Sunday, May 07, 2017

{ Cast Iron Buttermilk Biscuits }

 
I woke up this morning craving biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

I have to tell you a funny story first.  I'm sure most of you know that before moving to the United States, I lived in South Africa.  We spoke English but with a British/Afrikaans kind of accent, but for the most part everything derived from England's English, so we used terms like Flat (apartment), biscuits (cookies), jelly (jelly-o), Jam (jelly), boot (trunk), chips (fries) and so on.

When I met my husband, who is American, I found some of the words a bit strange and had a hard time understanding what he was referring to.

The first time he mentioned a Sausage Biscuit for breakfast, I almost puked, because in my mind I picture a sausage flavored cookie LOL  And let's not even mention Biscuits and Gravy, that was even worst.

It took me moving to the States to finally realize that what was referred to as biscuits here, was what we referred to as scones in South Africa.


Long story short, I finally tried the biscuits and gravy and sausage biscuits and fell in love.

Fast forward to today, this morning actually, and I wanted some biscuits and gravy but I wanted a new recipe to try, more specifically one that I could use my cast iron skillet with.  I've been trying to use it more and get it nice and seasoned.

I happened upon this recipe on the Lodge Cast Iron website, gave it a try and it was delicious.  Hope you enjoy it as well :)


Brigg's Buttermilk Biscuits


2 cups self-rising flour, plus extra for dusting counter
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, plus an additional 2 tablespoons melted butter
¾ cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons melted shortening


Preheat oven to 450°F. Place a 10.25-inch cast iron skillet into the oven to preheat.
Measure the self-rising flour into a large mixing bowl.

Using the coarse side of a hand grater, quickly grate 1 stick (½ cup) cold hard butter into the self-rising flour. Working quickly, use fingers to gently distribute the shredded butter into the self-rising flour.

Add the buttermilk, then stir until just combined.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and, using floured fingers, quickly pat to approximately the size of an 8.5x11" sheet of paper, which will be about ½" to ¾" thick. Very lightly dust the surface of the dough with flour from your fingertips, then fold the sheet of dough into thirds, as when folding a business letter. Repeat the patting, dusting, and folding steps seven times, or fewer if you feel the dough begin to tighten–overworked dough makes for a tough biscuit! The final time, pat the dough to a rectangle slightly larger than the size of your skillet. Using a round biscuit cutter or a drinking glass, cut into about 7 round biscuits. Gather up the scraps to form the 8th biscuit by hand.

With a handle mitt, carefully remove the preheated skillet from the oven. Drop melted shortening into the preheated skillet, then return to oven for a couple of minutes, until it is melted. Place each biscuit into the skillet and, using a fork, immediately turn to coat both sides with shortening.

Place the hot skillet into the oven, and reduce the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake until tops of biscuits are golden brown, about 12-18 minutes.

Remove from oven. Brush tops with additional melted butter. Serve while hot!

Friday, May 05, 2017

{ Deep Dish Sausage Pizza }


Here's a great pizza recipe, easy to throw together and the results are magnificent.

I have a family of pizza eaters, teenagers and a husband who would probably be very happy with pizza every day.  I do enjoy it myself but I get a bit tired and bored of the same old pizza delivery or even the same homemade pizza.

Sometimes we need to kick it up a notch.

What I've done in this recipe is combine my own pizza dough with a Taste of Home recipe.  I don't like to brag, but I will say that this was one of the tastiest pizzas we've ever had, thick, soft crust and a delicious flavorful topping.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza
Adapted from:  Taste of Home


Homemade Pizza dough

4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 medium green peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil and marjoram
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound Jones Dairy Farm All Natural Pork Sausage Roll, cooked and drained
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, well drained
2 ounces sliced pepperoni

Transfer to a well-greased 12-in. heavy ovenproof skillet or round baking pan, letting dough drape over edges. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella.
4. In a skillet, saute the green peppers, onion and seasonings in oil until tender; drain. Layer half of the mixture over crust. Layer with half of the Parmesan, sausage and tomatoes. Sprinkle with 2 cups mozzarella. Repeat layers. Fold crust over to form an edge.
5. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with pepperoni and remaining mozzarella. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until crust is browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Yield: 8 slices.

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza

{ Dad's Cajun Dinner }

When I was meal planning for these two weeks, I grabbed one of my Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks.  I've been collecting them for quite a few years, but haven't used them in a while and I really wanted to not only make use of my books but also try new recipes that I knew the whole family would enjoy.

This was one of the recipes that caught my eye.  Dad's Cajun Dinner.

Smoked kielbasa sausage, cajun seasoning, yep, definitely something I would enjoy.

It was a hit, and therefore will be posted to the blog.  I know that some of you wonder if I ever make dishes that don't turn out, or are not liked by the family, and the answer is, oh yes, absolutely.

I don't share them on here because I use this space as my online recipe binder, and I am only interested in keeping recipes that are tried and true and got big thumbs up.  No use in keeping something I know I will never try again.

Right, let's get going, this is a super easy recipe, perfect for a week night.




Dad's Cajun Dinner
Source:  Gooseberry Patch One Pot Meals

1 onion, diced
1 t. garlic, minced
2 T. butter
2 green peppers, diced
5 stalks celery, diced
3 T. Cajun seasoning
14-oz.pkg. Kielbasa, sliced
15-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
12-oz. can tomato juice
hot pepper sauce to taste
3 c. prepared rice

Saute onion and garlic in butter until onion is crisp-tender.  Add peppers, celery and seasoning;  continue to saute until vegetables are tender.  Add Kielbasa;  saute and additional 3 to 4 minutes.  Add beans, tomatoes and tomato juice;  cook until heated through.  Sprinkle with hot sauce to taste.  Serve over prepared rice.  Makes 6 servings.