Biscuits without shortening

Today I’m joining lifeasmom for frugal fridays.   This is an easy inexpensive bread that fills the tummy.

On Monday, my mother was visiting and taught the girls how to make her grandmother’s biscuits.  I like this recipe because you don’t have to cut in shortening.  All the homemade biscuit recipes I’ve tried in the past have included cold shortening. I like this recipe b/c it does not call for this and I usually have all the other ingredients in my pantry.  These biscuits are easy, quick and have a high success rate.  For beginner biscuit makers, this is a great recipe to try.

In a med size mixing bowl, combine:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons baking powder

mix dry ingredients well and add 3/4 cup of buttermilk and stir in with spoon.  Batter should be moist and sticky, so be prepared to add up to another 1/4 cup of buttermilk.

In a 9 inch pie pan or biscuit pan, pour 1/4 cup of veg or canola oil into pan.  Grease your hands from pan oi.   Pinch off dough and roll into a ball, approx 2 inch balls. Place around the sides of pan and then fill in center.

If there ie a lot of excess oil in the pan, drain by holding biscuits in place with your greased hand.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Leftovers are great by splitting in half, buttering and toasting.

*If you don’t have buttermilk, add one tablespoon white vinegar to a cup of milk and shake vigorously.

Giving a heritage to our girls

My Mom is in town for a visit.  This morning she had a cooking class for the girls to teach them how to make her grandmother’s drop biscuit recipe.   Most of my generation and many from the previous generation have not passed the “homemaking” baton to our younger generations.  We eliminated most home economic classes in school and don’t spend enough time in the kitchen teaching.  When we have time to cook, we have to get it done quickly b/c our lives are so busy.  Why do you think Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meal show is such a success?  We want instant everything.

The instant gratification we’ve promoted has taken a toll on our society.  The generations following mine are paying the price with overspending to eat out and unhealthy lifestyles.  This morning we talked to our young girls about how much biscuits cost and how their great-grandmothers used this as a staple in their family’s diet.   My great-grandmother made these every morning for breakfast.  She used the same bowl and left flour in it all the time.  She made a well in the flour and made her biscuits in the center of the bowl.  She made enough for a big breakfast and then sent the remaining in lunches with  a salty meat like bacon or ham.  They ate these with homemade jellies or any fruit in season.  And of course they ate them with gravy and fresh eggs from their chickens.

The ingredients in a pan full of biscuits is less than 50 cents.We also talked about the hydro-oil in the canned stuff.  I trained our girls to have a taste for the canned Pillsbury hydro-oil stuff.   Because I trained them to love junk, we’ve had a time transitioning to homemade flavors since I came home full time.   We work on this every day.  And it is wonderful the progress our family has made.  These lessons will last generations if they are passed down by the older women.

Pepperoni Pizza Twist – frugal meal

My younger sister gave me this recipe from Pampered Chef.   I don’t do the crisscross part b/c it does not bake as well.  I do use my pampered chef stone with this and it is great.  (I don’t sell Pampered chef, just love their products.)

I don’t use dough from the tube, but make mine from scratch.  This makes the meal less expensive and you get less hydro oil and preservatives in your body.  I made this with refined white flour from this recipe…French Bread.  If you’re going to the trouble to make this, make two and freeze one.  You can only freeze if you make the dough from scratch.  Then just put in your fridge the night before and bake the next day for dinner.  It is very inexpensive to make and tastes great!  I buy hormel pepperoni with a coupon and use ragu (purchased with coupon) as dipping sauce.  My kids don’t like olives do I leave those out.

Source: The Pampered Chef

1 (3.5 ounce) package pepperoni slices, diced
1 (3.25 ounce) can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1/2 cup (2 ounce) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 (11 ounce) packages refrigerated French bread dough
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 (15 ounce) can pizza sauce, warmed (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dice pepperoni. Chop olives. Snip parsley using kitchen shears. In a bowl, combine pepperoni, olives, parsley, mozzarella cheese, flour and garlic. Mix well.

Place bread dough, seams sides up, on smooth side of a cutting board. Using a serrated bread knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf. Spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle additional flour over dough.

Using roller, roll dough crosswise to a 4-inch width, creating a well down center of each loaf. Spoon half of the pepperoni mixture down center of each loaf. Gather up edges over filling, pinching to seal.

Place loaves, seam sides down, in an x pattern on a rectangular baking stone or baking sheet. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure 8, keeping ends of dough 1 inch from edge of stone and leaving two 11/2 inch openings in center of twist.

Separate egg over a bowl; discard yolk. Beat egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough with pastry brush. Using serrated bread knife, cut a 3-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling.

Grate Parmesan cheese over loaf. Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove to cooling rack and cool 10 minutes. Cut into 16 slices. Serve with warm pizza sauce, if desired.

Yield: 16 servings

Homemade Bread from fresh Milled Wheat Berries

This year I’m trying to introduce healthier food into our families diet.  We’re trying to eat healthy on budget and it is very challenging.  I cannot believe that a whole fryer chicken on sale can cost about the same as a large organic apple.   I can do wonders at the grocery store with couponing, but found we were eating too much processed and packaged food.  It is hard to pass up free Pillsbury cresent rolls with a coupon, but when I look at the ingredients I am concerned about using this stuff as a major staple in our diet.

One chemical free / organic product I’ve found to be inexpensive is wheat berries.  You cannot buy these at regular grocery stores.  I’m purchasing mine from a Christian lady who sells large quantities out of her house:  www.bethlehemharvest.com. She is in the Houston area.  The LDS church also has grain distribution thoughtout the USA.   I started milling our grain last year.  The bread is so much better.  I think it costs less than 50 cents a loaf to make.  When you mill your own wheat, you get the fiber, wheat germ and bran.  Plus the wheat is fresh and untreated.  I feel much better about feeding our family bread products made from scratch.

If you want to make multiple loaves at once, there is a larger recipe on Gail’s website. She also has other bread recipes and treats you make with grain.

Gail’s Basic Bread
Serving:  1 loaf – 16 slices

1 cup water — warmed
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 ¾ cups whole wheat flour — divided
¾ tablespoon yeast — instant
¾ teaspoon salt

Warm 1 cup of water. Place in mixing bowl.  Add canola oil and honey and 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour. Blend these together. Add in yeast and blend together.  Cover and let mixture rise for 10 minutes. Add salt. Set the timer for 8 minutes. Begin mixing and add wheat flour, 1/4 cup at a time until the dough cleans the side of the bowl.   You may need more than the recipe says so be ready. If it comes off the side of the bowl and you still have flour left, that is okay. Cover (if you have one) and continue kneading until the 8 minutes is up.

Grease your bread pan with cooking spray, brushed on oil or butter. Put a little oil on your hands to make handling the dough easier. Remove the dough and shape into a loaf on a lightly oiled surface. Set in warmed oven (preheat to the lowest setting and turn off) to rise for 20 minutes. Spray loaves with water occasionally to keep them moist.

Turn on oven to 350ºF (you do not need to remove pans while oven heats up). Spray loaves with water. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove loaves to cooking rack. Check to make sure bottoms are nicely browned.

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Per Serving: 96 Calories; 2g Fat (18.7% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 108mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; ½ Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls from fresh Milled Wheat Flour

Today I got up early and made our family homemade cinnamon rolls.  I am trying to wean them off processed cereal and thought this might be a nice enticement.  Oatmeal isn’t cutting it when HoneyNut Cheerios are in a box waiting!  These probably cost less than $1 to make, so very frugal.

First make bread dough.  Warm one cup water and proof 1 teaspoon of instant yeast (or use one package if you buy the individual packed yeast), 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons of honey.  In mixing bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups wheat flour and one teaspoon salt.  Add proofed yeast mixture, and mix in a kitchenaid with dough blade for about 8 minutes.  The place in warm location and let double in size.

Next roll out into rectangle.  Brush with butter.  I used 1/2 cup which was very buttery.  Next time I’ll try less.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Roll rectangle into log and cut in one inch pieces.  Place in a pan and bake about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Then add glaze.  For glaze, mix 1 tablespoon of melted butter, one teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of milk.  Add sifted powder sugar until it is the consistency you like.  If you’ve used the rolls in the tube with the glaze, then you know about what it should be like.  Spread on top of cooked rolls and enjoy!

Updated to show size of rolls:

Mine are small.  The kids have had Pillsbury canned rolls, so I was trying to mimic the size of those.  You could make them larger.  If you want them fluffier and larger, I’d let them rise a second time before baking.

Bethany bakes Bread

Today Bethany made her first loaf of wheat bread.  We’re having fresh bread regularly in our Urban Homestead.  It costs between $.25 and $.50 a loaf. It contains no chemicals, pesticides or preservatives.  It does contain the bran, germ and fiber from the wheat.

We milled the wheat and she did the rest.  She even kneaded the dough by hand.  We watched several youtubes videos on kneading so she hardly needed my help.  After 5 minutes of kneading she commented, “This sure did look easier in the movie The Little Women.”  Cooking in movies or on cooking shows rarely show the really hard work or the cleanup after.   This will be the most memorable loaf she’ll ever eat.

Homemade Bread and Veggies

Last Friday I picked up my grain.  I’m learning so much about grain and I can’t wait to share as I learn more.  This has made me realize how processed our white flour has become.  When you mill your own grain, you have to use quickly or refrigerate.  It starts going bad after you grind it.  They have to do so much to flour to keep it on the shelves, it is just amazing.  And the taste is so much better.  Below is a pic of my first loaf of bread.  I’ve made muffins, cookies and pancakes.  The pancakes were especially good this morning.  And I served them with grade A maple syrup.  Not corn syrup with "flavorings".  It feels right to feed the kids this type of food, rather than pancakes from a mix.

I’m looking at our gorcery budget to see how we can incorporate more organic veggies into our lives.  Today I washed a red bell pepper for the girls lunch and I could not get the wax off.   I have tried going organic in the past, but it is near impossible with a tight budget.  Today I went back ot the organic coop that meets downtown on Wed and Sat – Central City Coop.  I ordered a large order of veggies and a fruit order for delivery in January – $44.  That will be a ton of produce for our family for one week (or more).  That is more than we pay at the normal grocery store (less than whole foods), but the quality is much much better.  The key is eating this and not letting it end up in the trash.

My new hobby – Home Baked Bread

I’m going to start making homemade bread from real grain.  I’ve never done this before.  Dave bought me a wheat grinder and we’re going to make bread and other stuff from real wheat berries.  Once I got to looking into this, I found another world of people who do this.  From what I’ve read it is so healthy and much less expensive than the nice breads you buy at bakeries or whole foods.

I placed my order today and I’ll pick up on Friday.  I homeschool, coupon and am now on the bread adventure.  I draw the line at the denim jumper and no makeup:)

I’m buying my grain from Bethlehem Harvest – www.bethlehemharvest.com .