Who doesn't love steak in cast iron?

I'm a bit of a carnivore. OK, maybe that's an understatement. Sometimes when my boyfriend asks me what I'm in the mood for when we're going out to eat with friends, all I can respond with is "Meat!" so it's no surprise that I went to steak as my second dish in my new pan. I shop primarily at Publix, and they have a section in their meat department that is dedicated to ready to cook dishes like this flank steak, stuffed with mozzarella and spinach.

It's handy that they come in their own ready to cook container, but of course this wasn't the flavor I was looking for. I wanted that seared flavor and so I decided I would use my cast iron. Well, I didn't think about how difficult this was going to be to clean up either, because of the melty cheese,but that's a subject I'll come back to. Doesn't this look amazing? I tossed the meat in the hot pan, seared it a little on both sides, then tossed in the bedding spinach and a pack of steamed brussel sprouts that were in a mild butter based sauce.

When I took this picture, I was just about to flip them to see if they were getting too seared in the oven. This is when I realized that using meat that was stuffed with cheese in this pan wasn't the best idea, even though it smelled wonderful. Another few minutes and it was time to see how they turned out.

I'll admit, it's not the best I ever had, and I probably won't try this in this pan again, at least until the seasoning really forms a solid surface, but it was really good. I've bought these before and after trying to cook them this way, I think I'll leave them in the oven-ready pan they come in and save myself the clean up.

Here's the finished plate. Yes, I love the convenience of box mac and cheese, don't judge me! I'll make mac and cheese another time, since it's my favorite, but not in my cast iron!

Now the question is what to try next....