Le Creuset Review

I like to cook.  I've said before, I am not a GREAT cook.  I am not a GOURMET cook.  I do a lot of what I call home-cookin'.  I fry food.  I make casseroles.  I use a lot of bacon, and butter.  Some of my favorite television chefs are Ina Garten and Paula Deen.  I love watching the Food Network and if the Barefoot Contessa or Paula's Home Cooking is on, well, forget getting any work out of me until the show is over!  I also like the Pioneer Woman's blog.  If you aren't familiar with the Pioneer Woman, then check out her blog HERE!  She is a mother of four from Oklahoma and she cooks my kinda food.  Incidentally, I have The Pioneer Woman Cookbook and I have made several of her recipes.  I must say I haven't tried a recipe I haven't liked.  One of my personal favorites is her Apple Dumplings.  Seriously, if you haven't tried these you must.  It is one of my family's favorites, but I don't make it often.  The reason I DON'T make it often, well, these Apple Dumplings are a heart attack waitin' to happen so out of love and respect for my family, and my own be-hind, we don't have these weekly.  But if I could, I would! 

If you follow the Pioneer Woman's blog you know that she cooks a lot with Le Creuset cookware.  In fact, in several pictures on her blog you can see she has a whole rainbow of Le Creuset cookware.  Kiwi, cobalt, flame, even the names sound good!  Le Creuset is known for their enamel-coated cast iron dutch ovens.  I don't have one of these dutch ovens.  They are definitely on my wish list but they are pricey so, I go to her blog and drool over them, but I haven't taken the plunge and bought one yet.

Last week I was cruising TJ MAXX, my favorite store in the whole wide world, and what did I stumble upon but two pieces of Le Creuset stoneware!!!!  I mentioned that  Le Creuset is famous for their dutch ovens, but, they also make enamel coated stoneware.  Feast your eyes on THESE:

These two pieces of Le Creuset are now in my pantry!  I got them for MUCH less than regular price.  Actually I got them for less than HALF of regular price.  Now I will say this is still higher than the price for a 9x13 glass pan at Wal-Mart, but to me, the quality of these pans far surpasses the glass 9x13 pan and the rusty metal loaf pans I have been using.

I made my corn casserole over the weekend in the blue oval dish.  The dish is heavy, substantial feeling.  My sister took the casserole out of the oven and she said "wow, this is a really nice dish!"  The enamel is very smooth and even though I did spray the pan with "Pam" before I made the casserole I don't think I needed to.  Clean up was a breeze.  No soaking, no scraping, it just wiped clean.  I broke in the loaf pan by baking a loaf of Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Bread over the weekend.  You talk about de-licious!  Oh my goodness.  My family loved it and, again, the bread came right out of the pan and the pan wiped clean with just soap and water. 

The quality, the ease of clean-up, and the fact that it's just down right purty, makes Le Crueset enamel coated stoneware a TEN in my book.  I have five glass 9x13 pans.  They have been pushed to the back of my cabinet.  My old rusty loaf pan???  Again, pushed aside.  I have bragged on this cookware so much that when I found three more pieces of Le Creuset bakeware at TJ Maxx my sister from St. Louis asked me to buy it for her!  It is at my house, all wrapped up, just waiting for her to come and pick it up. 

I bought these pans because I wanted to try them.  Le Creuset is a huge corporation and they have never heard of me.  I received no compensation for this review. I'm just sharing what I like with you.  So be on the look out for Le Creuset cookware.  You really won't be sorry.  Now, if I can just figure out how to hide this cookware from my sister :)!!!