Must Love Butter

Mom's Buttermilk Biscuits

2011-04-05T12:31:00.001-05:00

My mom was a great cook and we always had a home cooked meal and ate as a family. Looking back, I don't know how she did it. Work full time, raise 3 kids, AND put a home cooked meal on the table every night! She was Super Woman! With those meals we almost always had my her buttermilk biscuits. She made them from scratch and they were so fluffy and delicious. Unfortunately, I never learned how to make them before she passed away in 2000. She tried to teach us before she died, but I was like 13 so I didn't really get it then. So a couple of years ago I was going through some old stuff in my dad's house and found all of my mom's recipes! (We thought we had lost them in one of the moves.) So I took them without telling anyone, scanned every one of them, and had a cookbook made for my dad, brother, and sister for Christmas. Anyway, one of the recipes is for Mom's Famous Biscuits and I've been trying to perfect the technique since.

The odd thing about the recipe is there are no measurements. Which is weird because I remember her being so precise with her measurements when she was baking. But not with these. So here is my latest attempt at making Mom's Famous Biscuits.

Mom's recipe for buttermilk biscuits.

She, therefore I, always make biscuits in a cast iron skillet. Grease the bottom only with Crisco and set aside. She says to sift self-rising flour into a large bowl. She gives no measurement for the flour, so I started with 3 cups. Then you make a well in the center of your flour and put a "golf ball size ball" of Crisco in the well. I have a scoop I use to measure out cookies that's about that size so that's what I used.

Next, pour in enough buttermilk to come about half way up the Crisco ball.

Next is the tricky part. You squish the Crisco between your fingers to incorporate it into the buttermilk. As you do this you want to roll the mixture around to slowly incorporate in the flour. Keep squishing and rolling until a dough forms. It will be very sticky. Next you want to get as much dough off your hand as possible. Then, you want to run your hand under the dough, then flip it into the center of the dough ball to slowly add more flour. Keep doing this until the dough is no longer super sticky. You can add more buttermilk or more flour as needed.

To clean off your hands, put a small amount of flour in them and rub them together over the sink. Then coat them in a little more flour to form the biscuits. To do this, just grab a small amount of dough and roll it between your hands to for a ball and place in the greased cast iron skillet. When all the biscuits are in the pan, press them down slightly to flatten them. You want them to be close together so that they stick together when they rise.

What my mom didn't do, but I did was brush the top of the biscuits with a little melted butter to help them brown nicely.

Bake them in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes, checking them often to make sure they don't burn. This batch made 8 large biscuits.

They didn't turn out quite the way that Mom made them, but still pretty good. They were a little tougher than I remember hers being. I will just have to keep trying until I get them right.

Fun with: Won ton Wrappers!

2011-03-30T21:39:00.004-05:00

So I'm a HUGE Hungry Girl fan. And if any of you out there subscribe to her emails, you received an email last week with three new recipes using won ton wrappers. Well this was right up my alley (and Kyle's) because I've made Southwestern egg rolls before using egg roll wrappers (a Weight Watchers recipe) and they are the perfect snack. You can make up a batch of them and stick them in the freezer. Then whenever you want a hot snack, just pop a few in the oven. EASY! So what did I do? I tested all three won ton recipes!

Up first, Hungry Girl's Won ton 'Quitos. These were pretty darn good if you need a Mexican food fix. Spicy, cheesy, chickeny...what could be better? I missed the crunch you get when you bite into a true, fried, delicious taquito, but that goes for all of these recipes really. The edges got crispy and some of the cheese oozed out during baking! Yum!

So here's how you make them. You mix a can of chicken with salsa verde and refrigerate for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld. Then you add some reduced fat cheddar (the recipe calls for fat free, but I really don't like fat free cheese!), corn kernels, and some chopped roasted red pepper (I didn't have this so I left it out). And that's your filling.

Now this recipe makes 16 taquitos. I like to lay out all of the won ton wrappers at one time and put a tablespoon of filling on each won ton. I found the easiest way to roll these up is to spread the filling out over the bottom 2/3 of the won ton, roll the won ton up over the filling and put a line of water on the blank edge to seal it up. Put the rolled taquitos seam side down on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. I put a little salsa verde on the side for dipping.

The second recipe is for Triple-Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Poppers. I was really excited to make these because pizza is one of my favorite guilty pleasures! And if I could make something to satisfy my pizza cravings without breaking the calorie budget, even better!

For these you mix light ricotta with diced turkey pepperoni, Light Laughing Cow cheese that I microwaved to a few seconds to soften, tomato paste, and dried minced onion. Lay out 12 won ton wrappers and place a tablespoon of filling on the center of each one (I found it to be a little less than a tablespoon for each on one.) Then put a line of water around the whole edge of the won ton and fold the corners over to make a triangle. Place on a baking sheet and spray each one with a squirt of butter spray. Then sprinkle with garlic powder and reduced fat Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. I served warm pizza sauce on the side for dipping (she uses seasoned crushed tomatoes).

To be honest, they weren't as pizza-y as I would have liked, but still pretty tasty. I think I might experiment with these a little more. Maybe add some mozzarella to the filling....we'll see.

The last won ton recipe was for Spanako-pieces (aka Spinach pie). I love Greek food and in college our favorite Greek place had a vegetarian platter that I always got (and still do when we are in Baton Rouge) the came with a spinach pie. So I really liked the thought of this one.

For the filling you mix a box of thawed spinach, thoroughly squeezed of all water in a paper towel or two, with reduced-fat feta (again, no fat free cheese for me), Light Laughing Cow microwaved, dried onion (the recipe calls for diced onion but I didn't like the idea of biting into raw onion), garlic powder, salt and pepper. Lay out 16 won ton wrappers and place a tablespoon of filling on each one. I spread out the filling over the whole won ton and folded it in half to form a triangle. No need to seal the edges closed on this one. Put them on a baking sheet and spray each one with butter spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, flipping half way through.

These I really liked! The feta gives them a tangy bite and the Laughing Cow makes the filling a little creamy. Really good!

I froze some of the Won ton 'Quitos and Pizza Poppers, so I will have plenty to snack on. If you have tried one of these recipes, let me know what you think!

Below are the recipes Hungry Girl herself sent...Enjoy!

Wonton 'Quitos

One 12.5-oz. can 98% fat-free chunk white chicken breast in water, drained and flaked (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup salsa verde (a.k.a. green salsa)
1/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
1/4 cup frozen corn, thawed and patted dry
1 tbsp. chopped roasted red peppers
16 small square wonton wrappers
Optional dips: red enchilada sauce, additional salsa verde, fat-free sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with nonstick spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with salsa and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Drain any excess liquid from the chicken mixture. Add cheese, corn, and roasted red peppers to the bowl. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Lay two wrappers flat on a clean, dry surface. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of chicken mixture onto each wrapper, and spread it evenly over the entire surface. Roll wonton up tightly into a cigar-shaped tube. Place on the baking sheet, seam side down. If needed, secure with a toothpick. Repeat with remaining wontons and chicken mixture.
Bake until crispy, about 15 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly. Remove toothpicks, if using. Then serve and, if you like, dunk in the optional dips!

Triple-Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Poppers

1/3 cup light or low-fat ricotta cheese
12 slices turkey pepperoni (Hormel's is the best!), chopped
3 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
1 1/2 tsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
12 small square wonton wrappers
12 sprays I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray
1 tbsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chopped pepperoni, cheese wedges, tomato paste, and dried minced onion. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Lay two wrappers flat on a clean, dry surface. Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the center of each wrapper. Moisten all four edges of each wrapper by dabbing your fingers in water and going over the edges smoothly. Fold the bottom left corner of each wrapper to meet the top right corner, forming a triangle and enclosing the filling. Press firmly on the edges to seal. Repeat with all remaining wrappers and filling, gently and evenly placing each "popper" flat on the baking sheet.
Spritz the top of each popper with a spray of butter spray. Evenly sprinkle with Parm-style topping and garlic powder.
Bake in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, combine crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir well. Microwave for 1 minute, or until hot. Give seasoned tomatoes a stir and serve with poppers for dipping.

Spanako-pieces

One 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup crumbled fat-free feta cheese
4 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
1/3 cup diced onion
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
16 small square wonton wrappers
16 sprays I Can't Believe It’s Not Butter! Spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside.

To make the filling, combine all ingredients except wonton wrappers and butter spray in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Lay two wrappers flat on a clean, dry surface. One at a time, spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling into the upper-right portion of each wrapper. Spread filling out slightly so it covers one triangular half of the wrapper. Gently fold the lower triangular half over the filling, and gently pat to adhere. (No need to seal the edges.) Repeat with all remaining wrappers and filling, carefully and evenly placing each piece flat on the baking sheet.

Spritz the top of each piece with a spray of butter spray. Bake in the oven until golden brown, 12 - 15 minutes, carefully flipping halfway through.

Butter makes everything better.

2011-03-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

That's just an expression, of course, but not an entirely false one. The only exception being my waistline!

I'm just a southern girl on the hunt for great tasting food. I grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and my parents are from the backwoods of Mississippi, so I was never deprived of good, stick to your ribs, food growing up. But my cooking journey didn't begin until college. I was a junior at LSU and turned on Food Network one day. I started by trying a few Rachael Ray recipes. That was about 5 years ago and I've spent those years trying to learn everything I can about cooking. I'm no professional, I just love food.

So what can you expect from Must Love Butter?

I LOVE Cajun food! Go figure. I also really love sweets. I could live off of cake if I wouldn't gain a million pounds. And really, I'll try (almost) anything in the kitchen. Unfortunately for me, I'm also trying to drop a few pounds, so I'm constantly on the search for diet friendly recipes. Everything in moderation, right? (Does that ever actually work for anybody??? Not me...) But no matter what I'm cooking, it must taste great! Otherwise, what's the point?