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.