Old Timey Biscuits

Ok, I'm a southern girl. Well, country, southern, however you want to describe us in Arkansas. I've been all over the internet, watched Paula Deen (the queen of southern cooking??) but she doesn't cook like my Mamaw did, and so I'm going to venture to say where I'm from is considered something different. After all, we aren't in the deep South and basically we were a poor state for most of our time after Statehood. Country, backwoods, with influences from the western side, I don't know how else to describe it. Therefore, looking at recipes for "Southern biscuits", I had to post my own that I learned from my grandmother. She grew up in the Arkansas River bottom farmlands, picked cotton as a child and had very little since her childhood was in the middle of the Great Depression. So I am wondering since there was very little money, if that is why these biscuits do not have any butter or shortening because that was an expensive commodity back then. Nevertheless, these are wonderful biscuits, with great texture and tender middle.

Biscuits: 2 cups all purpose flour; 3 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp baking soda. Stir together to combine.

Next - stir in enough buttermilk until the dough is just combined. DO NOT over knead - this will make your biscuits tough.

I put the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in just enough flour to where I can pat it out with my hands to about a1/4" thick or so. Again, only use minimal kneading. Sometimes I even let the dough be sticky to avoid over working.

Put enough bacon grease to coat the bottom of your biscuit pan (the darker the pan, the browner the biscuits will get on the bottom). Dab the grease on top of the biscuits to let them brown as well. If you don't have a biscuit cutter handy, use the edge of a drinking glass that is about the same size you'd like your biscuits to be. That is what I used here.

Bake for 10 -15 minutes (mine took 15 minutes) at 450F. Nice fluffy, white biscuits. I do not put any shortening or butter in my biscuit dough, because I like the texture of these better.

And voila! These are the best biscuits, chewy, nice texture and goes well with molasses!

Vintage Flashback

So this past Easter, me and my husband wanted to wear hats to church service. No one wears hats anymore and it's a shame. I love hats! So we dressed up, got lots of nice compliments, and now I want to wear them more than just on special occasions.

When we were taking pictures at my parents, there was one that struck a chord in me. It reminded me of my grandparents engagement picture some 75 years ago or so. I liked it so much, I played around with it in black and white, vintage, etc. and made a side by side comparison.

Clean Eating Power Balls

This is the second time I've made these tasty little snacks. The first time I went exactly by the recipe in the Clean Eating Cookbook Stripped! The second time, I made a few changes, which I think make them taste a wee bit better. Even Brady likes them now, which is amazing since he usually just snarls his nose up at anything "healthy". Here's how I did it:

NO-BAKE POWER BALLS From the Clean Eating Cookbook Stripped!

1/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
1 scoop of chocolate whey protein powder*
1/4 cup millet
2 TB ground flaxseed
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 TB dark molasses
1 TB agave nectar*
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
1/8 cup chia seeds*
1/4 cup semi sweet dark chocolate chips*

Mix all ingredients together and form into balls. I ended up making about 15, which were rounded tablespoons. The chocolate and peanut butter together, with the chocolate chips - OH MY!!

*modified

Calories: 139
Fat: 6.7
Carbs: 16.8
Protein: 5

Life Lesson #24

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT, THINK AND DO

I hear, see and read about everyone wanting a quick fix, miracle drug, fad diet, fairy dust or other nonsensical remedies for their bad habits. Just because you KNOW it's bad to eat donuts, cake and candy bars, doesn't meant that translates into a skinny waistline. I know it's better for me to workout, but that doesn't help me. I have to get my rear into gear, get up, put my big girl panties on and go and work my butt off for an hour everyday. I also have to eat healthy. What you buy and put into your pantry, you will go and eat.

Do I want to eat chocolate cake and ice cream? Sure! But I don't. I watch what I buy, because that translates into what I'm going to put into my mouth. Our preacher talked to us today about this very thing. Knowing and Doing are two different things. Just as we know that the scriptures tell us what to do, doesn't help us get it done. We have to take the extra step and go and work for it. This starts with our thinking, with our daily activities, with our lifestyle, with our getting things right in our head and going out and doing it.

You don't have time? Make time. I get up an hour early every morning so I can workout when I know that the afternoon will be busy. I take extra time out on Sundays to cook meals for myself during the week because it's alot about the fast and easy. Make the decisions, make the choices, but then take the extra step and work for it. Throw out the garbage in your pantry so it won't tempt you, buy healthy snacks and foods so that when you do have a craving, the only choices you have will be good ones.

I'm taking my preacher's words to heart. I'll be making time and effort into doing what I need to do and just doing it.

Starting my final recovery week before hitting P90X2 - Phase 3. This final phase I'm going ALL IN!

I've just a few pounds of fat to whittle down around my waist, and that boils down to diet. I'm going to do this belly fat elimination diet I've comp up with. I bought all my foods, cooked my breakfast muffins (basically egg white turkey omelets in a muffin), boiled some potatoes, going to add in salmon, grapefruits, almonds, greek yogurt, oats, and veggie drinks, along with my salads, shakes and baked sweet potatoes I already eat. 5 weeks of HARDCORE working out (at least one hour to 1.5 hours everyday) and P90X2 will be complete!

I will then take another week off, and either will start X2 over again, or go back to the original P90X. I might look at other Beachbody workouts, such as Turbo Fire, or Insanity, but I will be doing something. I love X2 for the core and stability workouts that I really need, though. I can't wait to see my final results!