Dad's Biscuits

I was lucky enough to find in my vast collection of recipes, my great-grandfather's biscuit recipe from August 1959.  It was on a typed index card with the title, "Dad's Biscuits."  The "dad" being my grandmother's father on my mom's side of the family.  He owned a bakery at one time in Missouri.  I guess that's where I get my love of baking from, it's in the "genes." I made these this morning and Dominic and I did a little taste "test."  I asked Dominic what he thought of the biscuits and he said, "good!"  I did change the measurements slightly, the original recipe used one teaspoon of salt, I cut it down to 1/4 teaspoon.  Also, there was no measurement for the amount of milk, the recipe said, "add enough milk to make medium workable dough for rolling."  I found that 3/4 of a cup of milk was "workable."  I  have a small collection of biscuit cutters and decided on the littlest one. I don't remember where I got that biscuit cutter from, but I'm pretty sure it's older than me :) I was able to make 20 biscuits out of the dough.  Depending on what size biscuit cutter you use, you will be able to get more or less than that.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease cookie sheet with baking spray.  In large bowl, put all ingredients together and mix well with spoon.  On flat surface, sprinkle one tablespoon of flour.  Take dough mixture and knead about 20 times (don't over knead the dough or the biscuits will be tough). Flatten with hands to get to desired thickness and use biscuit cutter.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until slightly golden brown on top.

*September is right around the corner and it is National Biscuit Month!!

Crispy Rice Treats

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats have been around since the early 1940's.  They are super easy and quick to make at home (only three ingredients).  You can even buy them individually packaged at the grocery store. They are definitely not low calorie, but they are fun to have once in a while :)  I used the "house" brand of marshmallows and crispy rice cereal that Kroger makes.  I also used the crispy rice treat recipe on the back of  the bag of marshmallows.  The only difference between the Kellogg's version and the Kroger version is the Kroger version uses one additional tablespoon of margarine/butter.  You can use margarine instead of butter, but my feeling is that it's not like you eat these every day, so why not splurge a little?!?! A while back I had bought a container of 100 cookie cutters from Bed Bath and Beyond (I think because I had a coupon) and I recently found them again in our basement.

I decided to get a little creative and made some of the treats into the below shapes.  It was a little sticky making them, but isn't that half the fun??  You can get the kids involved making these because they are so easy to make.  I enlisted Dominic to help me :)

 Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 package (10 ounces) marshmallows (any brand)
6 cups crispy rice cereal (any brand)

Melt butter or margarine slowly in a large saucepan.  Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the cereal until it is completely coated.  Pour into lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan.  Press the mixture evenly into the pan.  Let cool slightly.  Cut into squares or desired shapes.  Store at room temperature covered for no more than two days.   They start losing their freshness pretty fast, that's why their "shelf" life is so short!! If your family can't eat them within a few days, I'm sure your co-workers, friends or neighbors would be happy to "help" you out!  You could even whip them up for a new mom :)

Carrot Muffins

My favorite grocery store was selling three pounds of carrots for a $1.00 this week.  I usually buy the shortcut carrots when they are 10 for $10.00, but decided since it was such a good deal, I would buy the three pound bag. Once I got them home, I was thinking of different ways to use them.  The first thing that came to mind was to whip up some carrot muffins, since we were all out of breakfast "bakery."  While grating the carrots for the muffins, I was wondering why it was taking so long.  After I got to the end of the second out of four carrots, I realized I had the grater upside down :)  Once I got that "issue" figured out, it made the grating go much faster!!  Usually when I'm all done grating the carrots, I toss the remaining bits of carrots that are leftover into a bag and put in the fridge for a snack for later.  This time I put them in a sealed bag and tossed them into the freezer.  I'm working on a recipe for Carrot Pumpkin Soup and thought they could be used later on!!

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
2 large eggs
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2  teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and fill a 12-muffin tin with paper liners.  In large bowl, put all ingredients in the order given.  Using a large spoon, mix until well combined.  Distribute batter evenly and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean.  Cool for 5-10 minutes in tin and then remove to baking rack to finish cooling.

Mexican Corn and Bean Salad

I definitely think this is the hottest summer that I can remember since we have lived in the Midwest.  For about the past week, I kept trying to figure out a different kind of side dish, besides potato salad, pasta salad or coleslaw that could be taken to a  picnic. This salad is meant to be eaten cold, so you can keep it in a covered plastic container, in a cooler with some ice for hours and not worry about it spoiling in the sun :)  You can assemble this salad very quickly (less than five minutes), so if you get invited last minute to a get-together, don't worry about what to bring - just make this! This recipe could easily be doubled or even tripled to feed more.  If you want to "spice" this salad up, feel free to add a little hot sauce when you're making it!

Ingredients:

15.5 ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed
15 ounce can black beans, rinsed
12 ounce bag frozen corn
1.25 ounce packet taco seasoning
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

In colander, put kidney and black beans.  Rinse under cold water and drain.  In large bowl, put beans and the remaining ingredients.  Stir with large spoon until well mixed.   Enjoy immediately or put in fridge until ready to eat.  Serves about 8.

For a quick and easy dinner, you can put a couple of tablespoons of the salad into an 8-inch flour tortilla, roll it up and you're done!

Lemonade Biscotti

Two things I make all summer long are lemonade and iced tea. As I sat recently looking at my containers of powdered lemonade, I got the idea that maybe it would be cool to make something out of it besides lemonade, so I made some biscotti.  These also have a little lemon juice added.  You can squeeze your own lemons (which I think are a lot of work) or use lemon juice in a bottle.  A little juice, taste wise goes a LONG way :) If you can believe it, these cookies have pink powdered lemonade in them.  I had containers of both pink and yellow powdered lemonade from Country Time.  Since I was almost out of the yellow, I used the pink.

After dinner on Thursday, I had the hubby "sample" my latest creation from Cathy's Kitchen.  I asked him what kind of cookie they were and first he said "biscotti."  I was like, "yes, but what kind?"  He guessed lemon!  These smell super yummy baking, kind of like a batch of sugar cookies :)  These biscotti are a little bit of summer wrapped up in a cookie!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups white flour
6 tablespoons margarine, softened
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pink powdered lemonade
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two cookie sheets with cooking spray.  In large bowl, combine all ingredients together in the order shown with large spoon.  Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a 12-inch long log.  Flatten slightly (about 2-3 inches across).  Place each log onto the lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.  Pull the cookie sheets out and let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.  Remove logs from cookie sheets and cut each log into 12 equal sized slices.  Return slices to cookie sheets and place cut-sides down.  Return back to oven for another 15-20 minutes or until slightly brown. Remove slices to wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container, to maintain freshness.

Classic Deviled Eggs

A "classic" picnic food has to be deviled eggs.  There are MANY variations, but this recipe is simple and only has three ingredients - mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar. I was curious as to how deviled eggs got their name, so I did a little research.  The word "deviled" according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is to "season highly."  It doesn't necessarily apply only to eggs.  For example, if you seasoned chopped ham, then you would have deviled ham.  I learn something new everyday!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

Boil eight large eggs about 15 minutes.  Let cool completely either in cold water or in fridge.  Remove shells and split eggs in half with sharp knife.  Remove yolks and put into small bowl. Using a fork, break yolks into small pieces until it resembles fine crumbs.  Add mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar.  Stir until smooth and creamy.  Spoon into egg halves.  Arrange on platter.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in fridge until ready to eat.

No-Bake Cheesecake

I read in my local paper that this coming Monday, July 30th, is National Cheesecake Day.  I didn't even know there was such a day!!  A homemade cheesecake is time consuming, loaded with calories and expensive to make. This is a recipe that involves no baking, just a minimum three hour chilling time in the fridge.  I used fat-free whipped topping and fat-free cream cheese to try and lighten it up, but feel free to use "full strength" whipped topping and cream cheese :)  I also used a ready to eat graham cracker pie crust instead of making my own.  I bought the "house" brand of whipped topping, cream cheese and graham cracker pie crust, because I personally can't taste the difference.  It's usually less expensive too!!
 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar
8-ounce package fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8-ounce tub fat-free whipped topping
6-ounce graham cracker pie crust

In medium bowl, put sugar, cream cheese and vanilla extract.  With large spoon, mix until well combined.  Gently stir in the whipped topping until smooth and creamy.  Pour into graham cracker pie crust and put in fridge for at least three hours or until firm.  Remove from fridge and enjoy.  Serves 8.