Skillet Cleaning

So I was complaining about the mouse in my house the other day and how it was living under my sink. He had also moved into the house next to the sink, The pots and pans cabinet. So anyway I was complaining about how I had to clean out under my sink and wash all my pots and pans now that the mouse had ran all over them. I mentioned I had a cast iron skillet and I was asked if I knew how to properly season it.

Season wah??
(for the record the Mouse gone and his house is clean)

Anyway Caroline informed me that after using the skillet clean it out with Vegetable oil and put it in the oven until it dries. Don't use soap and water it will ruin the seasoning of the pan. Thanks Caroline!!

So Sean's mom gave me another cast iron skillet the other day to make corn bread in. It has individual holes for each little slice of bread. It had also been sitting somewhere unused for a few decades and was covered in rust. (I think it was Sean's grandmother's) 

Anyway I couldn't figure out how to remove the rust.  So I surfed on over to Ehow.com and got some directions.  When they didn't work I called Sean's mom who gave me some extra tips

So here are the steps I used to remove Rust From my Cast Iron Skillet

• Use equal amounts of Salt and Veggie Oil about 3 table spoons and pour into pan and work it into the pan. 
• Scrub the pan with steel wool to get all the loose dirt out.  Just fair warning this is going to take some elbow grease if it's really dirty.
• If it's really rusty, as mine was, fill with water and boil on stove for about 20 minutes
• Repeat salt and oil scrub.  Scrub with the steel wool until you think your arm is going to fall off.
• Finish with soap and water and let dry (for the record this takes a while)

Next I started the Seasoning process

• Brush Veggie oil all over the pan
• Put in the oven for thirty minutes on 250
• Re brush the veggie oil on the pan, burn finger.
• Put it back in the oven for thirty minutes, don't forget that it's in the oven and let it sit for another hour then jump up in the middle of the movie you're watching and run to the oven and turn it off.  Not that I did that or anything...
• Let cool and wipe out with papertowel  and store for future use. 

Don't ever use soap on a seasoned pan, use veggie oil and put it in the oven to dry!!  And don't ever accept a rusty skillet because it's really a pain to clean. 

Now, if only I would use my cast Iron Skillet to cook....

All you girls that read this probably already knew this info, but it was news to me so I thought I'd share!

Applebutter Jeans

Things have been a little stressful in Jenna's world here lately. If you happen to think about it..slip me into your prayers!
Last night I went over to my In Laws for dinner. My MIL had made some Applebutter, which was a new little treat to my taste buds. I'm not quite sure but I believe it was made with Apples, butter, sugar, and a few teaspoons of HEAVEN. It was delicious! I was advised to use it on my pork chops and Oh...My...Gosh.... Angels sang when that sugary treat of goodness touched my tastebuds. I wonder what else I could put Applebutter on?! Chicken?? Muffins?? I should probably just skip the eating process and put the applebutter in the back of my jeans pockets because that's where it will be (on my bootay in the form of cellulite) if I don't just forget it ever existed. Oh... the joy of applebutter.

While I was there I decided to make a Dangerous Chocolate Cake. Someone had posted a blog about it a few days ago. I don't remember who or where, but it reminded me that I needed to make one. My MIL has the recipe so while I was over there last night I made myself a very dangerous chocolate cake.

MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• Small splash of vanilla

Notice I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten free all purpose baking flour.. it worked perfect!!

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!

(They aren't kidding about the cake rising over the top, me and my in laws stood in front of the microwave like idiots taking bets on when it would fall. Just look at the picture above...it looks like the cake is about to explode)

Leann had gotten this e-mail a while back from a friend and we both wondered how long it took someone to figure this recipe out. Thank you whoever you were, from microwave chefs all over the world!

Here's the finished product! After it cooled I cut it in half and added icing. Delicious!

Who's your Crawdaddy?

Saturday Night after the Jackpot we had tons of people come over and we boiled Craw fish. I was given the duty of cooking the craw fish and it was my first time. I had a little help from Shannon who has done it a million times. I didn't realize how easy and fun it was! We got a little carried away with taking pictures... We started by adding the seasoning and bringing the water to a boil. Then we added the potatoes and once they were soft we added corn, onions, mushrooms & sausage. As soon as we added the vegetables the burner went out and wouldn't start back up! We had to wait for someone to bring us another burner so the veggies got to sit in the seasoning for awhile and were extra extra spicy but delicious.

Banjo and Birdie weren't quite so sure what to think of the craw fish. Banjo took one sniff and then said no thanks. Birdie got very close to one and it bit her lip she shook her head and the craw fish went flying onto the ground. Banjo stood over it and barked at it for about five minutes until I finally got rid of the craw fish.

More Pictures to come Later!!