You may have noticed that I’m using my cast iron skillet more often. I am slowly working on getting pieces of cookware that I could use with different heat sources if needed, including an open fire if I had to cook using a firepit. And that are healthier to cook with. Not that I am expecting the worst, mind you, but I want to be prepared for certain types of scenarios such as not having electricity for a long period of time. Sound silly? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows what might happen?
I have a big skillet that I use at least once a week, a small skillet big enough to cook an egg or two, and two round baking dishes slightly bigger around than the small skillet. They work well for me, and I can do just about everything in them. There are a few other pieces I would like to have, but these are all I really need. I can cook four different things at a time if I need to. I do not have anything cast iron for soups and stuff yet.
Healthwise, I am confident that there aren’t all the chemicals in and on these pans that are for many other pans. This makes me feel much better about the food I am eating. I mean, why bother with organic foods when the cookware I was using also had undesirable things in and on it? I no longer have the nonstick, coated cookware, and for that I am thankful.
Another health benefit of cast iron is the fact that it does provide us with a little iron in our diet. I don’t think it’s enough to treat an iron deficiency, but a little is better than none. I have often wondered if the reason so many people have such low iron is because we aren’t cooking all our meals in these anymore.
How much did I spend on these cast-iron pieces? Well, I’ve had the big skillet for maybe 20 years, and I spent less than $30.00 in it. The small skillet is about a decade old cost me about the same, and the two small baking dishes came as a set and cost maybe $30.00-$40.00 for the set. I have seen cast iron pieces at Goodwill in Bangor at very reasonable prices, and once in a while at a yard sale or a thrift store. I’m keeping my eye out for particular pieces. If you take into consideration how often you need to replace other pans, cast iron is definitely more reasonable.
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For this particular meal component, I used the same skillet I did when making the Skillet Pork Chops. I didn’t bother washing the pan or wiping it out, using the drippings from that dish and adding about a half teaspoon more of garlic in oil and another pat of butter and allowing that to melt and combine before adding the potatoes. The pan was already hot from the previous recipe. I will type this up as having started without doing that, though, since you won’t all have done the same. I just wanted to let you know you could do that.
NOTE: I don’t eat a lot of potatoes because I do have diabetes, so I split mine over four meals for this recipe. Apparently, that was not small enough servings because I can totally see where my blood sugar is inching up. If I do this again, I will likely opt for a medium potato for the 4 servings. I do have a hard time with some foods, and don’t eat them very often. Something I have learned about myself though is that if I am really craving something for a week or two, I will let myself have it. I don’t like to feel deprived. And if I hold off too long, I will overindulge. I don’t want to do that.
I am using an old toaster oven that is about ready to die, and I think it is cooking too fast no matter the temperature. You may need to adjust the temperature or the times for this recipe for your oven.
Skillet Roasted Potatoes
Serves: 2-3 (Though I did split mine between 4 meals)
Ingredients
1 tsp garlic in oil
1 pat butter
1 large russet potato, peel on – scrubbed and chopped to bite size pieces
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup frozen peas
dried rosemary
dried thyme
dried sage
sea salt
pepper
- Put 1 teaspoon of garlic in oil into the skillet and place the skillet into a 350* oven. Allow to heat while you get your seasonings and other ingredients together, but not too long. You don’t want to burn the garlic before you put the food in.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and put the pat of butter into it, moving it around in the pan with a spatula to be sure the oil and butter are mixed well.
- Place the chopped potatoes into the skillet and stir them around to coat with the butter and oil.
- Sprinkle the seasonings over this. I just do what I want here. If you don’t like a lot of seasoning, go easy here. If you like a lot of seasonings, feel free to be more generous. You will figure out what works for you over time.
- Put the skillet into the oven and bake about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and stir the potatoes around again, then place the skillet back into the oven for 10 minutes.
- Take the skillet out again. Add the corn and peas, and maybe some more of the seasonings. Stir to mix it all together and put back into the oven for about another 10 minutes.
- How I know the potatoes are close to being done is that I can hear them. That might sound weird but, once they start cooking really good, I can hear a low whistling sound coming from them. You can also check by sticking a fork in to see if they are at the tenderness you like. Honestly, I don’t even need mine to be cooked as much as others prefer.
- At this point, I take them out, stir again, and put them back in for about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. Enjoy!
Notes
- I paid $0.88 for the potato and had everything else on hand. This was a very frugal dish to offset the cost of the meat for my work week meals. I wish I could do a side with rice, pasta, or potato more often because I can get them pretty cheap, but it is just too many carbs for my body to handle.
- You could also use squash, sweet potato, or carrots for this, though I think the cook times would be different, so you could possibly make it even more cheaply if you compared prices each time. Great way to save money!
Serving Suggestions
- I had this with my skillet pork chops, and side of grapes, celery, and cabbage.
- This would be great topped with chili or taco meat.
What do you serve your roasted potatoes with? There are so many options, making it easy to have something different each week.
~ Shannon
