Wordless Wednesday 7/31/13

Things That Make Me Smile 7/26/13

Jake (7½), Alyssa (5), Zac (3½), Tyler (1)

Yes, yes, I know today is Tuesday.There's just been some extra things - good things - going on lately that haven't left me much time to post. So, without further ado, let's Smile!

1. Jake, during a discussion about the 5 senses: "You know what else you can smell? Trouble."

2. I wasn't supposed to look in the living room as Zac was making me a present out of Legos. He walked into the kitchen and dropped his creation on the floor, breaking it into pieces. As he was reassembling it, he told me, "If you look at me, you just need to close your eyes. If you want to say 'I love you' to me, you just need to say it and close your eyes."

3. Me: "What's 6+1?"
Alyssa: "7."
Me: What's 5+2?"
Alyssa: "7."
Me: What's 0+7?"
Alyssa: "7!"
Me: What's 4+3?"
Alyssa: "7!"
Me: "What's 2+5?"
Alyssa: "7!"
Me: "What's 94+7?"
Alyssa: "7!"

4. How I found Tyler after his nap:

5.  Zac, standing behind the pantry door: "Mommy, you go try to find me in the living room."

6. Me: "Zac, did you start the dishwasher?"

Zac, hesitantly: "Um . . . I think it was Alyssa's keys."

Me: "And were you holding Alyssa's keys?"
Zac: "Yes."

7. Jake woke up and organized his sock and underwear drawer, just because he wanted to.

8.  Alyssa, looking at a globe: "I'm looking for Earth."
Me: "The whole thing is Earth."
Alyssa: "But I'm trying to find the planet where we live."
Leighton: "The whole globe is the planet. Are you trying to find our country?"
Alyssa: "Yeah!"
Jake, pointing: "It's right here."
Zac: "I'll find where Tyler lives. Tyland!"
Me: "Thailand is a real country."
Zac: "Yeah, it's where you tie yourself up."

9. Jake: "If my arm gets cut off, can I get a robot arm?"

10. Jake, about something that had happened a couple hours earlier: "I remember it like it was yesterday."


What made you smile this week?

Tasty Tuesday: Buttermilk Biscuits

Big, warm, soft buttermilk biscuits.

Eat them in the morning, slathered in gravy or eat them in the evening, alongside fried chicken.

They're pretty much perfect.

We used to buy the refrigerated biscuits in the blue can all the time. They were convenient, easy, and pretty good.

But then, years ago, I started making my own.

And I've never looked back.

Making homemade biscuits may not be as convenient as pulling a tube out of the fridge, unraveling the wrapper, whacking it on the counter, and placing the dough on a cookie sheet . . . but it's pretty close.

I toss the ingredients in my food processor, mix it up, plop it onto a cookie sheet, flatten it a little with my hands, and cut out the biscuits. Start to finish, it takes me about 5 minutes to whip up the very best biscuits. Ever.

The hardest part about it???

Trying to keep my little ones from gobbling them all up!



Notes:

• I never buy buttermilk. I measure about 1 cup of whole milk and mix in 1 tablespoon of white vinegar (or lemon juice) and leave it. After I add the other ingredients to the processor, the milk has curdled nicely, and I stir it and add it, as well.
• I love my Silpat mats and use them whenever I can. I plop the dough onto a mat, cut out the biscuits, and bake them right on the mat. There is no need to use extra flour. There is no mess. The food bakes evenly.
• Most recipes using buttermilk will include baking soda because of the acidity. I have added the baking soda to this recipe and have made different recipes altogether. The biscuits do not rise as well and are not as fluffy, in my opinion. 
• These turn out well using whole milk in place of the buttermilk.
• I almost always use butter-flavored shortening. It produces a rich, flavorful biscuit.
• I have used half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. They turn out well, but as with any whole wheat recipe, the biscuits are a little denser and not as fluffy. I highly recommend using all all-purpose.
• If the dough is too wet, add 1 teaspoon flour; if it's too dry, add 1 teaspoon water or milk. I like it a little on the sticky side. Too much flour will make the biscuits tough. If the dough sticks to my metal biscuits cutter, I shake it to get it out. I always have some residual dough on my hands when I am finished.   
• As with any dough, you do not want to over-work it. I run my food processor long enough only to combine the ingredients. After I dump it out, I pat it a few times to get it to the thickness I desire. 
• You can cut the biscuits any size. I use my 2½" or 3" (shown here) cutters. You'll know when they're done when the edges start to brown. I rarely use the timer when I make breads. I tend to just bake until my eyes tell me it's done.
• If you rub a stick of butter on the tops when they come out of the oven, they will taste like KFC's biscuits, but better.
• The biscuits start to separate across the middle. It makes it easy to pull the halves apart and add butter, jam, or gravy. Or, if you're like my hubby, you can eat them plain. (But why would you want to do that?)

Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 c  flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/3 c shortening
1 c buttermilk

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in food processor, fitted with dough blade, and mix until dough pulls away from the sides.
2. Turn out onto a baking mat, or floured surface, and pat dough out to about 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used.
3. Bake on the baking mat or an ungreased cookie sheet at 400°F for 13 to 15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

Things That Make Me Smile 7/19/13

Jake (7½), Alyssa (5), Zac (3½), Tyler (1)

Happy Monday! (Yes, those two words can go together, ha.) This past week was crazy busy as we prepared for a yard sale on Saturday. We had way too much stuff. Waaay too much. The morning was very busy as there were people here constantly, but the afternoon was quite slow. A lot of people commented that it was the most organized yard sale they had ever seen. We had signs labeling everything. Big surprise, huh? I didn't have one person ask how much something cost or where to find a certain size. We sold a lot, but still have a ton of stuff left. We're going to have another sale later this season. Thankfully, most of the work is already done!

Ok, ready to Smile?


1. Somehow, I forgot to mention this last week . . . Tyler is completely infection free again!

2. Alyssa, while wearing a water mask in the house: "You look funny!"

Me: "I look funny?"

3. Me: "What kind of granola bar would you like?"

Zac: "Mushroom."

Me, confused: ". . . S'more?"

Zac: "Yeah!"

4. Me, pulling a green pepper out of the fridge: "Oh, no, it's wrinkly."

Alyssa: "You can iron it on the ironing board."

5. Alyssa, snotty: "You're a t-o-p-n."

Jake: "Do you even know what that spells?"

Alyssa: "No."

6. Zac, about the grilled cheese sandwiches: "May I have the cheese one?"

7. Alyssa, about the grilled cheese sandwiches, because Jake doesn't like cheese on most things: "Did you put cheese on Jake's?"

8. Zac, because I set out a plate of veggies: "Cool!"

9. Jake, trying to get out of eating the rest of his dinner: "But I ate one half and two quarters."
Me: "So, you ate it all?"
Jake, thinking: ". . . Oh. No." {finishes eating it all}

10. Zac: "Were you a kid when you were little?"

11. Zac: "Mommy, you're my sweet girl."

12. Alyssa, while packing to stay at my parents': "I think I'm going to need a bigger bag. This one's going to explode soon."

13. Zac, pointing to a picture "Do you know who this is?"

Me: "That's my papa; he's my grandpa."
Zac: "No. It's Papa's dad."
Me: "Yes, Papa's dad is my grandpa."
Zac: "No, it's Papa's dad."

14. Alyssa: "Mommy, when you were a little girl, did you wonder when you were going to grow up and be a mother?"

Me: "Yes."

Alyssa: "That's what I'm doing right now!"


What made you smile this week?

Wordless Wednesday 7/17/13

Things That Make Me Smile 7/12/13

Jake (7½), Alyssa (5), Zac (3½), Tyler (1)

Happy Friday! We did a little more canning this week, made a couple pies, spent a bit of time playing outside, and spent a lot of time organizing and getting ready for a yard sale. Did you have a good week, too? Share a Smile with us!


1. Zac, flipping a coin: "Hands or tails?"

2. Jake, as I was cutting our strawberry-rhubarb pie: "I can't wait to get that on my tongue."

3. Me, racing to the door when Leighton got home: "He's my daddy!"

Zac: "No, he's my daddy!'

Me: "Ha, I got him first, so he's my daddy."

Zac: "We can share him."

Me: "We can? Oh, I guess I can share him with you."

Zac: "Yeah, 'cause I love him to pieces . . . I can have half of him and you can have half."

4.

5. Zac, because I found the train he had been looking for: "Aww, Mommy, I'm so proud of you!"

6. Zac, while eating a piece of pie: "Our next 'speriment should be putting ice cream on our pie!"

7. Alyssa: "May we have some dip?"
Me: "What do you need dip for?"
Zac: "For dipping!"

8. Jake: "How many juice boxes are left?"

Zac, looking in the fridge: "Apparently, four."

9.

10 .Tyler learned to blow on his food when it's hot.

11. Zac, because my dad has a broken foot: "Race ya!"

12. Since no channels come through our tv, all we get is the black and white static across the screen. Leighton told the kids that it's the fly races. They all sat around the tv, watching intently, trying to figure out which fly would win the race.

13. Zac, reclining the couch because I sat down after hurting my leg: "You need to 'lax, Mommy."

14. Jake, because his bandaid kept falling off: "Can't I just put duct tape on it?"


What made you smile this week?
 

Wordless Wednesday 7/10/13