menu plan: mom's biscuits

without a doubt, my favorite food in the entire world is my mother's biscuits.  i die for these things.  she didn't make them for me the last trip, so this time i took it upon myself to learn how to make them myself.  only three ingredients required: 2 cups of self rising flour, 3/4 cup of milk, and 1/4 cup of crisco (okay, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, but i forgot to photograph that and i forgot to put in in the second batch i made and they tasted just fine, so i suppose it's not really necessary).

now my entire life i've heard the story about how my mom's heart's desire as a teenager was to learn to make biscuits.  how she tried and tried and was never successful and had to keep throwing them away until finally her best friend, betty alderman, took her to her old maiden aunts' house and they showed her how to do it.  imagine my SHOCK when i asked mom to show me and she had to double check a couple things in her cookbook.  what?!!!  to be fair, it's that red gingham one that everyone's mom had.  i've learned my grandma's amazing peanut butter cookie recipe is from this thing too (crisco is the answer to all that is delicious, i think).

cool photo.  cool tool.  i wish i had one, but sifting is optional too, i think.  especially in using the self rising flour (instead of all purpose plus baking soda) and forgetting the salt.

my mom doesn't roll them out or drop them either.  after kneading the dough thoroughly in her hands, she pulls off bits and rolls them into slightly flattened balls.  also, we figured the recipe was much too high.  i slightly burnt the bottoms of my first batch (at 450) but the second batch (at 400) was perfection.

i love these things.  they are so good with lots of buter (goes great with the crisco, i suppose.  yea, my mom still calls it lard, heh).  mom likes them with jelly.  dad likes them with sausage patties.  they are a little crispy on the outside and soft and mealy on the inside (don't think they're quite right for gravy, luckily, i've never been a biscuits and gravy girl).  i also remember mom making a little larger version with a touch of sugar for strawberry shortcake.  so good.  can't wait to make these again at home.  maybe this weekend.  heaven.

this week's menu plan:
sunday - dinner out
monday - spaghetti
tuesday - chicken, mac&cheese, salad
wednesday - subway (they're having meatloaf at church., yuck)
thursday - tortilla soup
friday - open
saturday - biscuit breakfast extravaganza!