Sour Cream Biscuits

These are very light, high-rise biscuits with a sweet and tangy flavor. The use of three rising agents make them foolproof. Variation on Bradley Ogden's Buttermilk Biscuits...I never have buttermilk on hand, so usually just use regular milk, but today I didn't even have enough milk. The sour cream was fantastic! As was the goat milk butter, but it's probably not necessary.

Kiddo and I had these with crisp turkey bacon and scrambled eggs, and wow...what a great breakfast for a snowy NC morning. I baked half of them and put the other half of the dough in the refrigerator. I'll post if that doesn't work out.

The Livestrong.com site finally has a recipe builder that works!!! It's nice to have nutrition facts.

• 5 cup All-purpose Flour
• 4 tbsp Sugar
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
• 1/4 cup Goat Milk Butter
• 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
• 2 tbsp Water
• 1 1/4 cup Skim Milk
• 3/4 cup Light Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water, making sure the water is warm but not hot. Add a pinch of the sugar. Let stand at least 5 minutes while you go on to the next step.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Cut the shortening in with a pastry cutter or a fork. Make a well in the flour and add the yeast, the milk and the sour cream., then mix until just moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board. The dough should be soft but not sticky, add more flour if it is too sticky. Pat or roll the dough out to a 3/4 inch thickness. Fold over and repeat this procedure two or three times. Cut with a 2 1/2 - 3 inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits about 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes, turning the sheet once.

You can bake all the biscuits or save half of the dough in the refrigerator. Makes 24 biscuits.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 biscuits

Amount per Serving

Calories 184

Calories from Fat 75

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 8.1g

12%

Saturated Fat 5.3g

26%

Cholesterol 24.4mg

8%

Sodium

7%

Total Carbohydrate 20.4g

6%

Dietary Fiber 0.8g

3%

Sugars 2.4g

Protein 4.5g

9%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat

40%

Carbs

44%

Protein

9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs.

Moroccan Crock-pot chicken

Last night I was working late, and sometimes in my work I have to start processes, wait a bit and then go back and check things, fix things, start another process, panic, write emails, etc. In one of the lulls, I saw that a friend had posted a very intriguing crock pot recipe, and since I'm flying out on Sunday, needed to empty my fridge and had most of the ingredients on hand resolved to try it.

What I had on hand wasn't quite what was called for...but collaborating, we figured it could work. What I did is below, followed by the original recipe. It was delicious, although benefiting from a bit of table salt. My friend Ms. P came over and we thoroughly enjoyed it with some Prosecco and a nice Tzaziki salad, before proceeding to dismantle my Xmas tree. (Thanks, P!) I figure my version is probably less fatty, is a little easier because no de-fatting is required and is more appropriate for a small supper for four people -- sounds like Mr. B's feeds a crowd.

3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 1.4 lb

1 small onion, chopped

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs fresh ginger, minced or shredded

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup dried fruit, I used black cherries

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

Chicken broth to cover, about 24 oz.

1 cup whole wheat couscous

Put everything except for the couscous into a crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Spoon out the solids (the chicken will shred nicely into the stew) and add the couscous to the crock-pot, cook for about 5 minutes.

The chicken did not dry out at all, which was Mr. B's chief concern with using skinless/boneless breasts.

The original recipe from my friend Barry Campbell:

Here's one of Uncle Barry's favorite crock pot recipes, by request of G.S..

4 large bone-in chicken breasts
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or use a big can drained and rinsed)
Chopped onion, garlic, grated fresh ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, raisins, etc to taste
(I do not use a recipe for this, but - two big handfuls chopped onion, a good half-handful or more of fresh grated ginger, etc.)
Juice of one lemon
Vegetable or chicken stock to cover the above

Slow-cook on high for 4-5 hours. If you like the raisins to look like raisins, don't add them until the last 30 minutes or so; I like to put them in at the beginning and cook them to mush.

Pull the chicken breasts out at the end - the meat will shred nicely. Skim fat, and then use some of the reserved cooking liquid to make couscous. Add some green veg or a salad and it's a nice supper.

Biscuits and more biscuits

At church today (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh) we were having a "sharing together" breakfast at 9:30 and the kids were doing a pajama party at 11:00, so Kiddo wanted to go to both services. I made the biscuit recipe from Bradley Ogden's Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, but didn't have any buttermilk -- they are just as good with regular milk, even skim. This recipe is pretty much foolproof because it uses three rising agents: baking powder, baking soda and yeast. I doubled up the recipe and filled about half of them with ham and cheese and brought honey for the other half. They were all gone by the end of the second service, and Kiddo was upset, so I made another batch for lunch. The diet starts tomorrow! I do these with butter rather than shortening, and they are rich!

Perhaps I'll transcribe the recipe later, but I do recommend the book. I especially love the fantastic pancake recipes. Apple/cottage cheese and Banana/sour cream are amazing.

New Year's Resolutions

Goodbye, 2009! You were an interesting year, to say the least. I can't remember all my resolutions from last year, but know that losing weight was one of them, and I did manage to lose 20 pounds, so hooray!

I have some resolutions for this year that I think should be easy to keep. :)

1. Enjoy my time with Kiddo, friends and family to the utmost.
2. Get divorced.
3. Stay single! Continue to explore this wonderful state of single-hood. Try to avoid falling in love.
4. Date as many interesting men as I can handle, but don't waste time on dating anyone more than once if they don't impress immediately. Continue to be happy going out without a date.
5. Travel more.
6. Try new things.
7. Cherish my friends, and make new ones.
8. Lose 10 more pounds, and then be content.
9. Turn 40 with flair!
10. Start updating this blog with new recipes and entertaining notes -- I've never stopped doing either, just wasn't in a good place to be writing about it.

Speaking of entertaining, I had a very fun group of people over last weekend (the day after Xmas) for a "top-your-own" pizza party. I made the dough on Xmas and then for the party set out crusts and toppings, and everyone topped one and then we shared the results. Very fun, very easy! Because I am who I am, the toppings were fairly gourmet -- I had marinated and grilled some chicken breasts, there was a salad with a caprese dressing, artichoke hearts, black olives, pesto and tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella and feta cheese, anchovies, sliced tomatoes. My favorite pizza was pesto, artichoke hearts, feta and grilled chicken.

After eating, we all headed to the Carolina Hurricanes game, which was a nail-biter! Unfortunately, we lost in a shoot-out at the end.

Mozzarella-stuffed chicken breasts with Sauteed Spinach and Shallots

I really had no idea what to make tonight, and headed to the store with no list. Whatever I made had to have an associated lunch application, as we were having a play date tomorrow after church that I wouldn't have time to really cook for, but had promised lunch to the other Mom.

Luckily for me, my inner cook woke up and created something lovely. That hasn't been happening a whole lot lately. The recipe may look verbose, but it's not difficult.

This serves 6 for dinner -- we only had 2 of the breasts tonight and I'll detail the lunch application below for the other 4 breasts.

3 large whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts -- about 2.5 pounds
1.5 ounces basil, washed and spun dry, large leaves separated out (I can't wait for my herb garden to be producing!)
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 medium tomato, diced
Olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F with a stoneware baking sheet (preferable) or a shallow glass or metal baking dish inside.


2. Slice the mozzarella, put in a small bowl and combine with the salt, pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let marinate for a few minutes, while preparing the chicken breasts.


3. Separate the chicken breasts in the middle. Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket into each, starting at the thick end of the breast and cutting lengthwise.


4. For each breast, take a basil leaf and place one of the slices of marinated mozzarella in it and roll lengthwise, then stuff into the pocket. Repeat, so that each breast has two basil/mozzarella rolls. Make sure you have a fork to retrieve the mozzarella slices from the bowl so you don't have to use your fingers and contaminate the mozzarella with raw chicken juices.


5. When the oven is ready, spray or coat the baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Spray the breasts as well. Add the breasts shiny side up to the dish (it should sizzle) and return the sheet to the oven. Set a timer for 10 minutes.


6. Add the diced tomato to the remaining marinated mozzarella and mix thoroughly. Put this mixture on the table to be used to top the breasts.


7. When the timer goes off, use tongs to turn the chicken breasts over. Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler on high. Broil the breasts 5 minutes one side, then turn and broil a further 5 minutes on the other side.


8. While the breasts are broiling, prepare the spinach.


9. When they are done, the cheese should be melted. Remove from the sheet and pour the juices from the pan over the top.

Sauteed Spinach and Shallots

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced thinly crosswise
pinch or 2 of kosher salt
9 oz fresh spinach
1 Tbs olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar

1. Heat a large pot, preferably something like a Le Crueset on medium heat.


2. Add the olive oil and the shallots. Sauté the shallots, adding the salt, until lightly brown.


3. Add the spinach in handfuls, sautéing and wilting.


4. Splash with the vinegar, serve.

For lunch tomorrow, I intend to slice the remaining chicken breasts crosswise and serve them atop a tossed mixed greens salad with the remaining marinated mozzarella mixture.