These recipes and photo are courtesy of Amy O'Quinn and her web blog,
Ponderings from Picket Fence Cottage.
Amy says:
"Tonight we had Homemade Vegetable Soup and Golden Cornbread. I made the
soup in my cast-iron Dutch oven, and I baked the cornbread in my 10-inch cast
iron skillet. There's just something about cooking with cast iron that 'does'
something for me - maybe it's the 'old fashioned' appeal or maybe it's because I
know the health benefits. I also like the 'even and total' heating factor. When
cast iron gets hot - it's hot! I use my cast iron
cookware a lot--especially the skillet."
Check out Linda's Bread Making Hints:
Secrets to using the bread machine,
About yeast in bread making,
Sourdough Starter,
Quick Breads.
Check out all of Linda's great
Bread Recipes or your bread making.
Check out lots more
Cast-Iron Cooking Recipes and great
Soup, Stew, and Chili Recipes.
Cottage Vegetable Soup Recipe
Recipe Type:
Soup,
Beef,
Vegetables,
Cast-iron Dutch Oven
Yields: serves many
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
2 onions, chopped coarsely
2 (26-ounce) cans Hunts Chunky Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce
1 pound bag frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, beans, corn)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Italian seasoning to taste
Onion powder to taste
1 cup water (or more)
Preparation:
In your
Cast-iron Dutch Oven or a large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown ground beef and onions; remove
from heat and drain.
Place pot back on the heat and add onions, spaghetti sauce,
potatoes, mixed vegetables, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and
onion power; add enough water to make it the consistency you want.
Simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender. NOTE: You may have to add
a little more water during the cooking time.
Cornbread Recipe
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white or yellow cornmeal (I use freshly ground cornmeal)
1 cup
flour (I use freshly ground whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoon
baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I like to use olive oil)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place oven rack on the middle rack of your oven.
Place butter into a large, heavy ovenproof
frying pan or a
cast-iron skillet (I like to use my 10-inch cast-iron skillet)
in the oven until the butter is melted.
NOTE: Heating the butter in the skillet until it's hot and melted before
adding the batter guarantees a desirable crispness on the outer edges of the
bread. While pan is heating and the butter is melting, prepare your cornbread batter.
In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, buttermilk, egg, and
vegetable oil until well-blended.
Pour the cornbread batter into the hot, buttery skillet (batter will sizzle), return to the
oven, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for approximately 5
minutes. Invert cornbread onto a large plate and cut into wedges.
Makes 6 to 8 cornbread wedges.
