Cast Iron Kitchen

Can you believe that this lovely cast iron Dutch oven was lurking in my parents basement completely unbeknownst to me? A year or so ago, my parents were cleaning out their basement and had the notion to call me, to ask if I wanted a few cast iron pieces that they found. I jumped at the chance. My dad showed up at my house with this beauty and two other fry pans. I was amazed that I had not known about their existance in the dark recesses of my parent's basement. I don't ever remember my mom cooking with cast iron. My maternal grandmother did. She made me the most delicious scrambled eggs in her cast iron fry pans. My grandmother passed away when I was 11 years old, and after that it was nearly 15 years before I ate scrambled eggs. I did try them here or there, but none could match the flavor and texture of those fantastic eggs made with loving hands by my dear grandma.

I don't know if this Dutch oven was hers or not, I will have to ask my mom. I can tell you that I use this pot all the time in the winter. It cooks just as well as my crockpot in a fraction of the time. So, if I forget to plan ahead, I can have a crockpot recipe cooked for dinner. I did this on Saturday night. I decided to make Spicy Beef and Beans which is a recipe from my dear friend Crystal Miller. I started with my ingredients.



It was easy to quickly brown up the beef in the Dutch oven.



All the ingredients go into the pot all at once and then I simmered it for about an hour while I baked my brown rice in the oven. I served it with a salad and fruit.