The Cast Iron Skillet supper thread - one pan wonders for busy folks.

[sunsaver]

That bag o' cheese that comes in the box of pasta, is just flour and a bunch of cheese flavored chemicals, whey protein, preservatives, and other nasty things. If you cant afford real cheddar cheese, and you're about to die of starvation, then yeah. Go ahead and eat that crap.

 

[freemotion]

Saute onions and garlic in bacon grease. Also celery, peppers, anything you have that benefits from initial browning. Get the flavor very intense as the veggies will take up a lot of the flavor.

Add a jar of home-canned cream of mushroom soup and simmer whatever veggies you like....the more colors, the better. I usually have carrot and rutabaga available, if you dice it up small it will cook quickly. Add some frozen chopped greens, too, or maybe green beans or sugar snap or snow peas for the green. Whatever you have and like.

Add a jar of home-canned meat chunks of any type. Add a jar of milk for a creamy sauce. Add another jar of broth for a different type of gravy if needed. I've even added frozen pumpkin or squash puree as the additional liquid, or at least part of it.

One pot low-carb meal! If you are not low-carb, you can serve this over pasta, biscuits, bread, or rice, or add potatoes or leftover cooked grains or pasta and heat through. Or top with leftover (or made ahead for this purpose) mashed potatoes and heat and brown them in the oven when everything else is cooked.

The entire meal will take 20 minutes to make if you chop veggies while saute'ing the garlic and onions. For an even quicker version, use garlic and onion powder and skip the initial saute.

 

[Farmfresh]

That bag o' cheese that comes in the box of pasta, is just flour and a bunch of cheese flavored chemicals, whey protein, preservatives, and other nasty things. If you cant afford real cheddar cheese, and you're about to die of starvation, then yeah. Go ahead and eat that crap.

Being Celiac has FORCED me to read every label thoroughly. My, my how our diet has changed since I started doing that.

 

[Farmfresh]

Saute onions and garlic in bacon grease...

Any recipe that starts with these words has got to be good!!

My Grandma Nettie used to say you start peeling the onions while you try to decide what you are fixin' for dinner. She also kick started my life long bacon grease saving habit. I ALWAYS have a jar of bacon grease in my fridge.

 

[sunsaver]

I can often get farmfresh bacon at one of my local, old-school grocery stores. It's called "market made bacon", and always renders a perfectly clear lard, and crisp bacon, completely free of chewy fat or brown scum and nitrates. That farmfresh bacon is so much better than the national brands. I have a hundred uses for that clear and white lard that gets left over! Move over Crisco and trans-fat! Real and clean bacon grease is gonna make a southern comeback!

 

[savingdogs]

What a great thread! I just bought a nice cast iron skillet at the Goodwill, and also a beautiful new dutch oven was on sale at the grocery store, and I splurged and bought it! I started a thread about dutch oven meals, would they be different than these ones? If so, please post them there! Seems like y'all would be the ones to ask.

 

[Farmfresh]

My dutch oven can do LOTS of stuff!

I can bake a cake, fry chicken, slow roast a chicken or make a mean pot of chili.

Still many of the recipes are similar except for the amount of space you have to hold in liquids.

Cast iron cooking is just wonderful.

 

[JRmom]

This is a favorite of mine (and easy!). And it's no-knead. This bread has a nice thick crust and a chewy inside... perfect for dipping in olive oil or eating with soups/stews. I found this recipe online but can't remember where. I usually add a bunch of dried herbs to the dough also.

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When its ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but thats OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but dont worry if its not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

These sound great!!

I got one, we call it BOTZS, Bacon-onion-tomato-zucchini stuff.

Cook bacon til crisp, reserve drippings. Set bacon aside. You want about 2-3 pieces for each person.
Saute 1 chopped medium onion in drippings.
Add sliced zucchini, I do 1 small per person or 1 medium/large for 2. I'm guessing about 3/4 cup of zuc slices per person.
Add salt, pepper, garlic, whatever seasonings you feel like at this point.
Pour jar of tomatoes with juice over the top & cover. Chunky is better than crushed for texture.
Cook on low/medium heat until the zucs are done.
Top with bacon just before serving.

 

[freemotion]

What a great thread! I just bought a nice cast iron skillet at the Goodwill, and also a beautiful new dutch oven was on sale at the grocery store, and I splurged and bought it! I started a thread about dutch oven meals, would they be different than these ones? If so, please post them there! Seems like y'all would be the ones to ask.

If I want to cook, say, just one chicken, I use my big cast iron skillet with lid in the same way I use my Dutch oven.