Cast-iron Skillet Care

Most cooks (or those that love antiques and history) have a cast-iron skillet passed down to them from someone in their family. I am no exception. As a wedding present, my great aunt gave me my great grandmother's cast-iron skillet. The neat story behind this skillet is my great grandmother's brother-in-law (her sister's husband) made the skillet and gave it to my great grandmother as a wedding present.

Southern Living had a great article a few months back on how to take care of your cast-iron skillet and how to season it. I thought I would share it with you.

Cast-iron skillets will eventually lose its nice black sheen as well as being nonstick. So, here's how to season your skillet and make it shine.

Season Cast-iron Skillet
1. Scrub skillet well in HOT soapy water.
2. Dry thoroughly.
3. Spread a thin layer of melted shortening or vegetable oil over the skillet.
4. Place it upside down on a middle oven rack at 375 degrees. (Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips)
5. Bake 1 hour; let cool in the oven.


For day-to-day TLC, clean cast-iron skillet under hot water only. Do not use soap! Dry your skillet before storing.

You are probably wondering if you aren't suppose to use soap how in the world do you clean the skillet. You can use a stiff brush under running water while the skillet is still warm (but cool enough to touch). Kosher salt is a great scrubbing item for baked on food.

Top picture is before I seasoned the skillet and the bottom picture is after I seasoned it.

Before

After

Weight Watchers Wednesday

One of the reasons I love Weight Watchers is they make it so easy for me. The website is just a plethora of information. I love going to the "shop" where I can buy snacks you can't buy in the store. It also has a section for kitchen tools.

One of my favorite things I bought from the store is the Easy Measure Serving Set. I use these spoons all the time. They are sleek and stylish (as stylist as a serving spoon can be) which makes them easy to use when entertaining because my guests don't know the serving spoons are one of my Weight Watchers tools. These spoons have really helped me to learn the correct portion sizes.

The set comes in 3 sizes: 1 cup spoon, 1/2 cup spoon, and 1/4 cup ladle.

(yes, the picture is from weightwatchers.com)

Good Luck Kyndall

Good Luck Kyndall, Miss Scenic City, at the 2012 Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant this week.

The pageant is this week in Jackson, TN at the Carl Perkins Civic Center. Preliminaries are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with the final competition on Saturday. The pageant starts at 8:00 pm CST each evening. If you aren't able to make it to Jackson you can watch the pageant live on EPlusTV6.

Good Luck Miss Scenic City!

Happy Flag Day From Molly!

Hope everyone is proudly displaying their American flags today! Although, you should fly the American flag every day and not just on holidays.

Happy 6 Month Birthday Sweet Baby Molly!

Today my Sweet Baby Molly turns 6 months old. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant. Molly has brought so much joy, laughter, and light into our lives over the past 6 months.

Molly has 2 teeth. They both came in at the same time. We had no idea Molly had been teething until we actually saw the teeth. Molly never acted upset, fussy, uncomfortable, or in pain at all. She didn't even have messy dirty diapers, which we've been told usually goes along with teething.

Molly is also sitting up on her own and grabbing everything that is close to her. In addition to her 7oz bottles she's had carrots, green beans, pears, and peaches. Her favorite is carrots. (One night I was feeding Molly pears and carrots and my mom asked me what Molly was having for dinner and I tried to say "pears and carrots" but it came out as "parrots")

Molly continues to be a happy baby that smiles all the time. I couldn't have been blessed with a happier baby. I think I have the best baby around. I love her to the moon and back.

What a difference 6 months can make!

Weight Watchers Wednesday

One of the things I love about fall and winter is soup. I love soup and Weight Watchers has great soup recipes that are fairly low in points.

This past weekend I started craving soup. I went online to Weight watchers and found a tomato soup recipe. It turned out great. Serving size is 1 1/2 cups and is 3 points.

Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup
2 medium uncooked leeks, chopped (white parts only)
8 medium fresh tomatoes, cored and chop (about 3 pounds)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups of vegetable broth
12 oz fat-free evaporated milk
1/4 Tbsp basil, fresh, chopped
1/8 tsp table salt or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper or to taste

Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set pan over medium heat. Add leaks and sauté until soft (about 5 minutes). Add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes.

Add broth and reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf.

Purée tomato mixture in saucepan using an immersion blender (or working in batches you can use a blender; return purée to saucepan and set pan over low heat). Add milk and simmer for 1 minute to heat through. Remove from heat and stir in basil; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Happy Anniversary

This post is really late but I guess better late than never, right? On May 30th Keith and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Every year I tell him it's the diamond anniversary in hopes of getting diamonds but he never falls for it.
So, on a hot Saturday afternoon in Memphis, TN I got married to a wonderful man.

We were introduced by a mutual friend. We started talking in April, met in July, and were engaged in September. Our entire dating relationship was a long distance relationship. He lived in Georgia and I lived in Tennessee. After we were married Keith moved to Tennessee. So, here we are 3 years later, 2 new jobs, a new car, and a baby!

I loved our wedding cake. It was white cake with pineapple chunks with a pineapple filling. The baker didn't have it on her menu but she was going to add it since it was so good.

The Groom

The Bride

The cross I'm wearing was the cross my Granddaddy gave me Grandmother as a gift which she wore on her wedding. My mom also wore it on her wedding day as well.

This picture doesn't even begin to describe what a tangled mess this turned out to be but it was fun!

Chewbeads

Molly has two teeth and is working on a few more so she chews on everything. She really wishes that I would let her chew and pull my necklaces. Dont worry, I don't let her because I don't want her to break them and I they aren't soft so i know they won't feel good on her gums. I ran across this jewelry line the other day and Molly's wish has come true. It's called Chewbeads and they are fantastic!

Chewbeads are made with 100% silicone and they are soft on Molly's gums and her new teeth. I can clean the necklaces with the soap I use to clean Molly's bottles. They are also dishwasher safe. The best thing about ChewbeadsChewbeads is there isn't any BPA, PVC, Phthalates, Cadmium, or Lead in them. That makes this momma happy!

They have several different styles of necklaces to choose from as well as 2 styles of bracelets. I have 2 necklaces but I think a third might be in the near future.

June 6, 1944

Today, 68 years ago, brave young boys stormed the beaches of Normandy.

Today is the anniversary of D-Day.

I get chills when I think about the bravery and courage of the boys involved in D-Day (especially the first wave). Unless you were there, no one truly knows how horrifying that experience must have been. Please take a few minutes to remember the boys of D-Day, those that did not return home and those that did return home.

They truly were the greatest generation!

Just In Time For The Olympics

We are a Pampers house. Actually, I like Pampers but my husband likes Huggies. Since I am the mom, well, we are a Pampers house.

I saw these diapers the other night and I just had to buy a box. I'm a sucker for anything that says USA. These diapers are just in time for the summer and the Olympics. I can see Molly wearing these and a USA t-shirt while cheering on the Red, White, and Blue this summer! I plan on buying several more boxes of these but in different sizes since it is a limited edition.