Spring is just around the corner and summer will soon
follow. It may be time to start thinking about replacing
some of you outdoor furniture. You may need a new patio
set to replace your old one. You may also need to get some
individual sets to go around your yard. Last year, we replaced
ours with cast iron tractor seats. Not only are they comfortable,
but they will last a long long time. There is no fabric to rip or
rot away. You can get tractor seats with a base on it or you can
even get just the seat and mount them on a tree stump or other
places around your yard.

Every year something new comes out in cookware. It may be a
new pan or pot or even some gadget that you think you need but
you don’t. If you are ever up in the wee hours of the night, you
can watch several infomercials where they are always trying to
convince you that they have the latest and greatest cookware on
the planet. Don’t waste your money on all this high priced cookware.
Just buy cast iron cookware. The price is right, it will last a lifetime
and there is such a good variety you can find what you want. Man
has not reinvented the wheel or cast iron because they both work
as good today as they did when they came out.

I know you may never do this with your dutch oven,
but it’s nice to know you can if you want to. There is
nothing that takes the heat like a cast iron dutch oven.
If you used any other type of brand, it would be ruined.
The nice thing is, when your done cooking over an open
fire like this, you can still take it back to your kitchen and
cook on top the stove. If you want something that is going
to last a lifetime and be versatile indoors and out, nothing
works better than cast iron.

We love refried beans that they serve in mexican restaurants. Trouble is we can’t seem to buy them like that
in the local grocery store. All the brands are paste like and don’t seem to be creamy enough. Here’s a way to doctor up the store bought beans. Buy a can of refried and heat it up in one of your cast iron pots. Add a small amount of olive oil. When the beans are hot, add two large spoonfulls of sour cream and stir in. For added flavor we also add some Stokes green chili with pork. These go great with breakfast in the morning or with your favorite mexican dish. They are also great just for dipping with chips

My wife is on this health kick and I’m supposed to join her.
She’s trying to get me off the coffee and to drink more tea.
She got me a great cast iron tea kettle and I made some tea
in it. Tea is ok, but it’s not coffee so it is going to take me some
time to get used to it. She is also trying to get me to eat oatmeal
in the morning. I know oatmeal is really good for you, but I
just cannot stand the taste. I have put raisins in it, sugar, honey
and a variety of other things. I will probably get used to the tea,
but the oatmeal I think is a lost cause. Maybe if I wrap it in
bacon and eggs with some hash browns it will taste better.

Weather you cook indoors or outdoors, nothing is more versatile than
a cast iron dutch oven. There is nothing you cannot cook in them. They
are great for fried chicken, pot roasts, soups and biscuits. You can even
make a cake in them. One great advantage of a dutch oven is that you can
use it on top of the stove, put it in an oven, over a fire or cover it with coals.
Can you name another cooking pot or pan that can do all that. I can’t.

A cowboy back in the 1800′s needed 3 things to make life
enjoyable for himself. The most important was a good horse.
The second was a coffee pot and the third was a skillet for
cooking. The choice back then was a cast iron skillet because
of it’s durability. Most picked skillets that fit inside their
saddle bags. If a cowboy was lucky he had some bacon to
fry for a meal and maybe a biscuit or two to go with it.
Beans were popular as well. They would soak the beans in
their coffee pot and then cook them in the grease after they
cooked the bacon. Not healthy but a hardy meal when you
are on the trail.

We just got back form the Home and Garden show in Denver.
They were selling everything you could imagine for your home
and garden. Besides selling tons of hot tubes the next thing we
saw a lot of selling of was cookware for the kitchen. They were
selling all sorts of new cookware and the prices were up in the
$2,000 to $3,5000 range. The one cookware we did not see them
selling was cast iron cookware. The reason is because cast iron
cookware has stood the test of time and it has been selling itself
for over a 200 years. Besides that, you don’t have to spend a fortune
to get a great set of cookware that will last a lifetime, just buy cast
iron and you will be set whether you cook inside or out.

If you have a lot of leftovers and you don’t know what to do with them.
make a pizza. We always keep some ready made pizza dough in the cabinet.
You can buy some that doesn’t take time to rise. You just mix it up, roll it out
and make a pizza. You can put virtually anything on a pizza and it will taste
good. Any kind of meat or vegetables will work. We have even made a breakfast
pizza for dinner. We just add scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage and potatoes
with some cheese to our cast iron pizza pan and pop it in the oven. If you have
leftovers, you can make a pizza and it’s fun.

If you like Salisbury Steak, you’ll love this simple and
delicious recipe.

What you need:
1 1/2 lb hamburger – 1 can condensed French onion soup
1/2 cup bread crumbs – 1/4 teaspoon salt – 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup ketchup – 1/4 cup water – 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon all purpose flour – 1 egg – 1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

In a bowl, mix together ground beef, egg, salt and pepper,
bread crumbs and 1/3 cup French onion soup. Make in 6 patties.

In one of your large cast iron pans, brown both sides, cooking over
medium heat. Pour off excess grease.

In another bowl, use remaining soup, and blend in flour. Add ketchup, water
and Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over meat in pan. Cover and
cook for 20 minutes, spooning sauce of meat a few times.