by Jolene Lamb, correspondent
Cast iron pan are extremely versatile and can last a lifetime. Everything from frying eggs, cooking a stew and baking a pie can be done in a cast iron pan. With a little care, these pans can last forever, becoming a hand-me-down family heirloom. Owning one can open up a whole new world of cooking, and the flavor that a cast iron pan can add to food is amazing. Did your grandmother have the best fried chicken recipe? I know mine did, and she always said her secret was frying in her cast iron.
In order to be successful when using cast iron, you have to know how to care for it, basically what to do and what not to do to your pans. If you treat them right, they will be so easy to cook with and will quickly become your go-to pan.
by Jolene Lamb, correspondent
Soups are so versatile; you can transform and reuse leftovers and random ingredients you have laying around into soups. I often have a couple of leftover potatoes, some random scrap ends of assorted cheeses, a couple slices of ham, a cup of sour cream just hanging out in my refrigerator. Using up those ingredients is easy when you transform them into soups. Most of the time I can take canned or frozen vegetables along with pantry staples such as beans, pasta or rice and create soup to not only enjoy immediately but freeze and have leftovers for later.
By Jolene Lamb, Correspondent
The first snow has fallen, and Christmas morning is close upon us. To awaken on Dec. 25 to a fresh white winter wonderland sounds perfect. We are spending the holidays at home anyway; no traveling this year. So a fresh blanket of snow and the stillness and beauty it brings don’t sound all that bad. Snow or no snow, I’ll grab a mug of hot chocolate, probably a few Christmas cookies I made and enjoy the day in pajamas.
I recently discovered hot chocolate bombs. Apparently, I’m late to the party on this one because they seem to be all over the internet. The bombs are basically a hollow chocolate shell filled with hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows and even sprinkles if you like. They are a bit tricky to make since the process involves tempering chocolate, but in a pinch candy melts can be used, which don’t require as much precision to work with.