Recipe Corner: Fluffy Biscuits

I found this recipe somewhere on the internet a while ago and it has become my family's favorite biscuit recipe, especially when served with sausage gravy! Give it a try and I am sure your family will love it too!

Fluffy Biscuits
makes about 8- 10 biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar (can be increased if you want sweeter)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (cannot substitute and maintain the same results)
  

1. Preheat oven to 480 (not a typo, really hot oven! yes really, 480!)
2. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray
3. In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients.
4. Add cream (no substitutions... they won't get as fluffy, trust me, I've tried!)
5. Stir together just until it sticks together and forms a ball.
6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently press dough out to about 3/4" thickness.
7. Cut out biscuits using about a 3" biscuit cutter, or a glass will do!
8. Place biscuits on the greased cookie sheet leaving about an inch in between.
9. Bake in your preheated, very hot oven, for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown on the top and the bottom. They will rise pretty tall while baking and will sink a bit after you take them out.

I recommend serving hot with sausage gravy to drown them in! YUMMY!

Recipe Corner: Play Dough!

Yesterday was day 2 of Spring Break. It was still a little chilly out for the kids to play outdoors, so we made some play dough! It was so easy and so much fun for the kids.

Play Dough

4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup salt
1/2 cup cream of tartar
4 cups water
4 Tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons vanilla (used as a preservative to keep from getting moldy & makes it smell good!)

Mix all ingredients in a large pan and stir over medium heat until a non-sticky dough forms. It will get very thick and hard to stir! So if you're gonna let the kids help, let them help at the beginning! Be sure and stir constantly to avoid the dough sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. Once the dough has formed, remove from the pan to cool slightly. Divide into however many colors you are going to make and add several drops of food coloring to each ball. Knead the dough until coloring is completely distributed. Store dough in an airtight container to keep from drying out. We used the little round Glad containers and had enough for 3 tubs each of 4 different colors. This way each of the two kids (that are interested in play dough) had their own set and we had an extra set! Hours & hours of cheap indoor fun!

Recipe Corner: Aunt Suzie's Famous Veggie Dip

I call it famous because she is not allowed to show up to family gatherings unless she has it in hand, and plenty of it! So when you make this, estimate how much you will need for the number of people attending your gathering and then at least double whatever you think you will need!
I apologize in advance for not having pictures up immediately... I will try to add those later...

You will need:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup mayonnaise (or, if you prefer, whipped salad dressing such as Miracle Whip)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 hard boiled egg, (separate the white and yolk)

1. In a medium mixing bowl (not your serving bowl), mix up the softened cream cheese with the mayo until thoroughly combined, no lumps.
2. Sprinkle the garlic salt and onion salt evenly over the top and mix in.
   
3. Chop up the egg white into a small dice, about 1/4 inch chunks, doesn't have to be perfect. Mix that in to the cream cheese mix.
4. Now place the mixture into whatever serving dish you will be using. (I do it this way so that it will remain pretty for serving).
5. Crumble up the egg yolk and sprinkle evenly on top of the dip.
6. Serve cold with your favorite dipping veggies, such as, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, etc...
7. Be prepared to give out the recipe, or keep it a secret to be sure you are always invited to parties ("so long as you bring that dip")

And I have always made extra just to have for a few days after the party to use up the rest of the veggies. Or I could sit and just eat it with a spoon. Yes, it really is that good.

Recipe Corner: My Super Awesome Banana Bread

Sarah's Awesome Banana Bread
I get rave reviews for this banana bread whenever someone tries it! I decided to do this in tutorial format since I have a cool new camera. (edit- I had a lot more pics, but blogger doesn't want to add them, so you only get a few this time...sorry)
Here we go...
Here's what you'll need:
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups mashed bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

First preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Then you can begin by mixing your butter and sugar until it's nice and fluffy.

Now, add your eggs and mix until they are all combined. Your batter should now look nice and smooth.

Next mix in your vanilla, buttermilk and mashed bananas. If you are using a stand mixer you can get away with just breaking your bananas into pieces, so long as they are the really ripe, mushy ones.

*Tip: If you don't have buttermilk, not to worry, you can make an equivalent by placing a 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice in your measuring cup and then filling to the 1/2 cup with milk.

Blend this until most of the lumps are broken down. It will still be somewhat lumpy and it may also look a bit "curdled" - this is normal, don't freak out!

Next you can measure out your flour, salt, and baking soda. You can choose to mix them together before you add them to the batter, you can sift them if you want, but usually I just add the flour to the bowl and then put the salt and baking soda in right on top of it. It will all mix in together, and I have never had a problem with it. Mix thoroughly. Even beat some air into it, this makes the batter a bit fluffier, a littler more cake-like.

If you would prefer, you can add nuts to your bread. Walnuts are the preferred nut for banana bread, but you use whatever nut you want. I just prefer my banana bread with no nuts. If you want to do some with nuts and some without, then save the nuts until your batter is in the pan, then sprinkle a handful on top and gently stir in, and then sprinkle a few more on top.
So now, you have to decide... Will you make muffins? Will you make loaves?

Or do you have one of these really cool itty bitty loaf pans?
I chose to do all three!! (I tripled the batch)

First, SPRAY YOUR PANS! My son and I have forgotten to do this on many occasions and it is not pretty when you forget!

Next fill your desired vessel about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Tap it on the countertop a bit to level it out. Next add your nuts if you are going to. If you are making muffins you can sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a bit of sugar - it makes them prettier.
Then all that is left is to bake, cool, and eat!

Baking times:
Large loaf pans (8" or 9")...50 - 60 minutes
Small loaf pans (4" - 7")....20 - 30 minutes
Itty bitty loaves or muffins...10 - 15 minutes

One batch makes either 1 0r 2 large loaves, 3 - 7" loaves, 4 mini loaves, and about 2 dozen standard size muffins.

Test your bread to see if it is done by either poking it with a toothpick and if it comes out clean then you're done! Or, my chosen method, touch the top of it, if it springs back, then its done, if it still feels a bit mushy, then you have some time left. They should be a golden brown when completely cooked.

Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes in the pan, then run a knife along the edge to loosen from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
This recipe freezes beautifully for several months, just thaw in the fridge or room temperature. You can also mix it up ahead of time and store in the fridge for a few days before baking. It's great for gift giving! I hope you enjoy it!

Recipe Corner: Award Winning Gingersnaps

These are great for snacking, for lunchboxes, for gift giving, for parties, an overall great cookie! I can say award winning... well maybe a more accurate description would be a contest winning recipe. I gave this recipe to a friend of mine and her daughters used it in a kids cookie contest in their area and each of them got first place in their age division for these cookies! So enjoy!

AWARD WINNING GINGERSNAPS

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 beaten egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
sugar to coat dough

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together shortening and 1 cup of sugar until fluffy. Add molasses and egg and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, and spices. Stir into creamed mixture. Mix well. Mold in to 1 inch balls (I use a cookie scoop and it works wonderfully here). Roll each in sugar to coat. Plase about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet (though I just made these and did not grease and they were fine). Bake about 6-7 minutes . Cool on pan for a few minutes to allow cookie to "set" up. Completely cool on wire racks. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.