2008 June | Chickens in the Road Page 2

See the number on the storage door at the tractor sales store? My tractor was sitting in front of it when I got there….

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Posted by Suzanne McMinn | Permalink

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Pictured: Sour Cream Raisin Biscuits, made with Quick Mix.

Make Quick Mix! Have an endless array of biscuits, muffins, and pancakes at your fingertips, as fast and easy as with a storebought baking mix (like Bisquick, for example), only better because it’s homemade. I love one recipe that can do a thousand things, like my Grandmother Bread. Quick Mix is the quick bread solution.

Here’s how!

How to Make Quick Mix:

5 cups all-purpose flour (may subsitute 1-2 cups whole grain flour as part of the mix)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt

Combine in a large bowl. (I use a large spoon and a whisk to blend the ingredients well.) I like to make this mix in 5 cup batches because that quantity fits easily into my mixing bowls for blending. I make multiple batches at once and store it in a large canister on my kitchen counter. (Store as you would flour.)

How to Make Basic Quick Mix Biscuits:

Per 1 cup of Quick Mix used, add–
1/4 cup shortening, butter, or lard
1/3 cup milk or buttermilk

Using a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening before adding the milk, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Just as you would when preparing pie crust–using a pastry cutter for biscuits is one of my secrets to perfect biscuits!) Add the milk and knead your biscuit dough. (Another secret to great biscuits–knead the dough lightly, a few times, adding a pinch of flour if needed to keep dough from sticking to your hands.) Roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes–circles or triangles are my favorites). Bake at 450-degrees for 10-12 minutes. (Depending on the size of your biscuit cutter, this makes approximately 4-6 biscuits per recipe using 1 cup of mix–double, triple, as needed. I usually make a triple recipe to feed my hungry horde.)

You can use either milk or buttermilk, and either shortening or butter (or even lard, yes, I said LARD, there’s a reason our grandmas made great biscuits). And that is just the beginning! Oh, the creations you can bake with this one recipe!

Based on the 1-cup mix recipe, bake garlic-cheese biscuits (add 3/4 cup grated cheese of your choice and one pressed garlic clove, or even two, or use a teaspoon of garlic powder).

Garden biscuits (add 3/4 cup finely chopped veggies of your choice).

Herb biscuits (add 1/4 cup fresh herbs or a tablespoon dried herbs).

Hot or mild pepper biscuits (add 3/4 cup chopped jalapenos or other peppers).

Bacon or sausage biscuits (add 3/4 cup cooked, crumbled bacon or sausage–make bacon or sausage cheese biscuits! cut the bacon/sausage to 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup cheese).

As you use Quick Mix, adjust the quantities of the add-ins to suit yourself. Mix and match any and all of the ideas above and come up with new ones! The world is your biscuit! You can do anything with these biscuits, including add three tablespoons of sugar and 3/4 cup fruit or berries to make sweet biscuits.

Have a picky eater in the family? Make your Quick Mix in 1-cup batches and make biscuits to suit everyone. Or awe and amaze company with several different types of biscuits. They’ll wonder, “How can she make so many different kinds of biscuits? Did she slave all day?” They don’t have to know you have Quick Mix!

Could one biscuit mix possibly do more? Yes, yes, it can!

How to make Basic Quick Mix Muffins:

Per 1 cup of Quick Mix used, add–
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil

Add sugar, egg, milk, and oil all at once. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400-degrees approximately 15 minutes. Makes 8-10 muffins.

But wait, there’s more!

Per 1-cup batch, add 3/4 cup blueberries or other berries of your choice for berry muffins. (Fold gently into mixed batter just before filling muffin cups.)

Add 1/2 cup mashed banana and 1/4 cup chopped nuts for banana-nut muffins.

Add 1/4 cup pureed pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/4 cup chopped nuts for spicy pumpkin muffins.

Use only 3/4 cup mix and add 1/4 cup oatmeal for oatmeal muffins.

For cheese and sausage or bacon muffins, leave out the 3 tablespoons sugar and add 1/2 cup shredded cheese and 1/2 crumbled sausage or bacon.

Again, the varieties are endless, limited only by your imagination and your tastebuds. Get creative!

And there is still more!

How to make Basic Quick Mix Pancakes:

Per 1 cup of Quick Mix used, add–
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3/4 to 1 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil

Add sugar, egg, milk (adjust to make a good pouring batter), and oil. Stir just till moistened. Pour batter onto hot, lightly greased skillet or griddle, turning to cook second side after first side bubbles on the surface. The 1-cup recipe makes approximately 6 pancakes.

Add fruit, berries, nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg, and anything else you like for variations!