His Wife...Their Mother: Trying Something New in the Kitchen

A few months ago we were visiting at JoCasta and Wayne's house. She was putting whole chicken breasts in a clay pot. I asked her what she had there and she said it was a Romertopf clay pot. She had the chicken, potatoes, carrots and I don't know what else in there. We were there for a while and it was smelling really good. But, as it sometimes goes we didn't get to stick around to eat with them that day.

Sunday when JoCasta came to pickup Charlotte she gave me a paper bag and said she had a surprise for me. It was my own Romertopf clay pot. She found it at a rummage sale for $5.00. It looked like it hadn't been used much. So I washed it up and set it on the kitchen table where it has remained most of the week. On Tuesday, I pulled a chuck roast out of the freezer and put in the refrigerator to thaw. I had forgotten about it and told Harland we were going to have hamburgers for supper. We even went to the grocery store and bought hamburger buns. I left the barn with all intentions of fixing burgers. But when I opened the refrigerator I saw that roast and thought, dang I gotta do something with this roast. I pulled it out and set it on the table.

So there they were, the roast and the Roertopf pot sitting beside each other on the table. This is at 5:30 in the afternoon. Not a lot of time before supper time and JoCasta told me I need to soak the pot before it goes in the oven. I put the pot in water to soak while I peeled some potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and mashed a couple of garlic cloves. I put a little season salt and pepper on the veggies, put on the lid and threw that pot in the oven at 375, then walked out the front door and back to the barn.

Harland and I came back to the house at about 8 this evening. When I opened the front door my mouth started to water. It smelled so wonderful in the house. I threw two plates and tableware on the table, fixed the glasses, took the pot out of the oven and dinner was served. I have to pat myself on the back even though I didn't do so much in the way of preparations. But, it was good enough to do again.....soon! I love a great supper that comes together with little effort. Thanks JoCasta! Sorry, I didn't take a picture. I think this is a new kitchen tool I will be using often. Now I just need to try some of that chicken like you made and look up some more good recipes. Please share any recipes you have in the comments and I will keep you posted when something new goes in this pot!