Blueberry Trail Biscuits

Sharing some recipes from my 1964 Bisquick Cookbook.  I will also be sharing the Sweet Cinnamon Rolls and the Bannock (Pan Biscuit Bread) recipes

These Blueberry Trail biscuits are a sooo easy to make.  These are a version of the blueberry muffins that are packaged and you just add water or oil…….except…..these will taste fresher and better…..because…..there are no preservatives in here trying to keep those dried blueberries from going south.

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup Milk or Water
2 Cups Bisquick
2 tbs Sugar
1 Cup Blueberries


Directions:

Mix 2/3 cup of milk or water and 2 cups Bisquick thoroughly.

Add 2 tbs sugar and carefully fold in 1 cup blueberries

Drop dough with a spoon onto a greased baking surface.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes in a hot oven.

Makes about 16 small or 8 large biscuits.

Eatem up while they are HOT!!!  Spread on the butter (the real kind) and serve a cup of coffee on the side.   

Eggless Egg Nog

Nothing like some good Egg Nog to bring in the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. The younger generation may not get (or like) this , but some of us seasoned folks understand the love for this drink. Egg Nog. along with the smells of winter, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking goods and turkey; all usher in the Season for Merriment and Celebration. 

As I have gotten older, I realized that lactose intolerance can inhibit my drinking of this fine beverage. I also find that raw egg kinda disagrees with me. This recipe is a great alternative! I substitute the whole milk for lactose free milk. 

 

 Am I happy? Yep!!    I think you will be too:)

Ingredients:

 

5 cups 2% or whole milk
1 3.4oz. pkg. Vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp. Rum Extract
1/4 tsp. each of ground nutmeg, allspice, ginger

Directions:

 

Start with cold  milk and put about half of it, along with all other ingredients in blender and blend very well at medium to high speed.  Pour into serving pitcher and add remaining milk and stir well. Refrigerate at least 1-1/2 hours.

Stir before serving

Country Fried Apple Pie

Come on folks...lets get the old school, cooking with real fat, recipe moving!

Remember when people used the real fat/lard for cooking, and it was usually kept in the refrigerator.

An alternative for this recipe would be to use Butter Flavored Crisco for frying.  Yum Yum

Ingredients:

Double Pie Crust
Stewed (dried) apples
Deep fat

Directions:

Roll crust on a floured board.  Cut with a large, round cookie cutter.  Put about 1-1/2 tablespoons sweetened, seasoned (a little vanilla, a little cinnamon), chunky cooked apples  in each round.  Moisten edges with cold water, fold to make semi-circle and press edges together.  Fry in hot fat and drain well on paper towels when crispy brown.

Some folks like to sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top for visual appeal, but I like mine just the way they come straight out of the hot fat.  Add a dollop of ice cream on the top, while they are still hot!!!

If you don't like apples, try this with peaches, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or any like fruit of  choice.

Fried Cajun Fish

                       I love fish!!!




The seasonings on this is enough to be different and is guaranteed to be on your weekly menu planner.  The recipe calls for firm white fish, which is usually a quick-cooking type fish.  This would include (but not limited to) tilapia, catfish, haddock, grouper, Alaska pollock, and snapper.




Ingredients:

2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp chili powder
4 firm white fish fillets
1 tbs oil

Directions:

Mix paprika, black pepper, coriander, cumin and chili powder in a bow. Toss fish in spice mixture. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add fish and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until cooked

Old Fashioned Pear Preserves

(Using the hard, cooking pears)

My great-grandmother used to make this and it was delicious with her homemade biscuits, that were cooked in a wood stove. This recipe has 2 ingredients and simple directions, but to make it the old fashioned way, it is an all day process.

Ingredients:

To every 2 lbs. Pears, peeled and sliced, add 1 lb sugar

Directions:

Put the pears in sugar in a big pot or dishpan and allow to sit overnight. Early the next morning, cook slowly or on low heat on top of the stove, uncovered for almost half a day or until juice slightly thickens and both pears and syrup become transparent and amber in color. Use your own judgment by testing occasionally. The pears must not become too hard. Put up in sterilized, dry jars and seal.



 

Chocolate Gravy

This is sopped with biscuits like molasses, syrup or meat gravies were. Socially acceptable like dips today, except the sopping was done on your own plate instead of a common dish.

Ingredients:

½ cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp. flour, mixed with ½ cup water, stirred til smooth
½ tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
4 tbsp. butter (optional)

Directions:

Mix cocoa and sugar. Have water boiling in saucepan. Add cocoa and sugar mixture, salt. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Remove from burner and stir in vanilla. Serve hot or cold

Southern Style Chow Chow

 This will be the best Chow Chow you have ever eaten!

Nice for gift giving, very colorful and packed full of flavor!

In a big pot combine:

1 ½ cups sugar
3 cups vinegar
1 tbs. Celery seed
1 tbs mustard seed
½ tsp red hot pepper

Chop by hand (do not grind):

4 white onions
4 green peppers
4 red peppers
1 small cabbage
2 large carrots (optional)

Sprinkle with salt; toss. Allow to stand for about 2 hours. Then put into vinegar mixture and mix well. Allow to cook about 15 minutes after it starts to boil. Pack in sterile jars. Make certain that all of the vegetables are covered by the vinegar mixture in the jars. Pour off excess. Seal jars.

Note: This can be as hot as you like. Use mild pepper instead of hot peppers if you don't like it hot. I wonder what this would taste like with Habanero peppers?

Butter Molasses and Biscuits

This is combined with real butter, but during the Depression if none was available, salt pork drippings were used instead.

The recipe states that you are to whip the mix together until it turns white. We never did this, but just blended ours together and the results were actually what the photo look like. On hot biscuits, the butter melted, and it got mixed pretty good when we started to chew!!!!!

Directions:

Pour some cold molasses on your plate. Add very soft real butter, and with a fork whip together until mixture turns white. Spread on hot biscuits.

Look for molasses that is unsulphured since not only does it not contain this processing chemical to which some people are sensitive, but it has a cleaner and more clarified taste.

Unopened containers should keep for about one year, while opened containers should keep for about six months.

Sparkling Cranberry Punch



 

 

Great Holiday punch for the family to enjoy.                         


Did you know that mint is said to be good for the digestion after eating a meal?

Don't consume too much though. It is also said that if you consume too much, it will interfere with your constitution (cause constipation)!!!

 

Ingredients:

1 large can jellied cranberry sauce
2 ¼ cups water
½ cup sugar
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp. almond extract
1 ½ cups ginger ale
Clove -studded lemon slices
Mint

Directions:

Crush cranberry sauce in can with fork and empty into saucepan. Beat with rotary beater. Add water and beat until sauce is melted. Add sugar and cool. Stir in lemon juice, extract and 1 cup of ginger ale.

Just before serving, dilute with remaining ½ ginger ale, and serve well iced in frosted glasses. Garnish with mint and clove-studded lemon slices. Serves 12 punch cups.

White Hot Chocolate

Just the right amount of spice. Great alternative to regular hot chocolate. This can be topped with whipping cream or marshmallows. Yummedy Yum Yum!!!!

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

3 cups half-and-half cream, divided

2/3 cup vanilla baking chips
1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
ground cinnamon optional

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine ¼ cup of cream, vanilla chips, cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Stir over low heat until chips are melted: discard cinnamon. Add remaining cream; stir until heated thoroughly. Remove from the heat; add extracts. Sprinkle each serving with ground cinnamon if desired.

Yields 4 servings

Percolator Punch

This recipe is an older one. Notice the “percolator” method.  Most folks now do not even use percolators. Everybody wants the “get it now” quick methods, but sometimes the slower method allows the flavors to blend better, giving you a fuller flavor.

Delicious drink for the Holiday Season, party time or anytime. Only two ingredient and easy.

Ingredients:

9 cups apple cider
½ cup cinnamon red-hot candies

Directions:

Pour apple cider into percolator: place candies in percolator basket. Cover and begin the perking cycle. When cycle is complete, remove the basket and leave punch in the pot to keep warm.

 

Yields 2 ½ quarts

Baked Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

With the delicious and rich taste of the cream cheese, you don't have to use butter in this recipe (unless you just want to). I like a few “lumps” of potatoes in mine, so to make this my own recipe, I add a few diced cooked potatoes to my instant potatoes. You can also add a little cheese on top for visual appeal!!!

Ingredients:

6 cups mashed potatoes (can use instant)
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 egg
½ cup onion, chopped fine

Directions:

Add cream cheese, egg and onion to hot mashed potatoes. Beat with electric mixture on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour into a buttered 2-quart casserole and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serves 8.

Spiced Ham in Cider (Slow Cooker)

Great time-saver and convenient. A little bit different....but oh so good! This calls for canned ham, but I think any precooked boneless ham would do. Great to use Turkey ham also.

Ingredients:

1 (3 lb.) canned ham
whole cloves
1 pt. Of sweet apple cider
Dried apricots and dark raisins

Directions:

Preheat slow cooker on high setting.

Stud ham on each side with whole cloves. Place in slow cooker and add cider. Cook for 30 minutes. Add 10 dried apricots and a handful of raisins and cook 50 minutes longer. Remove from the cooker and drain on platter before slicing and serving with the cook fruit.

Recipe from my 1984 collection.

Pineapple Casserole

The first time I had some of this, I was at a church dinner.  I could not believe this was pineapple.  Let's just say my second helping was just the beginning.

The contrast in texture and flavor is what makes this recipe a success. Easy and quick, this is a great alternative to yams when you have a dinner gathering.

Ingredients:

1 large can chunk pineapple (including juice)
¾ c. sugar
3 tbs. flour
1 c. cheddar cheese (grated)
1 sleeve Town House crackers (crumbled)
1 stick melted butter

Directions:

Place in a 9x9 inch baking dish: first, pineapple, then mix sugar and flour together and sprinkle on top of pineapple. Next put grated cheese, cracker crumbs and melted butter on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until lightly browned an bubbly on top.

Hoe Cake Bread Biscuits

Some people consider HoeCake Bread to be fried dough bread or fried cornbread. To me those are just what they say they are... Fried Bread. HoeCake bread is what my grandmother and great-grandmother used to make after a days labor and the desire to put a home cooked meal on the table.

HoeCake bread is made just like homemade biscuits, but instead of cutting them to shape, you just roll out your dough and bake on a bread pan. When done, you bread off the desire amount, slit open and slather with more butter. Yum Yum

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup Crisco Shortening
¼ cup milk

 

*I just use self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and the salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in Crisco using pastry blender (or two knives) to form coarse crumbs. Add milk. Mix with fork until particles are moistened and cling together. Form dough into a ball.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead gently 8-10 times. Roll dough to a ½ inch thickness. Cut with floured 2-inch round cutter and place on ungreased baking sheet.

*At this point I roll my dough out with a rolling pin, into a oblong oval shape and place it on a the baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with a little flour and bake. About 2 minutes before I remove from oven, I will slather butter all over the top and return to oven.

 

Bake at 425º degrees for 12-14 minutes.

Make 12-16 biscuits or 1 big beautiful Hoe Cake Bread

This is a simple and basic recipe. Once you do the simple steps a couple times, you will quickly be able to throw it together for any meal.

Homemade Sausage

 

 

This homemade recipe is from a 1986 book that I found. I usually add a little more sage to my sausage anyway. This seems to give it a more “homemade” taste. This recipe is easy to mix and can be frozen for easy future use. Enjoy

Ingredients:

2 lbs. fresh lean pork
¼ lb. fat salt pork
½ tsp. thyme
1 tsp. sage
½ tsp. celery seed
½ tsp. marjoram
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. cracked black pepper
½ tsp. salt

Directions:

Ask butcher to grind the lean pork and salt pork. Add spices, salt and mix thoroughly. Make into patties. These may be pre-cooked, cooled, packaged and frozen for later use. Can be rolled, wrapped well and used as desired. Fry patties in skillet for 8-19 minutes.

*If you like a hot/spicier sausage, I think you could probably add a little red pepper flakes to the batch.

Chicken Feet Stew

This is me stepping out of the box with a recipe. Some folks like this. There is a recipe for everything, and people used to eat all the parts of the animals they raised or hunted, because this is what was available to them. All I can think about when I see chicken feet is ET. Hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

1 lbs chicken feet
5 potatoes, cut in eights
4 onions, quartered
3 carrots, sliced
1 cup green beans
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut nail. Wash feet. Place in stockpot. Cover with water.

Add potatoes, onions, carrots, green beans, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper to season. Simmer until tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Southern Style Chicken and Dumplings

There are many kinds of good dumpling recipes (round, made from canned biscuits or pie crust). But the true Southern style dumpling is the flat dumpling that can be thick, thin, short, long, square, oblong or all of the above. They are not necessarily uniform, but oh boy are they delicious.

This recipe is the Old School, made-from-scratch method with my quick alternates out to the side in italic.

Ingredients:

1 whole 4 lb chicken, cleaned and lightly rubbed with salt (I use bone in chicken thighs or breast)
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 sm peeled sweet potato or carrot (I skip both of these, but they do add color)
1 clove garlic peeled (I use garlic powder or minced garlic)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground white pepper (I like black pepper...lots of it)
1 bay leaf

For Dumplings:

2 cups all purpose flour (I use self-rising and skip the salt and baking powder)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup of milk.

Directions:

In a large pot combine the whole chicken, 3 quarts of water; and the onions, celery, sweet potato, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to low and simmer for about 2 hours until chick is very tender (falling off the bone). Remove chicken and drain well, setting the stock aside.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones and discard. Set aside meat.

Strain the stock and add water if necessary to make 3 quarts.

For the dumplings, in a large bowl sift together flour, salt and baking powder, Stir in milk until just blended. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until firm. Cover and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. (This resting period can be while you are deboning and removing the skin from the chicken)

Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/8 inch and cut into about 1 x 3 inch strips. Allow them to sit about 45 minutes so that when cooked, they do not puff but stay flat like noodles.

Bring the strained stock to a boil over high heat. Add the dumplings a few at a time, bringing the stock back to a boil after each addition. Reduce heat to low and cover pot. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken meat and serve.

Poorman's County Pancaked UnFrenched Toast (Fried Bread)

Ok.....so for those of us who grew up in the Country Life, there were foods that we ate that never seemed to reach the populous. This is one of my County Life dishes. This can be made with what you already have or the ingredients can be bought cheaply.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Slices of Texas toast, French bread, or any thick bread (as little or many as you want)
Butter
Powdered Sugar (or regular)
Cinnamon
Syrup

*Optional fresh or canned fruit

Directions:

I like to mix my cinnamon in my butter and let it set out to soften at room temperature.

Butter both sides of the bread with the cinnamon-butter and fry on medium heat in a skillet (I like cast iron).

 

Once this is browned to desired color, sprinkle on a little powdered sugar to make it purdy.

Arrange on a plate and add syrup.

Although I like mine with just the butter and syrup, an alternate option is to add a little fruit on top; strawberries, blueberries, blackberries (you get the picture).

You can even use canned pie filling. I always keep cans of the mixed fruit, blueberry or cherry pie filling on hand, just in case I need them. These can be purchased at the Dollar Tree for $1.

I also sometimes buy French bread or similar, at Wal-Mart on the “discounted about to expire” rack for 50 cents.

Pork Cake

Don't let this delicious recipe fool you because of the salt pork. This recipe uses salt pork instead of the oil normally used. Lots of moisture and flavor in this cake. No icing needed.

Think about making this in mini-loaf pans or big muffin tins. They make wonderful gifts!

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped salt pork
1 cup boiling water
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Crease a 8-inch square pan. Place chopped salt pork in a large bowl. Pour in boiling water, then cool to room temperature.

Add baking soda to molasses. Stir until dissolved. Stir in molasses sugar raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves into salt pork. Stir in flour gradually until just blended. Pour into pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.