Biscuits and gravy…

A true Southern American breakfast is biscuits and gravy. My Grandmother would make fried apples, grits and scrambled eggs to complete the entire rib sticking meal.

The gravy is not just any gravy. This is sausage gravy, or what some people consider white gravy. The mystery to good sausage gravy is the sausage. Do not use sausage, which you do not like the taste of. Also do not use a maple flavored sausage, unless you want maple flavored gravy.  I use a spicy sausage which gives a little heat to gravy and extra seasoning. I would also suggest not using link sausage, you will get more flavor from patty or ground sausage.

To make the gravy you need to cook 1 pound of sausage. I prefer to cook ours in small patties, others like to cook it like browning ground beef. Since I use a pan that has raised slots in it, I will remove the cooked sausage from the pan and reserve for later. I then pour the remaining contents (make sure you scrape all the little bits from the bottom) to a big sauce pan/skillet. Warm grease and add ¼ cup of white flour. Stir until flour dissolved and there are no clumps of flour; bring your grease and flour mix to a boil. Slowly, dribble in 2 cups of milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste, gravy will thicken as it cools.

Biscuits and rolls are not the same thing. Rolls are yeast based and are meant to rise, and be light weight. Biscuits have no yeast and are suppose to be fluffy, filling (heavy) and great for sopping up liquids on your plate.

I like to use club soda in my biscuits, so they will pop up and rise a bit. The recipe I use should have buttermilk in it; most of us do not have buttermilk in our homes. Instead of going out to buy some for this recipe add ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar to your regular white milk.

This recipe will make about 18 biscuits, since there are only four of us. I will cut out all biscuits and cook what I need. I will then place the remaining uncooked biscuits on a sheet of wax paper, before placing in a freezer safe bag. When I need or want biscuits, I will cook what I need. Place biscuit on  greased pan, frozen and cook for 18-20 minutes.

You will need the following ingredients:

5 cups of Bisquick

¼ cup club soda

½ cup of butter

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, knead dough by until smooth

Flour a cutting board and roll dough out until ¾ inch thick.

Cut dough into 18 circles. I use a doughnut cutter with the center hole removed; a drinking glass makes a great cutter as well.

Place on greased baking pan and cook for 15-18 minutes.

Anzac Day…

Anzac day is not until April 25^th. Since Veterans Day in the United States, was coming in a few days, I thought I would share this recipe now instead of waiting.

You may be asking what is Anzac Day, since you may have never heard of it.

Anzac is short for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. Anzac day commemorates the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. Marking this day as first day, these two countries fought together during World War 1.

 In Australia, Anzac day has become what we consider Veterans Day. The spirit of ANZAC, with its human qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity. Like here in the U.S., there are local memorial ceremonies to recognize their veterans and those who have lost their lives in wars, peacekeeping operations and conflicts.


A view looking aft of lifeboat carrying unidentified men of the 1st Divisional Signal Company as they are towed towards at Anzac Cove at 6 am on the day of the landing.

http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/A02781

 The ANZAC biscuit, as it is known today, played a vital role in Australia’s war effort since the day of the ANZACs. It is symbolic of the marvelous work carried out by the women in the ‘home effort’ who tirelessly baked these treats for the soldiers abroad, to keep morale high. Even today, we should never lose sight of the purpose of these biscuits, because we should never lose sight of the real meaning of ANZAC (Unibic, Anzac Biscuits packaging).

Anzac Biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour, sifted

1 cup rolled oats or wheat germ

1 cup dried coconut, shredded

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp baking soda



Low Fat, Hungarian Chicken, with Cheddar Buttered Pan Biscuits

If you have read my profile, you would've read about my mother winning the Pillsbury bake off contest. Both my mother and my aunt competed in cooking contests. Even though I don't think personally I'm a good cook, I come by it honestly.
 The recipe today is Hungarian chicken. My aunt, took second place in the West Virginia state competition with this recipe in 1974. In order to reach the state level competition, she had to win three preliminary cooking competitions. The winner of the state competition was awarded $100, and an all expense paid trip to the national poultry cook-off in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
 One of the judges at the state competition, was the chef at the governor's house of West Virginia. After this competition was over, he approached my aunt, and asked if he could have a copy of the recipe. The judge enjoyed this recipe so much, he wanted to cook it for Governor, Arch A. Moore, Jr. Of course, my aunt could not refuse this request! A while after the competition was over she received a letter from Gov. Moore, expressing how much he enjoyed her Hungarian chicken recipe.
My husband loved this recipe. When he finished eating, he immediately called my aunt. I did screw this recipe up, when I made it. I did not reduce the liquid enough, even though I thought I had. If this happens to you don’t stress, it is fixable!
Pour half cup of liquid from pan into a bowl; add two heaping serving teaspoons of cornstarch to the bowl. Mix until smooth, return liquid to your pot and bring to a boil. This will thicken up the liquid; serve as suggested.
I did not have any egg noodles. I served ours, over half cup portions of steamed white rice. I also had made cheddar buttered pan biscuits.  These were great for soaking up any liquid/gravy on your plate.

The original recipe goes as follows:
1 chicken fryer cut into four to six pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups Mazola oil
6 cups chicken bouillon or chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons Ac-cent
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste


This is how I made this recipe:
5 pieces of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion chopped
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups water, boiled with three Chicken bouillon cubes, disolved
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup Daisy sour cream, a nonfat
Salt, black pepper to taste.
*I did not use Ac-cent because it is MSG, there is enough MSG in the bouillon cubes*
Directions:
Sauté onion and garlic in oil in a large skillet. Salt-and-pepper chicken; brown in skillet. Add bay leaves and bouillon water; cover tightly and simmer for one hour. Remove chicken, be sure to keep it warm. Cook liquid down to half the amount; stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
*Recipe suggestion: Try replacing the chicken with turkey or pork chops*

Cheddar Buttered Pan Biscuits
These are a quick and simple, addition you can make to most meals. You can change the variety of cheese depending on the type of dish you are serving. If you are going to serve enchilada lasagna, you might consider using a pepper Jack cheese. If you're going to you serve a tomato Italian-based meal, consider using Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons grated Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon white sugar
3 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon basil leaves, fresh preferred
1 tablespoon parsley, fresh preferred
1 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. In 9 in. glass-baking pan melt butter in oven.
Meanwhile in medium bowl combine all ingredients except the milk.
Slowly add milk until just moist, turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead 10 times or until smooth.
Roll dough into a 12 x 4" rectangle. Cut into 12 one-inch strips.
Remove pan from oven and roll each strip into the melted butter. Place in same pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 min. or until lightly browned.