Frying pans

I have recently decided to try to use a cast iron skillet.  I've heard different stories about health hazards of cooking with other metals.  I'm a little worried about sticking, though because I've also heard horror stories about sticking with cast iron skillets. I really want to try to use cast iron successfully. With cast iron there isn't any worry about a dangerous metal getting into your food. I don't want to have to drown the food I am cooking in alot of unhealthy oils either, so I guess I'll need to keep a good amount of olive oil on hand to season the pans. Since, I believe olive oil is healthier for you than any other oil.

There is a brand of cast iron out right now that says it is pre-seasoned and I recently purchased one of those. Logic Cast Iron can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Target and I am sure other places. I believe I have seen them at Amazon.
I have used this skillet today for two meals. The first meal I cooked was hash browns. I cooked these in I Can't Believe It' Not Butter. No sticking. Cleaned up great. I had to try it again. I thought I would try it with something that occasionally sticks and is frustrating when it sticks. Pancakes. I wasn't ready to try French toast, yet.

I cooked the pancakes in olive oil. The first one stuck and I was feeling a little frustrated. I cleaned up the pan and had to try again.  Oh good, cooked up great. No sticking. I did this two more times.

I have heard that once you learn how to season your cast iron, you will come to just love it.  I read to season you cast iron, after you are finished cooking, wipe the pan clean with a wet cloth. Dry thoroughly.  Add oil, heat again on the stove, then turn off the stove and let the pan cool and wipe out excess oil.  Prior to first use do the same thing. Heat on stove with oil. Let cool and then wipe out excess oil. So far it has been working well.

If things change and I come to dislike this pan, I'll let you know.

Cooking from the Past

I have been helping my mom lately clean out her house because she has been downsizing to a smaller place. I have found some great old cookbooks. Some were my mother's and some belonged to my dad's mom, my grandmother. One I found was dated back to 1915. It was my Grandmother's. It is called The Housekeepers Handy Book. It is full of homemaking ideas and recipes. It has alot of really cute words in it we don't hear anymore. Like reminding you to set a dainty table for a sick person. I  wonder was this cookbook a wedding gift or something she purchased when she was young and put in a hope chest. Alot of the recipes would need to be adapted for sure. I might try to adapt some and then include them here on my blog. Here is a picture of the  

book and a picture of my grandmother is above, along others of my ancestors. She is the one in the middle sitting down and holding her hat. She's pretty isn't she?

Another book I found was published in the 1940's. I plan to try and use some of those recipes, also.  There were many more cookbooks. All from my grandmother. What I found interesting was almost all of these books when I opened them up had recipe's cutout from other sources, mostly magazines, stuck in the book.  I never do that. I should, though.  I need to be better about looking for recipes. I am going to be trying some of these and I will post some of them here.

There were a couple of other cookbooks I found. These are not so old. They were published in the 1960's. They were published by Better Homes and Gardens. One was a desert cookbook. The other was a cookbook for chicken, turkey and other game birds.

I tried the chicken parmesan recipe last night. I had to adapt a couple of things but this was the best way to make parmesan chicken I had ever tasted.  I am not a real big fan of parmesan chicken so I wasn't sure I wanted to try it but I did. I am so glad I did.

Here are the list of ingredients I used:

1 cup crushed packaged chicken flavored Stove-Top stuffing mix.

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon of snipped parsley

2-3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast

1/2 cup I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, melted.

I combined the stuffing mix, cheese and parsley, dipped the chicken in the melted butter and then rolled the chicken in the mixture. Then placed in large shallow baking pan. Sprinkled with the remaining butter and crumbs. I baked it at 375 degrees for about and hour.

This was so delicious.

Little by little I will try to post what the other cookbooks are and some of the good recipes found in them and these above.

One more thing I have to mention that speaks so of the past is instead of paper clips marking certain pages, there were bobby pins. I love learning about women of the past.

Preparing For Thanksgiving, Planning Ahead, Being Thankful

Well, today was National Tie One On Day. That has nothing to do with alcohol. It means tie on your apron. So today I did. I am finding wearing an apron is a very handy thing to have on. I am always setting the kitchen towel down and forgetting where I put it. When I have on an apron I don't have that problem.  http://www.apronmemories.com/

I started preparing my Thanksgiving meal early this morning and started with one of my favorite foods for this time of year. The pumpkin pie. I try to get some of the cooking done the day before. Almost every year I have used the Libby's recipe for pumpkin pie. This year I thought I would look through some cookbooks and see if I found anything that looked better. Nope. Alot of other recipes included more sugar than I find healthy or other kinds of milk besides evaporated milk. Not that I don't like regular milk. Evaporated milk just doesn't have as much fat.

That  pie looks really  good. I can't wait to have some tomorrow.  But, first I must let it cook for a while.

Now, to start on the turkey. My mother showed me how she was taught to cook a turkey on the farm when she was growing up. So I only know one way to cook it. It comes out really juicey and good. It does include basting. There is one problem with basting, that is using the same utensil over and over. I don't.  After every time I baste I either throw the utensil in the dishwasher or hot sudsy water. I, also, cover the wing tips and leg with aluminum foil to keep them from burning.

After the turkey is cooked, I let it cool for 15 minutes and then my husband helps carve.

It is so nice and helpful to do some of Thanksgiving cooking the day before. Tomorrow I will get up and start on more cooking.

I have to add here, though, what Thanksgiving is about. Being thankful. It helps if there is someone you can thank. For me, I am thankful to God and all the love and blessings He has given me and my family. There are good times and hard times in life but knowing God is always there is the best thing to be thankful for.

Here is a link to a great Thanksgiving letter by Father Corapi:   http://www.fathercorapi.com/Webpage.aspx?WebpageId=64&CategoryId=25

 Happy Thanksgiving!!

Penguin server

Today, I acquired a Penguin server from my mom. She is moving and wasn't sure she wanted it so passed it on to me.  It was a wedding present she had received back in 1956.

Many of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's will remember seeing the Penguin server brought out as an ice bucket.  The handles on the sides are to resembly penguin wings. There are imprints of penguins on the sides of the bucket also.

What I learned about the ice bucket was that it was made by West Bend Aluminum Company in West Bend, Wisconsin.

The original name of the bucket is West Bend Penguin Hot and Cold Server Ice Bucket.  The bucket was first created in May of 1941 but was most popular in the 1950's.

These were very popular and if you have one you definitely have a part of history. If you like retro or vintage designs you might find one in an antique store or maybe acquire your mothers.

 

Cookbooks and Binders

The other day I was searching for recipes and found some very good ones. It is helpful when you are able to print out the recipe from a printers version on the website. I was able to do that with some. I have a binder I keep all my recipes in. I try to keep it organized as you would find a cookbook organized according to the type of food you are looking for: breakfast, dessert, main dishes, etc.


I keep my binder recipe book in a kitchen cupboard. That way when I need a tried and true favorite or am looking for something new I can look through the book.

I have many cookbooks at home. Some of which I purchased myself and others were gifts. I use some of them, others just sit in the cupboard. I think it is because they have few recipes that interest me or they are not so well organized or even maybe they do not give enough information. Maybe it is eye appeal. Some of my favorite cookbooks are Make-a-Mix cookbook or Fix It and Forget It, but my favorite is my binder which I have set up myself from finding recipes online or in Taste of Home magazines or recipes handed down from family and friends. Recipes that are usually a big hit are ones from my mother-in-law who besides being a good cook has already served these recipes to her son, my husband, so he already likes them.

A couple other favorite books are a couple of oldies but still goodies. One is Better Homes and Gardens and the other is the Betty Crocker cookbook. My mom always used Better Homes and Gardens and I too have found it very helpful with every day cooking and kitchen help. The same for the Betty Crocker cookbook. Both of these books have many good recipes and explain everything so well.

I am not the best cook. I am trying to make an effort to improve. I think after a while the same recipes get a little wearing and you are ready to try some new ones. Some of them your family likes, some of them they don't. What is really interesting is when one likes it and the other doesn't. In that case, I think if the cook likes it that becomes the deciding vote on whether to serve it again.

Cleaning out the frig

I hate cleaning out the refrigerater. It is amazing how messy it can get. Things get spilled, they leak, they drip.

This helpful hint is not going to help you organize your refrigerater but it does work great for cleaning up spills.  Along time ago, I saw someone, my mother-in-law, line her refrigerator with kitchen towels. It's a great idea. When it comes time to clean you just change the towels. End of hint. Just thought I would let you know in case you didn't already.

Cooking and a crockpot

I am not going to pretend that I am a good cook because I am not. I need a cookbook to cook just about everything or at least directions on a box, but I try.  About a month ago I purchased a new crockpot. Believe me, it was due to need. The previous one I was using was pretty old and finally gave out. 
I have been trying to clean out our freezer in preparation for purchasing some beef. We have family members that raise beef.  So, (and I have done this before so this is not new) I had several sirlion steaks and thawed them out, threw them in the crockpot, added water enough to cover and two packages of Hidden Valley Ranch buttermilk powdered seasoning. I let them cook for about 4-6 hours and it was delicious. Now, I know I have read that recipe somewhere I am sure, so don't get me wrong it is not an original idea.
There was plenty left over for several meals.

The point here is I really like my new crockpot. It is awesome. So easy to clean, compared to the older version.  This one the pot sits in a metal heater so all I have to do is lift the pot out of the heater to wash.

I am in search for new crockpot recipes.