The Hot Handle family has had a very busy spring and summer, as evidenced by the lack of posts from that time. The summer culminated in a two week road trip from New England to Albuquerque and back, to bring our son to grad school at UNM. We had already been thinking of purchasing a small travel trailer, and the idea of this trip got us to actually do it. It's only 18 feet, but very comfortable inside. It has a small propane stove which was perfect for quick skillet dinners.
We picked up local foods and used an all-purpose lid with my 10" cast iron skillet. We carted along our own olive oil and an all-purpose mesquite spice mix. It turned out to be a little spicier than I expected, but no one complained.
The basic recipe (no measuring!) goes like this: Heat up a glop (probably two tablespoons) of olive oil. Add about 3/4 pound of meat and an onion. Cook and stir it up a bit. Add vegetables. Add a little of your spice mix, until it "looks right" to you. Cover pan and let it steam until it's all cooked through. Uncover and cook until any excess liquids have evaporated, if necessary. Serve. Sprinkle with parmesan, if desired.
I had a rule: no leftovers were allowed. This proved to be no problem.
In Virginia, our dinner consisted of chicken tenders, an onion, a green pepper, and snow peas.
In Tennessee, we had beef, onion, potatoes, and sugar peas.
In Arkansas, we whipped up smoked pork with onion, potato, and black-eyed peas. (This is what the guys are enjoying in the above photo!)
In Oklahoma, we stirred together kielbasa, onion, potato, and cabbage (just a pre-shredded package of cole slaw mix).
Once in Albuquerque, we dined three nights at a wonderful Italian restaurant that serves excellent gluten free food: Paisano's. I can't thank this place enough. It was awesome.
Now home, we are continuing the travel trailer skillet dinners, since they were so delicious. Below is a photo of one I recently made, with chicken sausage, onion, potato and a package of frozen chopped spinach.
If you want to find out more about our travels and life at UNM in Albuquerque, please check out John's blog: http://hdhijinks.blogspot.com/
Oh, one last thing to tell you: we stopped - twice - at a Lodge Logic factory outlet along route 40 in Tennessee. Couldn't resist. I splurged and got myself the clear tempered glass lids for the 10 and 12-inch skillets. Hey, how often am I in Tennessee?
Happy cooking!
