cook making it possible for fat free cooking.

3. Cast Iron pans last a lifetime. Many lifetimes. Pass them down to your kids.......

4. The Cast Iron Pan heats and cooks all food evenly!


WHAT NOT TO DO WITH A CAST IRON PAN:

1. You should not wash it in the dishwasher or like other pans. Cast iron needs to be wiped cleaned without soap. No harsh brushes or sponges. If you have a lot of residue that is hard to remove, boiling water should do the trick.

2. You should not cook foods containing tomatoes, vinegar or other acidic ingredients. This will damage the seasoning that you have worked so hard to create. The best foods to cook in cast iron is high fatty foods. Such as: Bacon, Sausage, Chicken, Beef and Pork.

3. Never try to cook on a cold pan. ALWAYS PREHEAT!

I love my Lodge Cast Iron Pan. I am not sure how I lived so long without one. In the last month I have made: Chicken Fried Steak, Oven Fried Chicken, and Apple Dutch Pancakes. It is a must have in all kitchens!





Did I do OK Auntie? Now how’s about sharing that that fried mac n’ cheese recipe.

Vacation :)

The last two weeks I have been consumed by pure excitement. My husbands best friend (whom we named our daughter after Bailey LELAND) came into town and they played lots of music (They were in a band together for 12 years! They even went to California and tried to become professional musicians), went to the beach multiple times (once on the fourth to watch the fireworks), went to St. Augustine to see the beautiful amazing old houses and forts and lastly we spent four days in a nice hotel in Gainesville. I hope this explains my MIA. Here is some photos of the fun fun week and half:

Look at that sky?!?! It was so fantastic! That is the castle that Alex built...She is getting so big. :)

Bailey and I...

This is what the sky looked like. It was amazing...Bailey is playing in a little water-hole..

Alex is so proud of her daddy....She idolizes him.

Alex watching the jets fly across the sky at Daytona Beach.



Daytona Beach...Alex in the waves.
Bailey playing in the sand...

Bailey Sandy Face :)

Castle time!
My husband (left) and David Leland (right)
Love this photo. David Leland.

Love this photo. It is my husbands all time favorite guitar: Les Paul.

This is why I gave him a chance in College....He looks so handsome singing. :)
My husband and Dave still playing music. They played for many nights. This is the first time that my husband played all of his old music that he and David has written. It was so great to hear. It took me back 7 years. I have missed those years so much.
St. Augustine Bay....So lovely.
My Family:))) I am sooo lucky.
The fort...
The fort again...It was so beautiful. St. Augustine is one of my favorite places..

Enough pictures..

I do have posts planned too. All of my beautiful sunflowers have passed, but now I have lots of yummy Roasted Sunflower Seeds. I will be posting on the process.

I also have been testing out my first Lodge Cast Iron Skillet with many recipes. I will be sharing how to maintain a cast iron and some of my favorite recipes.

I also have been testing a Grow Box. I will be posting on what that is and the growing progression....

Take care and I have missed you all. :)

Easy Steps of Making Fresh Pasta using ImperiaPro Pasta Machine

I have a new addiction! I am coming clean and opening up to my supportive viewers.

I am completely addicted to my new CucinaPro Imperia Pasta Machine. In the last two weeks I have made Fettuccine, Angle Hair, Spaghetti, Orchetti, and Ravioli!!! IN TWO WEEKS!!!

I know...I know...Like I said before I am addicted and the first step is to admit you have a problem. (Problem!?!?....)

I can't help but to love this machine. It is so easy to work and you can a attach it to your table and it does not move!!! It is easy to clean. It is small and PERFECT!
Not to mention it makes incredibly YUMMY pasta!

Another positive note: MY Girls LOVE TO MAKE IT WITH ME!!!! It is so much fun for my girls. The pasta machine is easy enough for them too!!!! In my opinion, there is nothing better then to get your kiddos in the kitchen and learn the appreciation of food. (Plus, the kids tend to eat the pasta dinner up and fill their bellies beaming with pride!)

Let me start by the simple steps of making homemade pasta and a fabulous simple recipe.

Homemade Pasta Dough Recipe

2 Cps Unbleached All-purpose Flour (I recommend King Arthur)
1 tsp. Sea Salt
2 Large Eggs
1 TB Warm Water

1. Add all ingredients into a food processor. Add water by the Tablespoon as needed.
2. Let rest for 20 minutes.



My Alexandra is my helper in these photos.
The first step in making homemade pasta you need to send it through the very last setting. (Mine is 6) It will smooth it out. Fold it in half. Add flour. Send it back through. Repeat this step at least 6 to 7 times.

Move the setting down one and repeat the steps above a few times. Continue to work your way down the settings. Run the dough through the pasta machine a few times adding flour as you go until the desired settings.

For the Spaghetti I used setting 3.
For the Angel Hair I used setting 2.
For Ravioli I used setting 4.
For Fettuccine I used setting 5.


The next step is choosing the pasta size. For the Fettuccine you use the thicker cutting of pasta and for angel hair or spaghetti you use the smaller cutting. If you are making ravioli you do not need to cut the pasta.



We used the smaller cutting which made perfect spaghetti noodles!


When boiling fresh pasta it only takes a few minutes. Stay close by so not to overcook.


This is the finished product. It was wonderful!!! I am not sure how to put it into words the difference of fresh pasta to boxed, but YUM! It is a must try.



This is the finishing product of my fettuccine pasta! Isn't beautiful? I LOVE MY CUCINA IMPERIA! The fettuccine is made with a Creamy Homemade Pesto Sauce and Shrimp. It was FANTASTIC!!!



This is the homemade Ravioli. Sorry, I do not have a picture with it plated with my Marinara-Pesto Sauce that I call Giovanni Sauce. It was gone before I knew it.

My filling was:

8 oz. Ricotta
2 cps. Parm. Cheese
1 Egg
1/2 cp. Italian Shredded Cheese
Sea Salt and Pepper
1/2 cp. Chopped Parsley

1. Mixed it all together until well combined. I sat in the fridge until the Ravioli noodles were ready to fill. Each Ravioli was about 2 in. thickness. I cut the 2 in. thickness. Add a heaping teaspoon of the filling and then folded the top over and then sealed the edges! It was perfect!

You can find the CucinaPro Imperia almost EVERYWHERE! For around 60 dollars. It is well worth it! The kids and I are having so much fun with it and eating lots of wonderful fresh pasta!!!

Enjoy!!

My Garden!

I grew up in Ohio. You go in your back yard and rototiller your yard, plant your seeds and the garden grew. NOW, I have been in FL for four years!!! FOUR!! This is the first year I grew a garden. Wow. I was worried about the difficulty. My entire yard was sand and the sun. I started out by a small garden. By adding a lot of soil and mixing it with sand the plants grew!

I was amazed so I added more and more....
This is Oregano. My second batch...I already used the entire plant and it regrew.
This is my basil plant. It was a massive tree. It started growing flowers. I cut the entire bush down to the bottom. I dried most of the basil and the rest went to homemade pesto.
NOW, this is my most prized plant. The ten foot tomato plants!!! They grow to the roof of my house and then bend down. I literally had to tie them with zip ties to the screen of my porch! INSANE! Has anyone every seen anything that crazy?!
I grew three types of tomato: The Beefsteak Tomato

Cherry Tomato
Roma Tomato....My favorite. I love to make salsa with these babies! I also like to slice them very thin and use them as a pizza topping...mmmmhhhh

I planted lots and lots and lots of green beans.

This is for my Alexandra...She asked me to plant Sunflowers. She was working on the letter "S" in preschool and she tried Sunflower Seeds. Alex loved them and begged to plant some sunflowers. She helped me. They are now 10 feet tall. It is amazing a few months ago they were little seeds.
Beautiful sunflower that is the size of Alexandra's head.
They are about ten feet tall....As you can tell.... Cucumbers, but I have not seen any blooms...YET!
Watermelon BLOOMING!!!!!


More tomatoes....

This is Brussel Sprouts...They are turning out beautiful. Can't wait.

Jalapenos!!! A MUST in my house!!! My husband drinks with them in his beer!!! It was a Bobby Flay trick that my husband fell in love with

I want to THANK Diana Bauman from A Little Bit Of Spain in Iowa. You are truly inspiration. I am honored to call you a friend. Thank you!

Cinnamon Bread

I made two loaves of this amazing Cinnamon Bread! I was worried a loaf would go to waste.....
That did not happen. My small family of four devoured this bread it was gone in five days. That should tell you how wonderful it turned out.
I am actually making it again today for a gift. My neighbor watered my plants for the time I spent in paradise. She deserves a HUGE THANK YOU!!! What could be better then homemade bread?!?!

First of all, let me explain. I found this recipe in Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. But it was for cinnamon rolls. I decided to make it into a bread with the hard crusty icing. It is heaven.

PETER REINHARTS ALL-PURPOSE SWEET DOUGH

6 1/4 cps unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
6 TB Sugar
5 tsp. yeast
2 cps. Warm milk
1/2 cp melted butter

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Then add the dry ingredients and butter. Mix with paddle attachment for 1 minute
2. Switch to dough hook for 3 more minutes. It should be a smooth, soft, slightly stick dough. Knead 2 more minutes with dough hook or hand until it is no longer sticky.
3. Place in oiled bowl and let rise. Overnight in the fridge or until doubles in size


WHEN DOUBLES

1/2 cp. sugar
1/4 cp. cinnamon
1 soft stick of butter.

4. Cut the dough in half. Roll it out like making cinnamon rolls.
5. Mix the cinnamon and sugar.
6. Add half the butter and smoother it on each flat rolled out dough (12-15in)
then add the sugar and cinnamon mixture to each. I add a little brown sugar too.
Roll the cinnamon roll like a jelly roll and taper off the ends.
7. Add both into a greased loaf pan. I topped with a little butter and cinnamon and sugar.
8. Bake on 350 for about an hour.

2 cps. powdered sugar
1 tsp. milk
Mix together

9. Drizzle on top of the cooled bread.
10. DEVOUR

Paradise and Bakerella Cupcake Pops

The last 5 days have been full of excitement. Friday my oldest graduated preschool. I made Bakerella Cake Pops for the graduation! They were a huge hit!! You can find them here.

My mother flew down for the graduation . The night after the ceremony we left and spent the days on the beach. It was an amazing time. We ate fantastic meals at little beach side restaurants and laid on the beach for four whole days. It was paradise. This is a misty picture of the fantastic Flagler Beach. A small beach town full of wonderful small eateries and shops. The beach was a warm ,vacant, with red sand and crabs that roamed around the gorgeous beach.
My mom in the water with my two daughters and my best friends daughter.

My mom in the waves with my oldest. They were laughing so hard. I had to capture this ever lasting memory.
My youngest fell asleep at the beach everyday for her nap. She was at peace hearing the waves hitting the shore.

My girls and I. My youngest is not too happy. She is ready for a nap after all the swimming and fun.

Now, I dropped my mother off at the airport and on her way back to Ohio. We had the best time...It is back to reality.....

I have many new recipes and reviews I will be sharing this month. Stay tuned.