Tag Archives: cast iron

Roasted green beans

vegetables 2 Comments

Um, hello? *ahem*

Hi, I’m writing a blog post. It’s been forever and I may not really remember how, so bear with me.

I’ve not been blogging. I have been gardening, toting two kids back and forth to two different schools, going to the beach, learning ASL with Peanut (thanks, Signing Time!), and visiting with family.

And, you know, drinking lots of coffee. Normal.

But now! Let’s talk about green beans. It’s one of the few things I can grow in my back yard that doesn’t fall prey to the squirrels, birds, and bunnies. My tomato plants require a moment of silence and deep breaths before I can even look at them.

The beans, however, are everywhere. I pick them every few days, and get about what’s in that picture up there. There are… a lot. And I am thrilled with this.

So here is my new favorite method:

Spicy roasted green beans

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. fresh green beans, washed and checked for strings
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil or melted bacon fat
  • 1 jalapeño pepper or a few shakes of red pepper flakes (optional)
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F
  2. Toss beans and oil or bacon fat in a bowl till beans are coated, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss again
  3. Finely dice the pepper and stir it in, or stir in pepper flakes (or both — you could live on the edge)
  4. Scoop onto a cookie sheet or into a cast iron pan, and roast till they’re starting to brown a little; this will probably take at least half an hour or so, but check at 20 minutes and give them a good stir

Options

  • Eat them hot, as is, for a side dish or snack
  • Dip in a little spicy ranch
  • Eat them hot, sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and feta cheese
  • Chill them well, then toss in with a green salad

Would really love to hear what y’all like to do with yours! If the crop keeps going I’ll need more suggestions. 🙂

Trail’s End cornbread

baking, sides 2 Comments

This cornbread would give my grandmother the vapors. It is sweet (which I love — don’t tell her), which makes it Yankee Cornbread. I actually cut the sugar some, and it’s still fabulously sweet without being, you know, a cake. I also cut the recipe in half which made a great size (an 8 inch skillet) for us.

The recipe is originally from Disney’s Trail’s End, but I found it linked here.

Trail’s End cornbread

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
  • 1 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup butter or bacon grease

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven AND SKILLET to 375F
  2. Mix together cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and flour with a fork
  3. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add in milk and egg; beat egg with fork, then stir to combine all ingredients
  4. Remove hot skillet from oven and add butter or bacon grease (carefully! It will sizzle) to skillet, swirling around till it melts and coats the pan
  5. Pour excess butter/bacon grease into cornbread mixture, stir quickly to combine, then pour back into hot skillet and slide it into the oven
  6. Bake until lightly browned on top, about 20 minutes

Pop up pancake

breakfast, kids 2 Comments

Helloooooo, easiest breakfast ever!

My friend Vanessa gave me this recipe, and it’s insane levels of tasty and yummy.

Pop up pancake

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 eggs

Instructions

  1. Heat your oven to 425F
  2. Mix up the milk, flour, salt, and eggs until well combined — doing this in the blender is quick and easy
  3. Melt the butter in a medium cast iron skillet (or Vanessa does this in a glass Pyrex dish), then add the batter and pop it in the oven
  4. Bake until the pancake is golden brown and all puffed up, about 15 minutes or so

Other flavoring and fun options:

  • Add vanilla or lemon zest to the batter
  • Use orange juice instead of milk
  • Dust with powdered sugar
  • Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar

 

What else? What would you do with it?

North Carolina pie

dessert 4 Comments

This recipe comes from Crook’s Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C. by way of Katie Workman, by way of NPR. It was tweeted and retweeted and favorited all over the place till I decided I just had to try it out. This turned out to be an excellent decision.

It’s very similar in construction to key lime pie , with the obvious difference of a Saltine crust, which is fabulous. This pie is sweet and tart and salty all at once — everything a summer dessert should be.

North Carolina pie

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 sleeves Saltine crackers
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • whipped cream and coarse sea salt for garnish (which I completely forgot)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Crush the crackers pretty finely, but not to complete dust. Add the sugar and knead in the butter till the mixture holds together like dough
  3. Press into an 8 inch pie pan, chill for 15 minutes, then bake for 18 minutes or until the crust is slightly browned
  4. While the crust is partially cooling, beat the egg yolks and milk together, then mix in citrus juice, making sure everything is completely combined. Pour into the pie shell (it doesn’t need to be completely cooled), and bake for 16 minutes or until the filling has set
  5. Chill pie completely now, and serve with fresh whipped cream and a sprinkling of sea salt

Make this. You will not be sorry. 🙂

Pan-roasted chicken thighs

lunch, supper 2 Comments

I kind of never know what to do with chicken thighs. Chicken breasts? No problem. Ditto whole chickens. But I wasn’t sure what to do with chicken thighs till I saw this recipe, which looked simple and delicious. The end result is fantastic! Very tasty, with crispy skin that makes it seem like you’re eating fried chicken.

Pan-roasted chicken thighs

Ingredients

  • 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 475F. This takes my oven about two and a half years to accomplish, so start early
  2. Put the chicken pieces on a paper towel-lined plate, and season well with salt and pepper
  3. Heat oil over fairly high heat in a cast iron or other heavy skillet big enough to hold your chicken without it being too crowded
  4. Put chicken in skillet, skin side down, and cook two minutes; reduce heat to medium-high and set a timer for 12 minutes; you’re looking for crispy, golden brown skin on the chicken, so move it around as needed to make it evenly browned
  5. Transfer your skillet to the oven and cook for 13 minutes; flip the chicken skin side up and continue cooking till it’s cooked through, about 5-8 more minutes
  6. Transfer to a plate and let it rest five minutes before serving

 

I will warn you that this was crazy levels of smoky in my oven; you might want to turn the fan on before you get this going. But it was SO GOOD and SO WORTH IT. Let me know if you try it!