Recipe for Homemade Biscuits

This recipe comes from page 170 of this cookbook by Betty Crocker. It was given to my 5 year old daughter for her birthday. I don't know the year the cookbook was published because that page is missing, but there is "Xmas 1957-58" written on the inside cover.  Pretty sure it's out of print.  But it's a great old cookbook, because it has recipes from before people used mixes all the time! In fact, it even has a few places where it will suggest that you could buy the new mix put out by Betty Crocker.  For example:

WHIZ BISCUITS: "Quick as a wink. Just make Biscuits as directed on the Bisquick package. Even quicker. They come in a can, Bisquick and Puffin, and you keep them in the refrigerator, all ready to bake." 

Hee hee! Don't you think that's funny? (Ok, maybe I'm weird).

Here's the recipe. These biscuts are SO easy and they are really good. My 5 year old calls them "her" biscuits and she loves to make them. She can do almost everything by herself. 

DROP BISCUITS RECIPE:

STEP 1: Heat oven to 450 degrees F.  Grease baking sheet lightly. Mix in a bowl:

2 cups sifted white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. salt
(Note: This can all be done by hand, but I use my KitchenAid mixer).

STEP 2: With a pastry blender cut in until fine: 1/3 cup soft shortening
(I like to use butter flavor, but I am sure regular flavor would work well, too. And again, I do this all in my KitchenAid mixer & use the dough hook).

STEP 3: With fork stir in 3/4 cup milk
(Or just mix it in with your mixer).

Drop biscuit-sized pieces of dough onto baking sheet. Push the dough off the fork with a rubber scraper.
(I like to use my cookie scoop. It makes all the biscuits fairly uniform in size.)

Leave 2-inch space between biscuits so they can brown and will be separate. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until brown. Serve piping hot. Makes 12 to 20 biscuits.

Yummy! And cheaper than buying refrigerated biscuit dough.

Casserole Tips

If you have questions about making your own casserole recipes, Betty Crocker has some good advice to follow.

Click here for Casserole Q&A. This will answer questions about greasing the dish, baking covered or uncovered, casserole dish sizes and freezing certain casseroles.

And click here for tips on freezing casseroles for later.

How to Make Your Own Casserole Recipes

I was talking with my mother-in-law last night. She is the queen of re-inventing things in her kitchen so that nothing goes to waste. I am often amazed at her skills, and her daughters learned to cook this way as well (unfortunately for me, her son did not.... lol) She mentioned that she used to have a paper that listed the basic ingredients you would use in any casserole, and she would just go down the list and pick an item from each column and make up her own recipes.  She would then look at her leftovers and figure out a casserole that she could invent from what she had.  Making a casserole is a great way to use up leftovers.

Keep in mind that you should probaby stick with a "theme" or "ethnicity" in preparing these foods. For example, try to use components to make an Italian or Mexican or Chinese food based casserole. Don't combine things that wouldn't normally sound good together just because they are listed. 

So, here we go.

The Basics of a Casserole:
(using leftover ingredients is a great way to stretch your budget)

1. Meat or protein. (Of course, if you are vegetarian,  omit the meat).  Ideas?
Cooked ground beef
Shredded beef or chunks of beef
Roast Beef
Raw chicken breasts, tenders or chunks
Cooked shredded or chunk chicken
Cooked shredded, ground or chunks of turkey
Canned tuna fish
Canned turkey or chicken
Shrimp
Crab meat
Chopped ham chunks
Cooked, crumbled sausage
Cooked, crumbled bacon
Boneless pork loin, cubed
Any leftover meat
Hard-boiled or scrambled eggs
Canned beans, such as black, pinto, kidney, etc.  (Usually you would also add the liquid)
Canned salmon

2. Sauce or Binder: You need something to "bind" your casserole and hold it all together. Some ingredients need to be mixed with a bit of cornstarch or flour if they are not very thick. Use your imagination!

Canned condensed soup, such as cream of chicken, celery, mushroom, onion, asparagus etc. (usually 1 can works)

Homemade white sauce
Alfredo sauce
Tomato sauce
Tomato juice
Canned tomatoes (use two 14.5 oz cans for a 9x13" casserole)
Barbecue sauce
Sweet and sour sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Sour cream (or mix 1/2 cup sour cream with your canned soup or other sauce choices)
Raw eggs, lightly beaten
Raw eggs mixed with ricotta cheese or sour cream
Spaghetti sauce
Milk
Evaporated milk
Cream cheese (works well mixed with a bit of onion & milk if too thick)
Gravy
Jam, jelly, marmalade or preserves
Broth (beef, chicken, turkey, vegetable, etc)
Dijon style mustard
Honey
Salad dressing (such as Ranch, Italian Dressing, Russian, etc.)
Pineapple juice
Enchilada sauce
Salsa or Picante sauce
Mayonnaise
Plain yogurt
Cottage cheese
Ricotta cheese

3. Vegetables/Fruit:
Canned vegetables (usually one  or two 14.5 oz cans for a 9x13 pan)
Frozen vegetables (usually 1 small package is enough -- about 2 cups)
Fresh or leftover vegetables (about 1-2 cups, depending on how much you have of your other ingredients)

A Few Ideas:
Peas
Asaparagus
Corn
Spinach
Green Beans
Celery
Carrots
Mixed vegetables
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Pineapple chunks or slices
Zuchinni
Use your imagination here

4. Starch: (you don't have to use this one, but it's nice if you can)
Pasta shells
Elbow macaroni, other pasta
Egg noodles
Uncooked rice
Mashed potatoes
Tater tots
Bread slices
Refrigerator biscuits/canned biscuits
Homemade biscuit dough
Refrigerator crescent rolls
Tortillas (can be torn into pieces or used to make enchiladas, etc)

5. Extra Ingredients or Flavorings
Mushrooms
Olives
1/4 cup chopped onion
Dried onion (I usually use about 2 TB dry and I put it in a bit of water to soften, then drain the water before using it.

Water chesnuts (1 can)
1/4 cup chopped celery
Onion soup mix (1 package)
Green onions
Taco seasoning (1 package)
Spaghetti sauce seasoning (1 package)
Minced garlic cloves
Chopped green chilies
Chopped bell peppers
Gravy mix (1 package)
Lime juice (1-2 tsp)
Parsley
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Salt or powder
Worchestershire sauce
Dry mustard
Salad dressing packets (dry)
Soy sauce
Dry soup mix packets (such as garlic mushroom or beefy onion)

6. Toppings (optional, but a nice touch)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (any variety)
1/2-1 cup cracker crumbs. Nice if mixed with a bit of melted butter.
Bread crumbs
Stuffing
Crushed potato chips
Crushed corn flakes
Crushed Rice Krispies
Corn chips
French-fried onions
Toasted slivered onions
Croutons
Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds
Chow mein noodles
Cashews

7. DIRECTIONS:
Most casseroles are combined all together  & then have the topping added or layered, such as meat, veggies and extra ingredient, sauce, starch, topping.  If you started with raw meat, you will need to cook the casserole longer. A typical 9x13" pan would bake for about 45 -75 min at about 350 or 375 degrees F if using raw meat.  Use a meat thermometer to make sure your food is properly cookied.

If you have all precooked ingredients and meat, then you don't need to cook it as long. Usually about 30-45 min for a casserole, since it just needs to be heated until it looks bubbly or the topping is golden brown or cheese is nicely melted. I usually wait to add the cheese until the last 5 minutes, but sometimes I don't and they still turn out ok.

I am sure there are more ideas out there that we can add. If you think of something not listed, please add it in the comments.  If you make something that turns out great, share the recipe with us!  I will try to post some casserole recipes soon.

Cutting Radiator Heating Costs

This idea (in italics) comes from The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzyn.

"Here's an energy-conservation idea for those with accordion-style radiators.  Put a foil-faced insulation board between radiators and outside walls, with the foil side facing in toward the room.  This reflects heat into the room that would otherwise radiate through the walls....Because the expense is minimal and the installation is not permanent, this is one of the rare energy-saving ideas that is useful to renters."  (pages 414-415)

Foil insulation comes in various forms, such as rolls for attics, crawl spaces, etc, which may work for this purpose if you can't find a board. You could adhere a piece from the roll to a thin piece of wood or the wall behind the radiator.  Or you could use a staple tab roll that is simply installed using a staple gun and scissors. There is also a type that has hook-and-loop (velcro) type fasteners that is used for shutters, but I think it could be used for this purpose as well. The shuttercover type is about $50, but covers 16 sq feet, so it might be able to be used in other places if you have leftover pieces, such as behind headboards, couches, or curtains on exterior walls where it will not be seen.  There is also a type for insulating exposed duct work.  These are just a few ideas to consider. Any additional insulation is generally beneficial. 

Free Online Calorie Counter & Burn Meter

New Year's Resolutions often include weight loss or fitness. These programs can often be very expensive.  An older lady in my neighborhood has lost quite a bit of weight and she recommended this website to me.  It offers a free online calorie counting service, but there is also a lot more to it. I have never done Weight Watchers (or other diet programs) before, but I did have a friend tell me that strict calorie counting is part of most plans. 

I like this website because you can do it however you want and it is up to you how strict you want to be. In addition to caloric intake, it also tracks your burn for the day.  You can look at it and quickly see if you need to limit your calorie intake or simply increase your burn. You can also tell it that you want "weight maintenance" or that your goal is "weight gain."  Then it will make some caloric intake recommendations for you.  But you can also type in what activities you participated in for the day and it will tell you how many calories you burned. These activities range from running, swimming, moving furniture and vigorous cleaning to lighter activities such as hairstyling, folding laundry, reading and even sleeping, if you want to get that specific. 

NOTE: For those of you used to a metric system, you can enter your items in grams, pints, etc. instead of cups, tablespoons, etc. There is also a unit converter.

You can tag the items that you do on a regular basis. For example, if you eat a certain oatmeal every day for breakfast, you just tag it and then you don't have to enter the info every time. 

Another thing I like is that it has a large database of nutritional information that is quite specific. There are over 107,000 foods. (And if that's not enough for you, you can also create custom food information if you can't find what you need.) For example, you can type "Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza", and the nutrional choices will come up for various pizza sizes and crust choices, etc.  Then you can simply adjust how much you consumed and add it to your food log. The woman who recommended it to me said that she keeps the calorie counter open on her computer all the time, and then she just forces herself to be brutally honest about what she is eating. 

You can take a quiz about your diet profile; you can read articles about various topics; you can join forums and keep a journal if you want to.  You can track your weight and it will give you graph telling you if you are on target for your goal.  It will give you a graph of your nutrition that shows what percent of your food was fat, carbohydrates, sodium, etc.  You will receive a letter grade for your nutrition and most foods have a letter grade next to them.  For example, a Pizza Hut medium-sized Pepperoni Lover's pizza gets a D+ on the nutrition scale. Hmm... perhaps not the best choice for dinner, eh? 

You can even track stuff on your phone.  Let's say you are sitting in a restaurant and you want to get some nutritional info.  You can. You can text them and they will send it back to you, or if you have a web-enabled phone, you can access it that way.  They also have recipes you can try. There's even a recipe anaylzer. You enter your recipe and the number of servings and it will provide you with some nutritional information.

Anyway, just passing on a free tool that you may want to try if weight/fitness are part of your goals for the new year.  Certainly there are many, many calculators out there, and this is only one of them. I have liked it so far, and I hope to stick with it. For me, it has been more about realizing the nutrition of certain foods that I have never thought much about before.  Then when I am faced with those foods, I can decide if it is really worth it to eat it. If I want to, then I do. And I alter what I am eating for the rest of the day, or I increase my burn to make up for it. I guess it's simply creating an awareness for me. It's helping me make healthier choices. It's helping me realize that I need to get my body moving more.  I guess it's something about seeing what you ate and did that day facing you in black and white (and of course, color graphics! lol)   It's kind of a wake up call. 

Click here for a great article about making New Year's Resolutions stick.

Good luck with your goals for the new year!! If you want to share what your goals are, comment below. (They can be anything-- not just fitness/dieting).  Please include the tools or methods you plan to use to achieve them if you can, and if possible, how you are doing it frugally. We can all benefit that way. I always love hearing how others are saving money. Thanks!

Shopping AFTER Holidays, A Few Tips & Stocking Stuffers for Next Year

We all know that after a holiday you can really save by purchasing things that have been marked down significantly. The sales will usually last one week after a holiday. Typically you will see this pattern for sales:

Days 1, 2 and 3 after the holiday:   Items marked at 50% off their original prices

Days 4, 5 and 6 after the holiday:   Items marked at 75% off their original prices

Days 7 & 8 after the holiday:          Items marked at 90% off their original prices

After that, the merchandise is pretty much gone, or the retailers will even dispose of it so that they can clear their shelves for the next coming holiday.  (Anyone notice that Valentine's decor was already out in JoAnn Fabrics BEFORE Christmas!?  I was shocked!)   This is a great way to get holiday decor for the next year and just put it away with your items, but you can also save on other things, like gifts.  One year I went to Wal-mart and stocked up on the bath stuff that had been marked down 90% off.  I had teacher gifts and gifts for my friends all year 'round. I even used one for a graduation present for my niece.  If you want to do this, look carefully through the selection, because many of them do not have Christmas logos on them, though some do. 

Another tip: I have started paying attention when people are opening gifts.  For example, when my husband opened a tool, my brother mentioned, "Oh, nice!! I need one of those."  I have a little notebook and I write that stuff down in it. It gives me ideas for their birthdays or the following Christmas. And sometimes I can even find them at the after-holiday sales and I can save a lot of money, so I can get an item I might not normally be able to afford. Note that if you choose this method, the recipient can't return the gift, so be careful to whom you give these types of things.  If it is someone who would try to return it, then remember the idea, but don't purchase it this far in advance!

And if you live alone or are one of those people who has to fill your own stocking......well, here's a tip.  Buy some things now, after Christmas while they are marked down, and wrap them up.  Put them in a box or bin and mark it "My Stocking" or "My Presents" and store them with your Christmas decorations as you put them away this year. Next year when you get out your items, resist the temptation to open the gifts.  You will NOT remember what they are. (Well, if you do, wow! What a memory!)  On Christmas morning, you will have gifts to open and will be pleasantly surprised and you will receive things that you actually wanted because you bought them! 

If you can combine some of your items with coupons, you can really save big!  Good luck and happy shopping!!

Santa Sacks- No Sew Option

If you want to make the Santa Sacks, but you don't sew, here's a couple of different options.

Step 1:

Purchase pillowcases. You can get them at a thrift store, grab old ones from your linen closet, buy them at the store, whatever works for you. I would recommend using a darker colored pillowcase if that is an option for you, simply because the gifts may show through a white or light-colored fabric.

Step 2:

Purchase some cute fabric ribbon (again, not wired).  There are some fabulous patterned Christmas ribbons available. You could also cut a strip of fabric and pink the edges (like explained in the Santa Sack Instructions post).  I would recommend about a 2"-3" wide ribbon for a nice big bow, but it's up to you. You will want it at least 45" long. Use it to tie your bags closed. Voila! You're done!

If you can, I would recommend at least stitching the ribbon to the back of the bag like shown in the Santa Sack Instructions, but you don't have to do that step. It just keeps the ribbon from getting lost.

Step 3 -Optional Way to Decorate Your Bags:

If you purchased plain pillowcases and you think they are too "boring", then you can get some cute Christmas fabric that has reindeer or Santa or wreaths or whatever on it.  You won't need very much fabric at all. Also purchase some "Wonder Under" at the fabric store. You won't need very much.  Follow the instructions on the Wonder Under. 

Basically, it works like this: First, you will use your iron to adhere one side of the Wonder Under to the wrong side of the fabric.  Then you cut out the shape that you want from the front of the fabric, such as the reindeer or the Santa that is printed on the fabric.  Then, place the cut out fabric wrong side down onto the right side of the Santa Sack that you have.  Place a damp cloth over both pieces and using a dry iron, press for 15 seconds. Ta da!! You now have a cute embellishment on your Santa Sack.  That's it. That's all there is to it.

You could even cut out the letters of your child's name in a fun Christmas fabric and then iron them onto the sack.  They could be as small or as large as you want. :)

Note: If you want these to last forever, and you DO sew (even a tiny bit), you may want to run a tight zig-zag or a satin-stitch around the edge of each iron-on piece. It will just make them last longer, as after a while the edges will begin to separate from the bag.

I don't have a "Christmas themed" picture to demonstrate this, but I do have one with butterflies (sorry! lol).  My daughter broke her arm 2 weeks ago, and we used this technique to make her sling a lot more fun.  The butterflies are simply cut from a fun patterned material and all I did was iron them in place.  The hearts were simply cut from a plain material using the same idea.  Hopefully you can get the general idea of how this works, if you've never used Wonder Under before. 

I will try to patch some pants using this method and show you how it works, but right now, I have to get some Christmas things done! Happy Holidays everyone!