15 minute (almost) buttermilk drop biscuits

These are really quick to put together and get on the table in time for dinner. If you have something bubbling on the stove, these will be finished by the time dinner is ready. They take 5 minutes or less to assemble and around 10 minutes to cook.

I started with this recipe, then messed with it just a little. I didn’t see the reason for the cream of tartar, so I left it out. I also thought buttermilk would be better – but I didn’t have any in the house. You can sour your own buttermilk easily by adding a bit of vinegar to milk, like I wrote below – or you can use regular buttermilk. Both work, so I didn’t bother to go out and buy buttermilk. It’s not a good reason to drive 20 minutes back to town.

We had them twice last week, one batch I made plain, to eat with my father-in-law’s turkey stoup (no, that’s not a typo – he makes a great not-quite-a-soup, not-quite-a-stew turkey stoup), and the second batch, in the picture above, I made with cheese and italian seasoning to go with spaghetti and my father-in-law’s famous meatballs (he is a handy guy to have living next door).

The recipe also doubles easily, which I’ve done just to make enough to put in the freezer for an even quicker addition to another meal. A quick defrost and a moment in the oven or microwave to heat them up and they are good to go.

Quick and Easy (Almost) Buttermilk Biscuits

Printable Version

Makes 12 biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter (plus a little extra to brush on top of finished biscuits)
• 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Add the vinegar to the milk and set aside to sour while you assemble the rest of the ingredients – it happens faster if the milk is room temperature, so warm milk in the microwave for ~ 30 seconds to speed things up. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir in butter and soured milk just until moistened. Drop batter on a lightly greased cookie sheet by the tablespoon. Smooth the top down a little if you want them to look a little more like cut biscuits. I like the rustic look, myself (mostly because it’s one less step).

Bake in preheated oven until golden on the edges, about 8 to 12 minutes (depending on how big you made the biscuits). Brush tops with melted butter. Serve warm.

Some easy modifications/add-ins:

• 1 cup of cheese – whatever kind you like
• 1 tbsp italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp or so of chopped fresh herbs
• 1/4 cup bacon or chopped ham (or more, experiment a little), plus the cheese
• add some garlic powder to the melted butter to brush on top of the biscuits

Linked to Frugally Sustainable, Foy Update, Mind Body and Sole, GNOWFGLINS

easy apple sauce and canning

This is another easy autumn short-cut for making applesauce. You will need a piece of equipment like the sieve below or a food mill, otherwise this would be a little more labour intensive – you’ll have to peel and core the apples.

Wash and quarter enough apples to fill up a large pot, then add a layer of water to the bottom of the pot (about 1/2″ to 1″) – to keep the applesauce from burning on the bottom. I don’t peel or core the apples or even bother to take the stems off – it will all be caught in the sieve or foodmill afterwards. Stir occasionally to push the apples on top down to the bottom where they will cook and break up. You can use a potato masher to help this along if you want.

Let your sauce cool for a few minutes and put it through the sieve.

You can add in sugar or spices at this point – we like ours plain, so I don’t add anything.

Pour into sterilized pint jars (I use the dishwasher to sterilize mine), wipe the rim of the jars using a clean towel, add sterilized lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Also, leave about 1/2″ of head space at the top of the jar, or the boiling water bath will cause some to seep out before the lids seal tight. I learned this the messy way.

I put the jars into a pot full of warm water (should cover the jars by at least an inch over their tops) and bring it to a boil after the jars are inside. This will prevent the jars from cracking. I also use a folded towel on the bottom and tongs to lift them out, because I can’t see buying and storing the whole canning set-up for just a few items each year.

Remove the jars from the water bath and let them cool. Once they are cool, you can test the seal by pushing down on the lids – if there is any give, they didn’t seal properly and you can put that jar in the fridge to use up right away.

Linked to A Pinch of Joy, Frugally Sustainable, Mind Body and Sole, Gastronomical Sovereignty, GNOWFGLINS, Foy Update

breakfast bacon and cheddar mini-popovers

These are a very quick popover to make for breakfast or for kid’s lunchpails. I was the only one up early on Sunday morning, so I had these ready by the time the rest of the house had stumbled downstairs. It’s a standard Yorkshire pudding/popover recipe with added chopped bacon and cheddar cheese. You can also add in a few tablespoons of fresh chopped chives or green onion, but it was raining yesterday morning, so I stuck to the basics – I wasn’t venturing out in the rain in my pyjamas for green stuff. This is very quick to make, especially if you keep cooked and crumbled bacon in the freezer.

According to the original recipe that I’ve always used, the crumbled bacon and cheese is supposed to be sprinkled over the top – but I just fold it into the batter. I make mine in a mini-muffin tin, but you can make larger popovers in normal size muffin tins, just adjust the baking time.

Bacon Cheddar Mini-Popovers

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp of green onion or chives (optional) or 1/2 – 1 tsp of garlic powder (optional)
• 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar (sharp cheddar is nice)
• 3-4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease your muffin tins (I use a Misto oil sprayer filled with vegetable oil). This recipe made 24 mini-popovers, or should make 12 normal muffin size popovers.

Beat together the eggs, milk and oil. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, cheese, bacon and any herbs or seasonings that you like (I used about 1/2 tsp garlic powder this time because I couldn’t get outside for green onion or chives). Mix dry ingredients into wet, but only until wet. Do not overmix.

Fill your greased and floured muffin tins 2/3 full of batter.Cook for ~15 minutes, or until browned for mini-popovers, and between 25-30 minutes for larger popovers.

** If you want sky-high popovers with lots of air pockets, sprinkle the toppings on top instead of into the batter. I like them incorporated. They are still light and have lots of air pockets, but will not have as much height as normal popovers.

Linked to A Pinch of Joy, Frugally Sustainable, A Delightlful Home, Simple Lives Thursday, Growing Home