Fluffy Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

I seem to have an unstable neighbor. She was somewhat normal until she had her kid, now it's a 180 degree turn. Yesterday she felt the need to throw eggs at our 12 year old dog with arthritis. I heard our dog whimpering and found eggs in our backyard. Needless to say I wasn't happy. She has also forgotten to pick up her kid at the bus stop multiple times forcing me to walk him home so he doesn't get hit by a car. I feel bad for her since I think she might have post partum depression that isn't treated. However, I also am beginning to lose my patience with the entire situation. At the bus stop in the morning she allows her kid to stand in the street and push my children, while I calmly try to explain to my own kids that there is a difference between raising your kids to survive to adulthood and raising your kids to be successful members of society. I miss the 80's when I was growing up. If I acted up at the bus stop my mother would have gotten phone calls from all our neighbors and I would have been grounded or had my tv privileges taken away by the time I got home. Apparently modern parenting isn't something that I do so well with.

One thing that I have learned to do well is to make biscuits. Growing up my mother never made biscuits, we ate them at restaurants, but even those were few and far between. When I moved to WV it was a whole different story. There is a whole breakfast chain that just serves biscuits (and a few other items). Over the years I have learned that there is a right and wrong way to treat your biscuit dough. The following is a recipe for Fluffy Southern Buttermilk Biscuits.

Fluffy Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Fluffy Buttermilk Southern Biscuits

Recipe Type: Side

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Cooking Time: 0h, 12m

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup buttermilk

Cooking Directions

1. Combine first 4 ingredients.
2. Cutting the butter into small pieces add it to the flour mixture.
3. I use a small knife and cut off chunks above the bowl and then add the chunks using either a fork or your hands.
4. Add buttermilk to the mixture and stir just until the dough comes together, any longer and it will be tough.
5. Pat the dough into a circle approximately a 1/2 inch thick.
6. Using a 2 inch biscuits cutter cut out the biscuits.
7. Make sure not to twist the cutter in order to get the biscuits out, it will lead to tough biscuits.
8. Place the biscuits a couple of inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a preheated 450 degree oven.

Apple Pie Mini Muffins

Apple Pie Muffins

My family doesn't have cable, we don't watch live television and we gave up our home phone years ago. We used to have cable. In graduate school my husband and I would watch horrible cable television while working on papers into the early hours of the morning. Then like a lot of people in our generation we graduated and were struck with the cold reality of a bad economy, aka no jobs. The jobs we did find were in retail, my husband woke up at 3 in the morning to help unload the truck at a toy store. So we did what needed to be done, we moved to a cheaper apartment, cancelled cable and switched to cell phones only. Our friends couldn't fathom not having cable, especially since we only received 3 channels through the regular television. We survived and eventually bought an Apple TV and Roku, which made regular television pretty much useless. The last time we watched live television was so far back I don't remember when it happened. Instead we watch Netflix and Hulu plus, use our computers and save the 130 dollars we paid on cable when we were younger. None of us miss it, we can watch pretty much anything we want between our Apple TV and computer and it gives us more time outside the house enjoying family time. It's also one of the numerous ways that I save money in order to stay at home with my kids.

I have two active and growing boys that eat more food than I would think possible. I shudder to think how much food they will eat as teenagers. I try to keep a variety of after school snacks that they can eat while I prepare dinner. Today I tried a new recipe for Apple Pie Mini Muffins from the November 2013 issue of Parents Magazine.

Apple Pie Muffins

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 36 mini muffins. I made a number of changes to the original recipe. The most obvious being that I made full size muffins instead of mini muffins. I ended up with a total of 12 regular sized muffins and one jumbo muffin I baked in a custard cup. Instead of using a food processor I mixed the muffin topping by hand. I also toasted my own pumpkin seeds since the ones I could find at the store where raw. I found that my total cooking time was slightly increased by approximately 5 minutes. Additionally I rotated the pan halfway through the baking time.

Haunted Tunnel Ironton Ohio

I like that these muffins have pumpkin seeds, oats and apples. It's a nice way to sneak a little nutrition into my kids diets. The batter will be very, very thick when it's prepared. Don't add more liquid, they will cook up fine without it. I did find that the amount of topping was a little short with full sized muffins. You might wanted to double the amount of topping used.

For the recipe go to Apple Pie Mini Muffins. (registration required)

Easy Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries

I love making breakfast from scratch. There is something so great about making up a big batch of pancakes or waffles and then enjoying them with butter and maple syrup. My love of breakfast foods comes from my father. Growing-up my father could only make one dish, fried potatoes. So every Sunday he would wake up early and make a huge breakfast. My mom would help with making the pancakes and I would make the scrambled eggs. It was one of my favorite things about my family growing up. I have never lost this love of breakfast and my two boys have followed on the tradition. My youngest son especially loves pancakes. He somehow managed to eat an entire batch of pancakes all by himself this morning. I don't know how he can eat so much, but never gain an ounce. Since everyone in my house loves breakfast I try new breakfast recipes frequently. Today I tried a new recipe for Basic Buttermilk Pancakes from Redbook Magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 16 4-inch pancakes. Since I eat gluten-free I used brown rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. Additionally I substituted canola oil for the unsalted butter and decreased the amount to two tablespoons. Since my youngest loves blueberries I added 1 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries to the batter. The best way that I have found to make great pancakes is to use a griddle. They always turn out nicely browned and never under or over done. After the pancakes were done I topped them with maple syrup. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These pancakes turned out perfect. They weren't too sweet and the blueberries blended perfect with the maple syrup topping. I had to make an additional batch since my youngest ate the entire first batch. He really loved them, especially the blueberries. These pancakes are also a great base for making a number of changes such as adding chocolate chips, bananas etc.

For the recipe go to Easy Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries.

Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread

I really love bread and baked goods. As far back as I can remember I have wanted donuts over potato chips, bread over Cheetos. My mother on the hand had a rather large potato chip and popcorn obsession. She could take or leave bread, but anything salty she would go to town on. When I had my doctor confirm my fears that gluten was the reason I was having a vast array of problems I had my food life flash before me. No more bread or baked goods, I was devastated. However, I then got determined. There was no reason I couldn't still eat the foods I love with a few changes. So I set about re-working recipes to be gluten free. I have been lucky that I have had far more successes than failures. Next week is Thanksgiving and then Christmas will be here before you know it. I am a little nervous about dealing with being gluten free during the holidays. I have a major sweet tooth and I know that almost all the food will be things I can't have. So I have been making all my favorites at home modified. Last week I made pumpkin bread and muffins and they were delicious. Next week I am going to attempt a gluten free pumpkin pie. One of my favorite baked goods is cornbread. Cornbread with butter and honey is so good! Last month I tried a new recipe for Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread from the November issue of the Food Network Magazine, which looked easy and flavorful.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 6 to 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. I found a great gluten free flour that uses coconut flour. It is perfect for gluten free baked goods, my two boys can't tell that they are eating gluten free. I have a horrible time with cast-iron skillets. Growing up in the Northwest I never owned one until I moved to West Virginia. The first year my husband and I were married my mother-in-law gave me a cast iron skillet. I washed it and it rusted. That was a lesson I learned quickly. I also decided that I am horrible about keeping cast iron seasoned. So I rarely use cast-iron skillets, I just can't seem to get the hang of them. For this recipe I made muffins instead. The recipe made a total of 12 muffins, which I cooked at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Make sure not to overly stir the batter. Stir just until combined, it will make your cornbread rise more effectively. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

For gluten free cornbread this turned out pretty well. I would suggest a few changes though. First, I would not seed the jalapenos. The cornbread needed more flavor and keeping the seeds would definitely provide this. Second, I would add more fat into the batter. I always use bacon grease melted into the bottom of the pan or muffin tin. This method would definitely help this recipe. Most cornbread recipes have at least 1/4 cup of butter, so the fat in this recipe needs to be increased. Finally, instead of cheddar cheese I would use Monterey Jack. The cheddar cheese just ends up tasting a little on the bland side. With these changes I think this recipe could be a great gluten free option.

For the recipe go to Gluten Free Jalapeno and Cheddar Cornbread.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

My oldest son is in a food phase. When he was little he was very easy to please. So much so that he loved spicy foods and I once caught him eating a whole jalapeno out of the fridge (and he loved it!). That all changed when he started school last year. Gone was my easy going child, replaced by a child that whined and complained about literally everything I made. Well, with one exception cookies. Since cookies all the time aren't so great, it has been a struggle figuring out what he will and won't eat. Luckily I have learned that his wants fall into three categories: chicken, pork and shrimp. If a meal has one of those meats clearly viable he will eat it. However, always to be one to keep mommy on her toes I learned last week that if you put a green cilantro sauce (which was delicious) on top of the roasted chicken he will complain the whole meal and refuse to eat his serving. Dinner time has turned into a stare down between the two of use. I will give the kid that he still asks to be excused, so at least his great manners haven't been completely eroded by his peers. So if you have noticed a lot of chicken, pork and shrimp on my blog lately you now know the culprit. Last month I tried a new recipe for Buttermilk Roast Chicken from Everyday Food, which looked simple and perfect for my very vocal six-year-old.

This recipe has 6 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I have horrible luck finding fresh herbs in my area and had to go to two separate stores to find fresh dill. I really wish that the neighborhood animals wouldn't destroy any outdoor herb garden I have ever tried to start. My indoor cats have eaten every attempt at growing them indoors also, so it seems to be a trend. I let my chicken sit in the fridge 24 hours before cooking. I like a long marinade time on my meats, I think the flavor lends better that way. Make sure to pat the chicken fully before placing it in the oven to roast. If you miss this important step your chicken will not have that great crispy skin that most people love, but instead be soggy and unappetizing. I found that I had to cook my thighs a little longer than the 25 minutes suggested by the recipe in order to be at the appropriate temp. If you don't have a great thermometer to temp meat, put it on your Christmas list. I had to force myself to spend a hundred dollars on the one that I have and it was the best kitchen gadget I have bought in a long time. It makes making any type of meat so much easier and prevents over-cooking, which can have a great deal of impact on the taste of your food. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If you are looking for a simple roasted chicken dish with a great herb flavor this recipe is perfect. It isn't fancy, it's just an easy weekday meal. Everyone in my family (including my picky son) enjoyed this recipe. My husband isn't a fan of chicken skin (I on the other hand love it!), so he picked his skin off and thought that the meat was very moist from the marinade. This recipe would be great with rice or couscous infused with olive oil and fresh dill. The dill in the rice and the chicken would work well together. Green beans with butter and dill would be another delicious option.

For the recipe go to Buttermilk Roasted Chicken. 

Glutenfree Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes

I love pancakes. Growing-up Sunday mornings were my favorite time of the week. It always meant a big breakfast with bacon and pancakes. Lots and lots of pancakes, piled high with butter and real maple syrup. My two boys have carried on my love of pancakes. Their eyes go wide when they see me pulling out the griddle to make their favorite breakfast food. However, after I started having problems eating gluten pancake breakfasts were something that I wasn't able to enjoy. Luckily I found that brown rice flour can work beautifully in pancakes and they can be a part of a healthy breakfast routine. Recently, I made a new recipe for Gluten free Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes from Everyday Food magazine, which looked delicious and perfect for a big breakfast.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total of 30 minutes, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. Since the original recipe was not gluten free, I obviously made a number of modifications. First instead of all-purpose flour I used brown rice flour. I used low-fat buttermilk instead of full-fat and frozen blueberries. I made no further ingredient modifications. Instead of a skillet I made my pancakes on a griddle, which I love since the pancakes always come out evenly browned. I always melt a tablespoon of butter on my griddle when making pancakes, it makes the outside delicious. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I loved how light and fluffy these pancakes turned out. It's the worst feeling when you try a new pancake recipe and they end up flat and tasteless. These pancakes were nothing like that. Plus with 18 grams of protein per serving they are a great breakfast option. This is definitely  a recipe I would make again in the future.

For the recipe go to Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes.

Southern Biscuits

Growing up in Seattle I never really ate biscuits. My mom made tons of pancakes and waffles, but biscuits were relegated to restaurants and those were mediocre at best. Fast forward to grad school and I ended up in West Virginia and the middle of biscuit country. There is a whole chain of biscuit fast food restaurants which specializes in biscuits and biscuit sandwiches called Tudors. I quickly fell in love and was determined to learn to make southern biscuits. My first ten attempts were pretty much disasters, I could not get a hang of the idea of not overworking the dough and sadly my biscuits resembled hockey pucks. Slowly I learned to make proper biscuits thanks in large part to my mother-in-law. Everything was perfect until my husband and I went to Washington state for a visit. My husband made the mistake of ordering buckwheat biscuits and gravy at a restaurant. Really I should have warned him, but I didn't. I tried one bite of the dish and could tell they were not proper biscuits. My husband tried to be nice about the dish, but has since re-told the story to every West Virginian that he knows to explain how northerners just can't make biscuits and gravy properly. Since we are very serious about biscuits in our house I rarely try new recipes, but I am teaching my oldest son to bake so we tackled the recipe for Southern Biscuits from the Food Network this weekend for breakfast.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes a total of 40 minutes of time and makes 12 servings. All the ingredients are very basic and I already had all of them in my pantry cupboard and fridge. I did make a few changes, I made my biscuits larger than the recipe suggested, so I ended up with a total of 9 biscuits. My family prefers large biscuits so we can slather them in jam or gravy and the larger the surface area the better. To ensure that your biscuits turn out perfect make sure to do a few essential steps. First, make sure that the butter is very cold. I cut my butter into pieces and then place it in the freezer for approximately 5 minutes. This allows the butter to stay cold while being cut into the dough. This is essential for having fluffy biscuits. Secondly, and most important barely touch your dough after adding the buttermilk, mix the ingredients until they form a dough and no more. Very gently pat the dough into a circle and press your biscuit cutter into the dough, turn the biscuit cutter in a circle. This turning ensures that the edges will turn out perfectly in the oven. Close the door to the oven and do not open for at least ten minutes. If you open the door too soon your biscuits won't rise, so avoid the temptation. That it!

I love how easy this recipe is to follow and the finished biscuits have a great taste. The recipe was so easy that my 6-year-old was able to help me with the entire recipe. The taste is slightly sweet and the buttermilk creates a great flavor. They were perfect with the homemade strawberry jam that I canned last month, yum! I will definitely make this recipe again.

For the recipe go to Southern Biscuits.

Better Homes and Gardens Double-Cheddar Holiday Biscuits

As I've stated before I absolutely love cheese. I have been caught many times eating almost a whole block of cheese from the fridge. The rest of my family holds the same feelings towards biscuits that I have for cheese. West Virginians take their biscuits very seriously, there is even a whole chain of biscuit fast food restaurants that have lines around the corner most mornings. It has taken me the whole eight years that my husband and I have been married for my biscuits to be considered better than just adequate. Biscuits are serious business around here. Recently, Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Double-Cheddar Holiday Biscuits, which combined two household favorites, cheese and biscuits, and looked like the perfect accompaniment to my Thanksgiving meal.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of prep and 16 minutes of baking time and makes 24 biscuits. All the ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding at my local grocery store. I always use whole fat buttermilk and this recipe was no exception. I rarely use low-fat buttermilk even if a recipe calls for it, the taste seems unauthentic to me. Instead of rolling the dough out to cut the biscuits I followed the way that my mother-in-law taught me a long time back and hand patted out the dough and used the top of a plastic cup to cut. I have also used the top of measuring cups to cut out biscuits before and that works well also. I did not pierce the dough, I forgot to do the step and have never done it to my biscuits before, so I don't think the step is necessary, my biscuits rose nicely without. I followed the remainder of this recipe as written.

I must say this was one of the highlights of my Thanksgiving spread. Everyone absolutely loved these biscuits and they were the perfect accompaniment to the collard greens that I served. The two cheddar cheeses blended perfectly together and made for a rich and delicious biscuit. Most importantly these biscuits are very versatile and would work well as either a side dish or a breakfast food.

For the recipe go to Double-Cheddar Holiday Biscuits.

Food and Wine Bacon-Scallion Biscuits with Sorghum Butter

Bacon is a big deal in my household. The males in my household love bacon, and when I say love, I mean love. If I want a positive reaction to my baking or cooking I just add bacon and it will be guaranteed to be a hit. Growing up my family was a sausage family. We ate links and patties almost every Sunday morning breakfast. When my husband and I first got married it took some adjusting for me to get used to cooking with bacon grease and not burning bacon in general. I have come along way since then and I now make dishes using bacon frequently. The November issue of Food and Wine magazine had a recipe for Bacon-Scallion Biscuits with Sorghum Butter, which looked like a great way to appease my bacon loving household.

This recipe has 9 ingredients for the biscuits and 2 for the butter. The total time is one hour, with 30 minutes being active, and it makes approximately 18 biscuits. I chose to use maple syrup instead of ordering sorghum butter. I'm a big believer in using the ingredients that you already own/have. The remainder of the ingredients were basic and I either already had in my pantry or were easily available at my local supermarket. My family prefers thick-cut bacon, so that was the type I used for this recipe. One major modification I made to the original recipe was the cooking time. West Virginians make a lot of biscuits and I have never kept my biscuits in for 25 minutes. I bake my biscuits for 10-15 minutes, 20 at the most and turn the baking sheet halfway through. If I had kept my biscuits in the full 25 minutes, the bottoms would have been way too brown for my family's tastes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

As expected this was a very popular recipe in my family. I made half of the biscuits with a dinner recipe and kept the other half of the dough for fresh biscuits for breakfast the next day. The maple butter was absolutely delicious on the biscuits as well as waffles I made later in the week. My favorite part of this recipe is that it works well as both a dinner side or a breakfast food. Overall, a very versatile recipe, full of bacon and delicious.

For the recipe go to Bacon-Scallion Biscuits with Sorghum Butter.

Family Fun Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones

Breakfast is one of my favorite parts of the day. I get up early every morning to pack my husband's lunch and then have about a half hour before my two kids wake-up. Some mornings I make pancakes, others cold cereal. One of my favorite breakfast foods is scones. I make sweet scones about once or twice a month and they are always eaten quickly. In the last couple of months I have been trying to utilize more fresh herbs in my baking and I was intrigued when the November issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It makes 12 servings and takes approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes of total time, with 10 minutes being hands-on. All the ingredients are basic and I had the majority already in my fridge and pantry. I decided not to sprinkle the top with coarse salt, since it was being served to my two young sons. I found that the suggested baking time of 30 minutes, was too long for my oven, my total cooking time was closer to 25 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time for even browning. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These scones made a perfect side to the roasted pork tenderloin that I served alongside. The fresh rosemary blended well with the buttermilk, making a savory scone. While I served these initially as a breakfast side, they re-heated well in the oven the next morning for breakfast. A great combination of flavors, perfect for anytime of the day.

For the recipe go to Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones.

Buttermilk Waffles

I am horrible about eating breakfast. Most days I just drink a cup of coffee and then nothing else until the middle of the afternoon. I haven't always been this way, before having kids I was great about sitting down and eating a healthy breakfast every morning. Since kids my morning eating habits haven't been as great. It seems that my two boys are following in my footsteps. It is horrible trying to get them to eat anything for breakfast. However, the one food that they will normally consistently eat is waffles. This is my quick and easy recipe for Buttermilk Waffles.

Beat two eggs well and add:

• 2 cups Buttermilk
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 cup Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 6 Tbsp Shortening

Beat well and cook on a hot waffle iron.

It's that easy, a quick way to get breakfast on the table with very little effort. My two boys love this recipe, I appreciate how little time it takes me to make breakfast. A great, simple waffle recipe!

Recipe adapted from Richwood, WV Spanish Club Recipe Book.