Mexican Casserole in Cast Iron Cookware

In these cold days of winter, what could be better than a flavor-filled  Mexican Casserole? In keeping with the “South of the Border” theme you might even want to plan an evening with family and friends and play “Mexican Dominoes“. It is a really fun game. Check it out.

Even better the Mexican Casserole is super easy to make, especially with an enameled casserole dish. Here is what you will need:

• one pound of ground beef (meat substitute works well for vegetarians version or use chicken or turkey).
• 1/2 cup taco sauce
• 1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (soy cheese works but is pricey)
• one (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained
• one medium onion, chopped
• one (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• one (8-ounce) bag tortilla chips, crushed

How to make it:

1. Cook the ground beef in a casserole dish.  Drain.
2. Mix together the taco sauce and mayonnaise for sauce in a large bowl.
3. Add sauce to the ground beef and set aside.
4. Combine the cheese, pinto beans, onion and tomatoes in a large bowl.
5. Stir in the beef mixture and the chips.
6. Pour mixture into an ungreased casserole dish. Cast iron is the truly non-stick cookware and is healthy by saving the use of grease or oil).
7. Heat in a 350-degree oven uncovered for 30 minutes.

Serves 6

With a cast iron enamel casserole dish that comes with a grill pan lid, you get two cast iron pieces for the price of one.

The casserole dish is so attractive you will want to use it to serve your guests at the table and it will keep your Mexican Casserole warm. Cast iron is great for its even heat distribution and heat retention.

Go Green with Cast Iron Cookware

TASTE THE FOOD NOT THE COOKWARE:  CAST IRON COOKWARE

Casserole with Grill Pan Lid

Cast Iron Cookware and Roasting Potatoes

Cast Iron Cookware Shop offers a real Holiday Helping Hand for delicious sides that will delight your family and guests. Roasted New Potatoes with Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing and Green Onions (from Chef Bobby Flay) complement any holiday meal.

Roasted New Potatoes with Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing and Green Onions

Ingredients:

2 pounds new red or yellow potatoes, halved

Canola oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup Hellmann’s or Best Foods Real Mayonaise

2 cloves finely chopped fresh garlic

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 pound crumbled blue cheese

4 green onions

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place potatoes in a casserole or roaster with the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven until golden brown and tender, about 25 minutes

Transfer potatoes to a platter (you can actually continue preparation and even serve your potatoes from you enamel cast iron casserole or roaster.

Whisk together the buttermilk, mayonaise, mustard and garlic in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Fold in the blue cheese and green onions

Spoon the sauce over the potatoes and serve (serves 4 persons)

You family will love this dish, especially when prepared in cast iron cookware.

Lodge Red Enamel Casserole

Red Enameled Roaster

Crispy Salmon with Green Herb-Caper Sauce and Asparagus Cheese Puffs

What a wonderful recipe from Bobby Flay, who for years has shared excellent cooking ideas with us. Make your crispy salmon recipe taste even better when you prepare it in a cast iron casserole and if you have one with a grill pan lid it is like getting two cooking pans for the price of one. If you prepare your  healthy meal in a holiday red enamel casserole, you can serve your family or guests directly from the attractive dish on your table. Cast iron cookware not only has even heat distribution as you cook, it retains the heat to keep you food warm. Another plus is that cast iron cookware is unsurpassed when it comes to clean-up time.

Ingredients:

• 4 (7 ounce salmon fillets, skin on)
• freshly ground pepper and salt
• 1 cup of rice flour
• 1/2 cup water
• olive oil for searing
• Herb Caper Sauce, recipe follows
• 4 lemon wedges for garnish
• Asparagus Cheese Puffs, recipe follows

Directions

Season fillets with salt and pepper, to taste. Combine rice flour with water to make a light loose batter. Heat a large skillet with about 1/4-inch of olive oil. Coat fillets with batter, place meat side down, and sear until golden brown about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over and sear the skin side for 1 to 2 minutes.

Lodge 10 1/4 Inch Skillet/ Fry Pan

Immediately plate and drizzle each fillet with the Herb Caper Sauce. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Serve the salmon with Asparagus Cheese Puffs.

Herb-Caper Sauce:

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup capers
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients, except for the lemon juice, in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the lemon juice just before serving.

Asparagus Cheese Puffs:

• 1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and blanched

• 3/4 cup milk
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into  small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• Pinch of cayenne
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup coarsely grated Manchego
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Bring milk and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan or casserole over medium high heat. Combine salt, flour, curry, and cayenne in a small bowl. Remove the milk from the heat and add the flour mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides. Place pan back on the heat and cook for about 20 to 30 seconds until the mixture becomes a little dry. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, adding another only when the previous has been incorporated. Add the asparagus and both cheeses to the dough and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Kinetic Enameled Casserole with Grill Pan Lid

Spoon rounded tablespoons of the mixture onto the sheet pan. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the puffs from the parchment and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (Recipe Bobby Flay, 2001)

TASTE THE FOOD NOT THE COOKWARE WITH CAST IRON COOKWARE

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Pollo Moruno with Grilled Vegetables

Chicken on your grill with vegetables makes for an easy, healthy meal for the holidays.

Ingredients:

Chicken

• 2.200 pounds (1 kilo)boneless skinless chicken, breasts

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 2 teaspoons Spanish paprika

• 1 teaspoon chili, flakes

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon pureed garlic

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon, juice

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon water, optional

• 6 wooden skewers, soaked in water, for an hour

Vegetables

• 1 red pepper

• 1 green zucchini

• 1 garlic, clove, chopped

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• a liberal sprinkling of dried basil

• a liberal sprinkling of dried oregano

• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the chicken breasts in a bowl. Combine the rest of the marinade ingredients. Mix very well. Coat the chicken thoroughly. If you find that the marinade is too thick you can add the water.

3. Cover and marinate a minimum of 3 hours.

4. Place the chicken breasts on a very hot grill. Grill the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Slice chicken into large bite size pieces.

5. Cut red pepper and zucchini into large bite size pieces. Toss vegetables with garlic, oil, herbs and pepper. Grill vegetables.

6. Alternately skewer chicken with vegetables. Finish cooking skewered chicken and vegetables in the oven for a few minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Yield: 6

Recipe courtesy of Michell Perez

TASTE THE FOOD NOT THE COOKWARE WITH CAST IRON COOKWARE

Cast iron Enamel Red Roaster/ Grill Pan Lid Casserole with Grill Pan LidLodge BBQ Grill Grate

Chipotle Orange Glazed Pork Chops

Looking for an easy dinner? An easy-to assemble glaze will give your pork chops a sweet and spicy flavor. Chipotle Orange Glazed Pork Chops, done in a cast iron grill is your savory solution.

Cast iron Enamel Red Roaster/ Grill Pan Lid

Ingredients:

2 tbs. pure maple syrup

2 tbs. thawed frozen orange juice concentrate

1 tsp. finely chopped, seeded, canned chipotle chili, plus 1/2 tsp. adobo sauce in which it comes packed

4 3/4-inch-thick (about 8 oz. each) center cut, bone-in pork loin chops

1/2 tsp. salt

Casserole with Grill Pan Lid

Preparation:

1. In small bowl, combine maple syrup, orange juice concentrate, and chipotle.

2. Coat cast iron grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium-high heat.

3. Sprinkle both sides of chops with salt. Brush one side generously with glaze. Place chops in grill pan, glazed side down. Brush other side with glaze.

4. Cook over medium-high heat until cooked through but with slight blusgh in center, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Lodge BBQ Grill Grate

(Ellie Kriegar, from Reader’s Digest)

Apple Puddings for Your Holidays

APPLE CUSTARD PUDDINGS.
Put a quart of pared and quartered apples into a casserole, with half a
cupful of water and cook them until they are soft.

Lodge Casserole

Remove from the fire and add half a cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter an  the grated rind and the juice of a lemon.

Have ready mixed two cupfuls of grated bread crumbs and two tablespoonfuls of flour.

Add this also to the apple mixture, after which stir in two well-beaten eggs.

Turn all into the enamel casserole dish and bake forty-five minutes in a
moderate oven.

Serve with sugar and cream or hard sweet sauce. The beautiful red enamel casserole dish is so attractive you can take the dish to your table and serve the pudding from the dish.

APPLE TAPIOCA PUDDING
Soak three-quarter cup of tapioca and boil it in one quart of water
until clear, sweetening to taste.

Pare and core six apples and place
them in a cast iron casserole dish.

Casserole with Grill Pan Lid

Fill the cores with sugar, pour the tapioca
around them and grate a little nutmeg over the top.

Cover and bake in the casserole until the apples are soft Serve with cream.

HOW TO ROAST ANY VEGETABLE

To me, when it comes to cooking or anything else for that matter, simplicity is the operative word. Take for instance some cauliflower.  What could be more simple than to slip a cast iron casserole into the oven for a simple olive-oil-topped roast?

Cast Iron Enamel Casserole/Grill Pan Lid

Why not find some fresh vegetables to roast from your local market or backyard garden?

Here is a simple formula (thanks to Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan) to start with when thinking about roasting vegetables. Practice and be creative with your veggies. I think there are two ways to be creative.

One, come up with something no one has done before. That is difficult and few can do it.

Two, use familiar ingredients and procedures in a different combinations. This is easier and we all can do it.

How to Roast Any Vegetable:

Pre-heat oven to 425°F
Chop or break up vegetables, or roast them whole. The larger the piece, the longer it will take to cook.
Place in an oven-safe skillet or cast-iron pan, or a roasting pan. Have neither? Make a boat out of aluminum foil. Whichever you use, tent the top with foil.
Drizzle with a spoonful or two of olive oil, just enough to very lightly coat when tossed. Toss.
In general, the harder (to the touch) the vegetable, and larger in size, the longer it takes to roast. Whole beets can take an hour or more, while asparagus will roast up in about 10 minutes and doesn’t need the tenting.
Test to see if done by pricking with the tip of a paring knife. Knife should pull out easily. Also notice the aroma becoming rich and even listen for sounds from the oven.
For a crispy finish, remove when you have 5-10 minutes left.
Serve with a light shower of sea salt or sprinkle nuts (whole, chopped or ground), breadcrumbs, or grated cheese (like Parmesan) on top.
Don’t be afraid to experiment: while the classics like potatoes, squash, beets and carrots are always good, try branching out with cabbage, fennel, leeks, even fruit like grapes, oranges, quince. Be creative but remember simple things usually are the tastiest.

Cauliflower Roasted

Cast iron Enamel Red Roaster/ Grill Pan Lid

Happy roasting.

Cast Iron Cookware Sales Rising

The International Housewares Association reports dollar sales
of cast-iron cookware are up 20 percent.

Cookware You Can Love

Why is this?

• Interest is growing thanks to pre-seasoned pans.
• Celebrities using the pots on TV cooking shows.
• Consumers’ growing concerns that nonstick coatings can flake off. Is it any wonder that simple, rib-sticking foods like bacon and eggs
  are back on the plate?

There is no better time than now to fall in love with cast iron cookware or fall in love all over again with the cookware loved by your mother and grandmother. There is nothing old-fashioned about the cookware that is the truly non-stick, lasts forever and allows you…

TO TASTE THE FOOD AND NOT THE COOKWARE.

Enamel Roaster/Grill Pan Lid

Cast Iron Red Enamel Roaster

This casserole "beauty" with grill pan lid would love to live in your home.

Aunt Linda’s Vegetarian Baked Beans

Camp Cooking at its best with Cast Iron

Description

This unique vegetarian bean recipe uses beer and apple juice to impart a warm, complex flavor. These beans are great  for  a topping for a veggie dog. Make these even healthier and leave out some of the molasses.

Serves: 8

Cooking Time: 2 hr 15 min

Ingredients

• ³/4 cup dry soybeans

• 1 cup dry pinto beans

• 1 cup onion, chopped

• apple  juice (10 tablespoons) or 1/2 cup beer plus 2 tablespoons apple juice

• ¹/3 cup catsup

• 1 tablespoon dry mustard

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• ¹/2 cup black strap molasses

Instructions

1. Soak beans overnight in separate containers; soybeans fare better if soaked in the refrigerator. Drain soybeans, cover with fresh water, and simmer in cast iron casserole with lid for 1-1/2 hours.

2. Add drained pinto beans and additional water and continue simmering for 45 minutes or until beans are tender but not mushy; add additional water if necessary.

3. Combine with remaining ingredients in a cast iron casserole with lid. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. (If time allows, bake 2-3 hours at 250 degrees F to enhance flavor.)

Notes

On a chilly day, serve with hot brown bread and steamed cabbage. In picnic weather, serve with tofu dogs and vegetable salad. Leftovers are great over toasted wheat bread. (Recipe Lion)

TASTE THE FOOD NOT THE COOKWARE WITH CAST IRON COOKWARE

Enamel Red Casserole with Grill Pan Lid, Two Pieces for Price of One

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Lasagna with Cast Iron Cookware

Enamel Roaster/GrillPan Lid Two pieces for the price of one.

Don’t know what to prepare for dinner? Here is an easy and quick recipe for the whole family.

Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 containers (15 oz. ea.) ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

2 jars tomato & basil sauce or your favorite homemade tomato sauce

12 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and pepper; set aside.
• Spread 1 cup sauce in cast iron casserole or roaster. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, then 1 cup sauce and 1/2 of the ricotta mixture. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese; repeat. Top with remaining 4 noodles, then 1 cup sauce and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour. Remove foil and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired, with fresh basil leaves.
• Top with any remaining sauce (heated) and serve directly from your cast iron enamel roaster or casserole.

Enamel Cast Iron Casserole with Grill Pan Lid. Two pieces for the price of one.Camp Cooking at its best with Cast Iron

TASTE THE FOOD NOT THE COOKWARE WITH CAST IRON COOKWARE