Category Archives: Recipes

Ideas to get you started with healthy foods.

Biscuits

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P1070534What can be easier than some biscuits and honey to complete a meal? I love to use these to top a creamy double recipe of chicken and biscuits!

Biscuits

  • Servings: 10-12
  • Difficulty: medium
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2 cups flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free)
2 teaspoons sugar or 1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or lard, not melted
2/3 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add milk and mix it together. Spoon 1/2 inch thick rounds onto an ungreased cookie sheet or cured baking stone.

Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 10-12 biscuits.

Another option: Spoon onto filling for chicken and biscuits.

Notes: At 350 it takes about 20 minutes to bake. If using freshly ground flour, these will not be cutable, but an all-purpose flour biscuit can be halved. I like to form my biscuits by hand, but you can flatten the dough and use a caner ring for a more uniform final product. Also, I often forget to pull the butter out, which makes it more difficult to mix… Cutting the butter in pats reduces the bother when cutting in.

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Pie crust

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I love butter pie crust, but can no longer stand the hydrogenated oils in a shortening crust. That can ruin heart health too quickly. Want to see why butter and lard are actually good for you, borrow Nourishing Traditions or Lard from the library.

Butter Crust

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: medium
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2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or lard
1/2 cup ice water

Combine flour and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture. Add a tablespoon of ice water at a time until a loose, not too sticky, ball forms. Divide in half. Roll out to make two flat 12 inch circles. Refrigerate until ready to use.

One tip if you don’t have a rolling pin or want small kids to try this – place dough between two pieces of wax paper and roll out will a round bottle.

Bake at 425 for up to 45 minutes or until golden. It is wise to cover the edges with foil if you don’t like overly brown crust.

Chicken and Biscuits

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P1070527Baking, cooking, warming up the house, eating yummy food… Can you think of a better way than to spend a wintery spring day? Yes we woke up to spring and by the end of devotions there were two inches of snow on the ground. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Minnesota has no seasons.

Here’s a family favorite recipe that can be prepared two ways – either as chicken pot pie with pie crust on top or chicken and biscuits with biscuits on top.

Chicken Pot Pie

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: medium
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Prepare pie crust or biscuits. Set aside.

The filling:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 cups cubed chicken, cooked
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed or combination of similar fresh veggies that you have on hand (be sure to cook them with the onion and butter if they are fresh)

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion (and fresh veggies if using); cook 3 minutes, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in broth and milk, until mixture is bubbly and thick.
Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat.

I like to use a single crust on top. If you prefer a bottom and top crust, be sure to place the bottom in a 9 inch pie plate first. Pour filling in, then top with another crust.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

If using biscuits, pour filling in a 9 x 9 pan or comparable deeper dish then drop spoonfuls of dough on so that the top is covered.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, basically until center biscuits are browned and are not doughy. *I have found that setting aside about four biscuits worth and cooking separately makes a better biscuit to filling ratio. You can always make them smaller if you have more than four people to feed.

Note: Eliminate extra dishes and make the filling in an oven-able pan.