Category: Food

Made from Scratch Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

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Made from Scratch Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

So, you’ve probably read my lazy woman’s guide to making Cheddar Bay biscuits like you can get at Red Lobster. Don’t get me wrong… These are truly delicious and so easy to make. However, there are times when you want something a little more substantial to go with say pasta or soup.

For years, I would try to make biscuits and they would be a flat, lumpy, heavy mess. I just could not get the formula right, no matter how many different recipes I tried. Then, one day I was watching Food Network and a bakery owner was making pie crust. She was explaining the science behind folding the flour into little pats of butter and how the butter heats and creates these lovely air pockets that makes the crust light and flaky.

It was like a light bulb literally went off in my brain. I had never added butter to my biscuit mix. That was the missing link. I began experimenting and now my biscuits are truly delicious works of art that any bread lover would envy. Even though I’m not supposed to be eating them because they are so carby, sometimes I can’t help myself. The key to this recipe is to use a ton of cheddar cheese. It will look like to much when you add it in, but trust me it isn’

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Made from Scratch Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
Author: Crabby Housewife
Ingredients
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour if you only have self-rising on hand, reduce baking powder by 50%
  • 1 1/3 Tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons Splenda you can sub in sugar
  • 1/4 heaping teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil high, high quality or it will have a funny taste - can sub canola
  • 1/2 stick cold butter
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 3/4 cup milk I like whole for biscuits, but you can sub in what you want
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.
  3. Cut butter into 1/2 inch squares (just get close) and mix into flour with your hands. Don't overwork the mixture, but make sure you mix the butter until it looks like corn meal. The only way to do this is with a pastry tool or by squeezing the flour into the butter over and over, but gently.
  4. Add EVOO.
  5. Add milk and mix completely. Again, be gentle. You don't want to overwork the dough.
  6. Add cheddar cheese and fold into dough. Be gentle. Don't over mix. It's okay if not all the cheese is on the inside. This will just create a beautiful golden crust on your biscuits.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Recipe Notes

I like to take a pastry brush and brush a mixture of melted butter with minced garlic (1 clove) and about a Tablespoon of parsley. It creates a buttery, cheesy, garlic taste that is so good.

 

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Clean Out the Fridge Ten-Minute Pasta

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Clean Out the Fridge Ten-Minute Pasta

Pasta is a great go-to dinner for those nights when you want something fairly quick and filling for your family. Plus, you can add in some veggies from your fridge instead of throwing them out because they went bad. You’ll save money and you’ll up the nutritional value of the meal.

Tonight was one of those nights. I chose to make my cheddar biscuits as well, and boy did they turn out fabulous this time. Grab that recipe tomorrow from me. In the meantime, here is how I make my Clean Out the Fridge pasta.

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Clean Out the Fridge Ten-Minute Pasta
Author: Crabby Housewife
Ingredients
  • 1 box penne pasta
  • 1 carton chicken stock
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 bag frozen diced chicken
  • 1 jar Ragu four cheese sauce or sauce of your choice
  • Veggies in the drawer that you need to use up such as broccoli, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms
Instructions
  1. Mince 1 clove of garlic and toss it in the olive oil in a large family size skillet. Cook until garlic starts to sizzle and the aroma fills the air.
  2. Add carton of chicken stock and bring to a boil.
  3. Add pasta and broccoli (if I don't have fresh broccoli on hand, I add frozen because I love the taste of chicken and broccoli paired with pasta)
  4. Cook until pasta is tender.
  5. While pasta is cooking, heat precooked diced frozen chicken.
  6. Chop up any other veggies you'd like to add.
  7. Once the chicken stock boils down and pasta is tender, add the jar of sauce, additional veggies and chicken.
  8. Stir together and cook on low for 5-7 minutes.
  9. Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top and serve.
Recipe Notes

Goes great with cheddar biscuits. See recipe on this site.

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My Favorite Bread Machine Pizza Crust

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My Favorite Bread Machine Pizza Crust

Y’all probably remember that I have started to experiment with making my own pizza at home. First, I want to control the ingredients in my crust. I want to know what my family is eating. Second, I don’t like most of the pizza places round here.

Saturday, my daughter got home from work and said she really just wanted a homemade pizza to eat, so I thought it was a good opportunity to try out an idea I’d been tossing around for bread machine pizza crust. It turned out great and I think this one will be our favorite.

The only thing I want to say is that this recipe makes a lot of dough. It is enough for two very large pizzas. I didn’t roll it out nearly thin enough. next time, I’m going to divide it in half and make it much thinner. The dough will keep in the fridge for about a week or you can freeze it and use it another time, if you don’t need to make two pizzas.

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Bread Machine Pizza Crust
Author: Crabby Housewife
Ingredients
  • 1 packet of dried yeast or about 2/14 teaspoons
  • 3 cups of all purpose flour you can also use a finer flour, such as bread flour, or whole wheat
  • 1 teaspoon table salt some people say use sea or kosher, but I think plain old Morton's tastes best
  • 2 Tablespoons of sugar the yeast needs this, so no, Splenda doesn't work the same
  • 2 1/4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup of water plus 1 Tablespoon of water the water MUST be warm - not hot, not cold
  • Sauce toppings, and oil to cut the dough
Instructions
  1. Just throw all the items into the bread machine. No need to mix and I don't really worry about the order, although I did put them in as listed above.
  2. Also, you will want to set your bread machine to "dough".
  3. Note that I did use some really high quality olive oil my parents brought me back from Spain. Oh, is it good. It literally has no discernible taste, which is what you want in a good olive oil.
  4. So, let the dough mix about ten minutes. Then, go take a look at it. It should not be sticking to the sides. You may need to add a little flour or water at this point if it is too sticky or too clumpy. Mine was a little too sticky, so I grabbed a couple pinches of flour and let it mix in, which made it perfect.
  5. Allow the bread machine to complete its full cycle. It should take about an hour and a half. Mine counted down from 1:22.
  6. Once the bread machine beeps, take the dough out and place in in a bowl you've coated with a very light brush of oil. Also put oil on the dough ball and then cover the bowl. Allow to sit for 20 minutes.
  7. Divide in half and roll out dough. The less you can mess with it at this point, the better, but you want to also get the crust thin in the middle and thicker on the edges for that true pizza parlor taste.
  8. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit without toppings for 8 minutes. Pull out...
  9. Top with what you love and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. When the cheese is bubbly and the crust a golden brown, you are done.
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One Crock Pot – Two Meals – Pot Roast and Beef Veggie Soup

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One Crock Pot – Two Meals – Pot Roast and Beef Veggie Soup

Busy working moms, or moms who are just busy, what better way to save time than using your slow cooker? Even better, what if you could turn one meal into two or even three meals?

In addition to saving time, you’ll also save money. These meals will feed a family of 3. If you have more people or hearty eaters, you’ll want to double up. I’ve chosen items that don’t take a lot of prep work, but you can go homemade if you want to control the ingredients and costs.

The image above is my pot roast just after I finished putting all ingredients in the crock pot. Aren’t the colors beautiful? As I type this, the aroma is filling the house and making my mouth water. Here is what you’ll need to make your own:

Shopping List

  • Largest pot roast you can find (mine was 5 pounds). You can also use two smaller ones.
  • 1 white onion
  • Bag of baby carrots
  • 4 large russet potatoes
  • 1 bag frozen mixed veggies
  • 1 large can whole tomatoes
  • Hamburger buns
  • Favorite barbecue sauce
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Small serving of ready made coleslaw from bakery (or you can make your own)
  • French bread (you can buy already made in bakery, frozen that you thaw and bake, or refrigerated in the can. You can also make from scratch if you are so inclined.
  • Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner bags

Meal # 1: Pot Roast, Potatoes, Carrots

Line your slow cooker with a Reynolds slow cooker bag. Place in your pot roast. Sprinkle liberally with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add carrots (about half the bag), cut up two potatoes and place in several rings of onion for flavoring. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Sides

Good news! Your sides are built into this dish with the carrots and potatoes you’ll be cooking. You can add bread or a salad if you wish.

Cut the pot roast into thirds at this point. You’re going to eat 1/3 tonight and use the other 2/3rds for the other two meals. Place leftovers into fridge.

Meal # 2: Beef BBQ and Microwave Potato Chips, Cole Slaw

Your pot roast has been in the fridge and should be completely cooled. You want to take ALL of what is remaining and shred it with two forks. Now, this is not fast work. You may want to enlist the help of a family member or do it the night before if you are crunched for time.

Once it is shredded, line the crock pot with another Reynolds liner an place half the shredded beef in there. Put the other half back in the fridge for tomorrow.

Add your favorite BBQ sauce and cook on low for 1 hour. If you are going to be out of the house, you can also mix this up on the stove in about 15-20 minutes and that might be a better solution for you than the crock pot since the beef is already cooked.

While the BBQ is heating, slice the other two potatoes into very thin slices and nuke in the microwave on parchment paper. I like to drizzle on some olive oil, pepper and sea salt and cook a minute at a time until the potato chips are very crispy. Just be careful not to burn them. You don’t want them brown other than in a few spots.

Serve the beef on buns with coleslaw and the chips on the side. Yum!

Meal # 3: Beef Veggie Soup, Crusty Bread

This is one of my favorite meals I get out of a good pot roast. I like this better than eating it that first day actually. Line your crock pot again. Add 2 cups of water and some beef bullion (I like the kind in the jar called Better than Beef, but use what you have on hand). Place shredded beef into the water. Add all your seasonings. I add salt, pepper and a little rosemary, but add what you like best in beef soup.

Now, open up your bag of frozen mixed veggies and add them. Top up the crock pot so the water covers the veggies. I also will throw in any leftover carrots and potatoes from Meal # 1 here. If you don’t have any potatoes left, you can use canned potatoes.

I also like to add a can of whole tomatoes to this recipe. I just think it adds that little extra acidic zing that makes this soup so delicious.

This should cook a minimum of three or four hours on low, but can also cook much longer if you will be out of the house all day.

Bake your crusty bread and dinner is ready.

More than Three Meals?

I truly adore this beefy veggie soup. It is a recipe I’ve adapted over the years from a stew I once had called Hobo Stew. It was 20 years ago when we went to the Grand Canyon in my parents’ RV and got snowed in. The campground made us a stew that was so warm, cozy, thoughtful and filling that I brought the recipe home. I then began to adapt it. The original had hamburger and I use shredded beef (sometimes still make with hamburger, but prefer the beef). I added tomatoes. I added beef flavoring to the water and so on. Over the years, I’ve just adapted it to be my own recipe.

The soup is filling, it is fairly healthy (meat and veggies) and it is so easy to make. As a bonus, we almost always can eat on it at least two days. If you don’t want to serve the same thing two days in a row, throw it in the fridge and cook a different meal between and then serve it again.

It also freezes really well, so sometimes I will just freeze what is left and then thaw it the night before I want to serve it again. When I do that, I reheat on the stove, though.

I hope these three recipes save you time, money and keep your family well fed.

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Easy Strawberry Fudge in Two Minutes

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Easy Strawberry Fudge in Two Minutes

Have you ever wished you could come up with something really unique to take to a gathering, but you don’t have a lot of time to throw together a new recipe? Well, you will love this very easy fudge recipe. Plus, it is highly unlikely anyone will bring the same thing you’re bringing. This is also a fun recipe to make with kids because it is so very easy and you can cut it into shapes, such as hearts or stars, very easily.

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Easy Strawberry Fudge in Two Minutes
Author: Crabby Housewife
Ingredients
  • 1 can strawberry frosting
  • 1 12 oz package vanilla white or pink candy melts (you can buy these at Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and wedding stores in the candy area)
Instructions
  1. Scoop frosting out of container into a large bowl
  2. Microwave candy melts for one minute and then 20 seconds at a time, stirring each time you check.
  3. Once melted, pour melted candy into bowl with frosting and mix together thoroughly.
  4. Pour mixture into glass baking dish.
  5. Add sprinkles or additional white chocolate drizzle on top for decoration.
  6. Refrigerate overnight. You can then cut into shapes if desired or simply slice and serve.
  7. Keeps up to a week in the refrigerator.
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