a "been-there" mom of six offers encouragement
to wives, young mothers, and those not so young,
and simple common-sense approaches to
the "ings" of life:
child-rearing (hints and helps), homemaking (all areas),
cooking (simple, cheap, and do-it-yourself)
making (toys and gifts), preparing (for the unexpected),
maintaining (sanity and peace in this increasingly crazy world) and more---
all aspects of making the most of making do on little---
and having fun in the process.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Biscuit Master Mix-----using regular on-hand pantry items

Repeat: Making your own master mixes is a great way to save money, prepare quickly, eliminate extraneous ingredients/preservatives, and tailor the mixes to your own likes and dietary needs.
Eating Never Goes Out of Style
                                                                     
The following recipe for biscuits made from a master mix
is from Make-a-Mix Cookery listed recently as one of my old standby favorites. It has been duck-tapped together and  the cover pages are missing but it is pre-1980.

The recipe I posted yesterday used dehydrated products to make "just add water" mixes. Today's is using "traditional" pantry items in the master mixes and adding perishable ingredients at the time of making the individual recipes.

Again, I am providing the biscuit recipe. As was the case with yesterday recipe, this basic mix is the start for a wide variety of baked goods---32 are listed!

Quick Mix
8-1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 cups instant nonfat dry milk
2-1/4 cups vegetable shortening

In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Blend well. With pastry blender, cut in shortening until evenly distributed. Mixture will resemble cornmeal in texture. Put in a large container. Label. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 10-12 weeks. Makes about 13 cups Quick Mix.

Variation: Use 4-1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 4-1/4 cups whole-wheat flour instead of 8-1/2 cups all-purpose flour. Increase baking powder to 2 Tablespoons.

If using Quick Mix at altitudes above 3500 feet, increase flour about 1/2 cup for better results.


Karine's Drop Biscuits
3 cups quick mix
3/4 cup milk or water
Preheat over to 450 degrees. Combine quick mix and liquid in medium bowl, stirring until just blended. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

Variations include cheese/herb biscuits, buttermilk, biscuits, country dumplings, orange biscuits, and fruit cobbler.


Never-Fail Rolled Biscuits
these light biscuits separate into layers
3 cups quick mix
2/3 cup milk or water
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine mix and liquid in medium bowl. Let dough stand 5 minutes. On a lightly floured board, knead dough about 15 times. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with floured biscuit cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on un-greased baking sheet. bake 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown.

Variations include cinnamon rolls, pizza, meat pinwheels and pot pie.

'til we eat again,
          Simply, Gail

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