Easy Roasted Broccoli

September 12, 2012 by 3 Comments

When I was a kid, I never remember thinking I really want broccoli. In fact, I don’t really remember eating it ever as a kid. The word itself had some type of unappealing association with it so we just never spoke of it. Props to my mom for not shoving it down my throat! Luckily I grew up to love it and I’ve passed on that love to my daughter. Though she won’t touch most things that are green, broccoli is something that she will gladly gobble up in a moment’s notice.

Parental mission, accomplished.

We like to make broccoli many ways around here. Steamed, chopped, swimming in cheese sauce, and in a plethora of casseroles. But mostly, it’s easiest to just roast it to go along with a meal.

When you get a good price on a head of broccoli, stock up and make it for dinner. And if you need an idea for how to make it, consider this roasting method if you haven’t tried this before. It’s quite tasty.

Cut up the head into bite-size pieces. Throw it in a bowl with some salt, garlic (oooooooh, aaaaaahhhhh), chili powder, and of course olive oil. Toss it up and pop it in the oven to get roasted and toasted.

What comes out of the oven is nothing short of amazing. Yummy, flavorful broccoli.

It’s that simple and frugal too!

Easy Roasted Broccoli
Recipe Type: Side Dish, Vegetable
Author: Pennywise Cook
This simple method for roasting broccoli makes for an easy side dish that’s full of flavor!
Ingredients
  • 4 c. Fresh Broccoli (Cut into bite-size pieces)
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt
  • 1 Tsp Chili Powder
  • 4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1/4 c. Olive Oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425°.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss well.
  3. Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes flipping once halfway through cooking.

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Incredibly Easy Homemade Peanut Butter

September 10, 2012 by 3 Comments

How was your weekend? Mine was FABULOUS! Yes, for once I have to say that every single moment was enjoyable. Friday was an impromptu family night which consisted of homemade tacos (mommy didn’t have to “cook”), settling in to watch The Lorax (highly recommended!), and finished off with sundaes complete with cherries on top. Saturday was pretty leisurely. We went to the pet shop to see the animals (cheap entertainment for sure) and ended at Chick-fil-A where we used coupons for FREE Icedreams and played in the playplace. Does a frugal family weekend get any better?

And of course, church on Sunday morning. Which I might have an update on our search coming up so be sure to look for that. Months of searching may have led us right back where we began. Funny how God works, isn’t it?

I was excited to find a deal on peanuts recently as part of the Publix BOGO sale recently. One thing on my list to try and make was peanut butter. It’s seriously been on my list for like months. Now that I’ve made it, I feel like an imbecile because of how simple it is. I would have been making my own peanut butter for months had I known how easy it really is.

THIS is all you need to make it. Peanuts (DUH), a little bit of oil (whatever kind you have: peanut, canola, vegetable, it really doesn’t matter) and a dash of salt which didn’t make it in my picture. Other optional ingredients include cocoa powder, honey, sugar, brown sugar.

You’ll also want to have a food processor and something to store your homemade peanut butter in.

See what I’m saying? Simplicity at it’s finest here folks.

I stored mine in some pint-size mason jars that I had. It’s worked out well. 1 jar of peanuts made me 2 of these jars of peanut butter.

My girls are in absolute love with this peanut butter. I even overheard Addie saying to her daddy yesterday that “I really love momma’s peanut butter. It’s goooooooooood.” I was glowing from the other room y’all. I hardly ever get compliments like that. The only criticism that I received from the hubby was that it might need just a tad bit more salt. I was holding off on too much in case it became too salty. But I know to add just a tad more next time.

Storage: Your peanut butter isn’t equipped with shelf stabilizing ingredients so it will need to be refrigerated. It will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. (If your family lets it last that long!) You can also FREEZE it! Place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. Just be sure to let it thaw before you use it again.

Are you ready to impress your family with your own homemade peanut butter?

Incredibly Easy Homemade Peanut Butter
Recipe Type: Sauce, Condiment
Author: Pennywise Cook
You’ll never believe how simple it really is to create your own peanut butter at home!
Ingredients
  • 2 Cups Unsalted, Dry-Roasted Peanuts
  • 1 Tsp Oil (peanut, canola, etc.)
  • Dash Salt
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, combine peanuts, oil, and salt. Process until desired consistency and smooth.
Notes

It may take a couple of minutes for the peanuts to come to a desirable consistency. They first get chopped, then they begin to really form a paste and then butter.

The oil is completely optional as well. If you’re going for a more natural peanut butter, the peanuts actually have their own oil so it’s not absolutely necessary to add the oil. Just makes for a smoother butter.


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Taco Stuffed Peppers

September 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Preface- Sorry for so many red pepper recipes. It was not planned this way, but makes a nice theme anyways. 🙂

Have you ever noticed how when you place the word pizza in a recipe title, it’s usually a big hit. I find that tacos are a very close second. It’s hard not to like something with the flavor of pizza or tacos inside. And when it’s time to get the kids eating a little better, you have to get creative in what you fix.

I debuted stuffed peppers with my family only within the past year. Hubby has never been fond of sweet peppers before. It’s key that the filling be really great to get him to eat it. Popping the peppers in the oven for a little bit of time before filling them will get them started in the cooking process and soften them up just a bit.

The taco filling inside these babies is SO yummy. Onions, beef (or turkey), taco seasoning, and corn provide the perfect taco-y-ness. I just love the words that I make up. Don’t you? That one almost sounds like one my 5 year old would make up!

It’s really the cream cheese that makes them so tasty. I think, anyways.

You can top them with whatever taco fixin’s you’d normally like. The sky’s the limit! I had mine with lettuce and sour cream.

One tip that seemed to make it easier for me was to cut both ends off your peppers. Normally I’d leave the bottom but because there were seeds still hiding and since I don’t like to eat the tough ends, it only made sends to cut it flat on the bottom. Just be sure to use a spatula to carefully move it onto your plate without losing the yummy filling.

These peppers weren’t as soft as I would like them to be. Next time I’ll be making sure that I leave them to cook a bit longer. I used a knife to cut the pepper into strips to eat with my filling. But in a perfect world, the pepper would be much softer and easy to use a fork to gather bites along with the filling.

Enjoy the recipe!

Taco Stuffed Peppers
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Author: Pennywise Cook
Shake up your taco night with stuffed peppers instead!
Ingredients
  • 4 Red Bell Peppers
  • 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
  • 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
  • 1 Pkg Taco Seasoning
  • 1/4 Water
  • 1 Can Whole Kernel Corn
  • 4 oz Cream Cheese
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded Reduced-Fat Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Cut ends off bell peppers and remove seeds. Place in baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.
  3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef with onion. Once browned, reduce heat. Stir in taco seasoning, water, corn, and cream cheese. Mix well and simmer until cream cheese is completely melted.
  4. Meanwhile, remove peppers from oven and fill each with equal amounts filling. Bake for 30 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and top with equal amounts shredded cheese. Return to oven to bake for another 10 minutes.
  6. Cool.

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Roasted Red Pepper Basil Meatloaf

September 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I’ve told you before how I don’t make meatloaf very often. I’m working on that now that I have been made aware that my family apparently loves it. Who knew?!

My garden has been very fertile in the basil department lately so I knew that I had to whip something up that involved sweet and fragrant basil. I’m not sure why meatloaf came to mind, but it did, so I went with it. Determined to get away from that stereotypical ketchup flavor, I decided to go with something else that shared the same fiery red color.

Red peppers. Yes. Those would be perfect.

But going off the result of a recent stuffed red pepper experiment in my home, I knew that they would have to be roasted and pretty much beyond recognition. At least for this family to eat them. So I pulverized them. Or in other words, pureed them along with the basil and made a sauce to go inside and on top of my meatloaf.

The result was nothing short of amazing. They took the bait y’all! I watched my 5 year old an entire piece of this meatloaf. I kid you not.

Albeit, she did say when she was finished “mommy, I didn’t like this meatloaf but I ate it all.” Hmmm, makes a lot of sense. It’s not as if I was forcing her to eat it! Nevertheless, my husband even ate the leftovers for lunch the next day so it must have been at least edible otherwise he would’ve left it there “for others to eat”.

The only issue I’d have to say I had with this meatloaf was the sauce needed a little pep. Maybe just a little more salt and pepper and I could’ve pureed it just a tad bit more. But aside from that, I was fairly impressed with its fanciness compared to your average ketchup meatloaf. (Even though that’s also very tasty!)

If you’re brave enough to try this one or your family, or perhaps need a change from ketchup you might try this one out!

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Basil Meatloaf
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Author: Pennywise Cook
A change from your everyday ketchup meatloaf, this one lends its fanciness from roasted red peppers and fragrant basil!
Ingredients
  • 1 lb Ground Turkey
  • 1/2 c. Onion, Finely Chopped- Minced
  • 1 Egg White
  • 4 Large Basil Leaves, Chopped (or about 3 tbsp)
  • Dash salt & pepper
  • 2 Tsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers
  • 1 and 1/2 c. Bread Crumbs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a food processor or blender, puree the red peppers and basil together along with salt & pepper.(Should make about 1 cup sauce)
  3. In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, onion, garlic, egg white, basil, bread crumbs, and 1/2 red pepper sauce.
  4. Form into a loaf in a small baking dish or loaf pan.
  5. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the other 1/2 c. red pepper sauce over top.
  6. Continue baking for another 15 minutes or so. Internal temp should reach at least 170°.
Notes

Feel free to play with the spices in this one!


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Broccoli Cheese Soup

September 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

How was your 3-day weekend? Get a little R&R in? I was kinda forced into some R&R this weekend when a very random illness struck. It wasn’t something that had been going around as far as I know, but thankfully it’s going away fairly quickly. We didn’t have big plans for the holiday so it was nice to have some time to just be lazy.

One of my favorite comfort foods is broccoli cheese soup. There is just nothing like the thick, cheesy, stick-to-your-ribs soup. Especially when it starts to get cold outside. But honestly, I could care less what time of year it is. I’ll eat it any day!

There are some really great recipes out there for this kinda soup. Just about anywhere you look, somebody has their own version. But they all come down to the same ingredients: broccoli and cheese! Most of which contain Velveeta. There’s nothing wrong with that, but sometimes I do like to skip the processed blocks of cheese and use the good stuff. So I adapted my potato soup recipe to include a little more cheese and swapped out the potatoes to create this yummy version of broccoli cheese soup!

I also added barley for added fiber!

This has got to be one of the easiest soups out there to make. It tastes like it’s slow-cooked but only takes minutes. My absolute favorite kind of recipes.

You start with a 16 oz package of frozen broccoli and carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, or broccoli and both! Whatever you can find at the store for cheap. Throw that into a pot along with a chopped onion, your barley, and can of chicken broth. The veggies just simmer away. Believe it or not, but this is the most time-consuming part of the entire process! (Besides chopping the onion, of course)

Whisk together cornstarch and part of a can of evaporated milk to begin your thickening agent and add that in.

We’re starting to get creamy y’all.

Pour in the rest of your milk and then it’s time to get cheesy.

Oh yeah. Cheeeeeeeeese always makes things better.

That’s 2 cups right there. Let that melt and you’re ready to serve! This goes really great in a bread bowl or along with some yummy rolls.

I’m not sure why it makes me happy to know that there’s no Velveeta in it, but it does! Somehow it just feels healthier.

I’m sure there’s a recipe that you love or that you’ve heard of. I urge you to give this one a try next time you’re in the mood for a warm, broccoli cheese soup.

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Recipe Type: Main Dish, Soup
Author: Pennywise Cook
It is possible to make broccoli cheese soup without Velveeta! Try this recipe for a tasty alternative!
Ingredients
  • 16 oz Package Frozen Broccoli (or variation of broccoli and cauliflower or carrots)
  • 1 Medium onion, chopped
  • 1 can Reduced-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
  • 1/4 c. Barley (Kroger has this for around $1)
  • Dash pepper
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 can fat-free evaporated milk, divided
  • 2 c. reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. In a large pot, combine frozen veggies, onion, chicken broth, barley, and pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.
  2. Combine 3 tbsp cornstarch with 1/4 c. evaporated milk. Pour into veggie mixture and stir well. Pour in the rest of the evaporated milk. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 2 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and serve!
Notes

Makes a great meal for having a vegetarian friend over!


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Filed Under: Healthy, Kid-Friendly, Main Dishes, Meatless, Soup

Oven “Fried” Pickles

August 29, 2012 by 9 Comments

Pickles.

I love the heck out of some good old fashioned dill pickles. They’ve saved me through diets when all I wanted was something to crunch that contained little calories. They’ve saved me through pregnancies when I just wanted something high in sodium. They’ve saved me through times when I just wanted to be reeeeeal bad and eat something deep fried. I’d have to say that they’ve always had my back.

My favorite way to eat pickles? Oh covered in batter and fried to a golden brown and served with a spicy ranch sauce. But since I have this slight (but I really mean huge) aversion to eating fried things, I don’t make or order them too often.

I decided I wanted some “fried” pickles but I didn’t actually want to fry them. Which usually means hello mister oven!

So to begin, we start with a pickle assembly line. Just experience from baking things with coatings on them, I knew that cornstarch was going to be necessary. Then you have your egg substitute, or regular egg if you’re feeling wild. But I promise, you won’t be able to tell if you just use the substitute. It will keep the calories lower this way. Next are a mixture of plain bread crumbs, panko breadcrumbs, and garlic powder. Then you have your pan lined with foil ready for its pickle partners!

Oh and by the way, pickles themselves are needed too. They just didn’t make it into my pictures yet. 🙂

So start off with dipping your pickle in the cornstarch, making sure to shake off the excess.

Take your cornstarched pickle and dredge it through the egg.

Here comes the crunchy part. Then roll it around in the breadcrumbs and place it on the foil lined baking sheet.

Oh look. Now you have all your ducks pickles in a row. Now bake those ducks pickles!

I felt no guilt at all indulging in these “fried” pickles. The pickles themselves are practically calorieless and the breading is used in moderation making these are great snack even for the serious dieter. Plus, the only cost that I had was buying the pickles themselves. They were $1 at Aldi so those didn’t even break the bank. Other than that, you might even have all the ingredients in your pantry right now.

Check out the recipe below.

Oven “Fried” Pickles
Recipe Type: Snack, Appetizer,
Author: Pennywise Cook
You can have the best of both worlds with these oven “fried” pickles. Satisfy your fried pickle craving without the shame or guilt.
Ingredients
  • 1 Jar Dill Pickle Spears, Drained and dried well on paper towels
  • 4 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1/2 c. Egg Substitute
  • 4 Tbsp Panko Breadcrums
  • 4 Tbsp Plain Breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a shallow dish, mix together breadcrumbs and garlic powder. Place the egg in another shallow bowl and the cornstarch in another shallow bowl. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  2. Coat the spear in cornstarch, then shake off excess. Dredge through the egg substitute, then coat with the breadcrumbs.Place on baking sheet.
  3. Once all around on the sheet, very lightly spray the tops. Bake for 12 minutes turning them once every 4 minutes (total of 3 times) so that each side (there are 3!) gets a good brown.
  4. Serve with your favorite low-cal ranch and you have yourself a snack!
Notes

This would also work with the sandwich slices or regular chip versions. However, be prepared for it to take forever to dredge and dip!


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Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

August 28, 2012 by 2 Comments

There’s a time and a place for soup. At least at my house it’s that way. When planning meals, soup is never an option. I honestly think that my family would rather eat cardboard than eat such a thing called soup. It’s not because soup is such a bad thing. It’s probably just because when put up against a hearty casserole or grilled steak, soup just doesn’t compare. And therefore usually ends up being bypassed and never even a consideration. This is something that I’d loved to change here in my family.

I love soup! For many reasons too. You can make huge amounts at once, it freezes well, and best of all it’s cheap to make! All of my favorite traits of a good meal. So when I came across this Weight Watchers Cheeseburger Soup recipe, I knew I had to make it.

It’s contains the word, cheeseburger. I knew my family would have to love it.

It’s really easy to make. I healthified mine up a bit with ground turkey in place of the beef. The fam didn’t even know it. I take that back. They know me enough by now that all I use is ground turkey so maybe they did know. Either way, they didn’t care! It turned out really yummy and there are plenty of reasons why I love this particular soup. Not only was it cheap, but I made it in the crockpot so there was no slaving over the stove all evening.

Not to mention that it’s low-calorie. I mean come on, something that the family will eat that’s actually low-cal too? It’s a winner!

I made a few small changes to the recipe and it turned out really good. Mine doesn’t look near as yummy as theirs does, but I can assure you that it was just as tasty I’m sure!

 

Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers.

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup
Author: Adapted from Weight Watchers
A meal that the whole family will love, this cheeseburger soup is easy and low-calorie too!
Ingredients
  • Cooking Spray or Crockpot Liner
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
  • 1 lb Ground Turkey (see notes)
  • 2 Tbsp Flour
  • 3 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (see notes)
  • 1 c. Reduced Fat Evaporated Milk
  • 8 oz Cubed Cheese (I used Colby Jack)
  • 1/2 Tsp Paprika
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • Tortilla Chips for crumbling on top
Instructions
  1. Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Saute garlic and onions until tender. Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray and pour the garlic and onions into it.
  2. In same skillet, brown the ground turkey and break into small crumbles as it cooks. Pour off any grease and place into slow cooker.
  3. In a cup, combine 2 tbsp flour with 1/2 cup broth until there are no more lumps.Pour into the same skillet. Then add remaining 2 and 1/2 cup broth.Bring to a simmer making sure to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Pour into the slow cooker.
  4. Add evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, and salt & pepper to the slow cooker and stir. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
  5. Serve with broken up chips on top.
Notes

I used a pound of ground turkey in this soup, but after making it and seeing how “soupy” it actually was, I would probably add another 1/2 pound next time. If you like your soups like this meaty, you might consider it.

This recipe originally called for chicken broth. I think that I will try part beef broth next time since after all, it is cheeseBURGER soup. Seems to me there needs to be more beefiness.

And honestly, the picture of this soup does not do it justice. It’s a lot more appetizing than the picture lets on. 🙂

Just notes from my brain about this dish! Enjoy!


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Cheesy Broccoli Tuna Casserole

August 27, 2012 by 2 Comments

Today I’m going to address a meaty ingredient that folks often overlook when it comes to making meals.

Canned tuna.

No, it’s not glamorous. Quite the contrary, the very thought of it is not appealing at all to me. When I pop open a can, I feel like I’m about to feed a cat, not make dinner. But undeniably, it’s a cheap meat. I don’t really mind the taste, as long as it’s covered with cheese or mayonnaise or mustard. I even love a good old-fashion tuna sandwich every now and then. Will my husband eat one? No. Will my kiddo eat one? No.

Enter Cheesy Broccoli Tuna Casserole. I adapted this recipe a little from this cookbook.

I’ll go ahead and warn you though, if you have tuna haters who can’t stand tuna, this probably won’t change their tune. It’s not one of those kinda casseroles. But it is quite tasty and a great way to save a little money using affordable pasta, meat, and veggies.

One of my favorite things about this dish is that you can microwave it instead of firing up the oven. That’s always a plus to me.

It’s funny, my daughter was eating it and she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was in it. She was blind-sided by the yummy cheese and broccoli (this is what makes this one so sneaky!) and didn’t realize that there was tuna inside. She then said “Ew, fish!” and gave me the oh-so-famous “I don’t like it.”. I told her to just pick out what she didn’t like. She once again stated that she didn’t like the tuna part.

Later on, washing the dishes I found nothing but pieces of mushroom on her plate. She didn’t even know that she was actually eating the tuna and not eating the mushrooms. So the moral of this story is that from now on, I’ll make this dish without mushrooms.

And p.s.- be prepared to have your entire kitchen smell like tuna. If you figure out a way to avoid that, please let me know!

Cheesy Broccoli Tuna Casserole
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Author: Adapted from 366 Low-Fat Brand-Name Recipes in Minutes Cookbook
Affordable canned tuna makes up a very simple yet tasty supper!
Ingredients
  • 10- 12 oz Wide Egg Noodles
  • 10.75 oz Can of Cheddar Cheese Soup
  • 5 oz Evaporated Milk
  • 1 tsp Onion Flakes
  • 2 Cans Tuna packed in water, drained
  • 4 oz Mushroom Pieces, Drained (optional)
  • 16 oz Frozen Broccoli, Thawed (I used steamfresh)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, combine cheddar cheese soup and evaporated milk. Add onion flakes and mushrooms.
  3. Layer 1/2 the noodles in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Crumble 1 can of tuna over the top of the noodles. Add 1/2 of the broccoli and then pour 1 cup of the sauce on top of that. Repeat layers ending with the rest of the sauce.
  4. Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese if desired.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes.
  6. Microwave version- assemble as above. Then microwave on high for 8 minutes. Then reduce power to 50% and microwave another 5 minutes.

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3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

August 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

So yes, this isn’t a picture of candy bars. But you’ll be happy to know that it is a picture of something just as incredible. These biscuits were my very first biscuit success! A friend of mine who blogs at Thrifty T’s Treasures recently shared a biscuit fail of her’s. Let’s face it, it’s not easy making perfectly fluffy biscuits.

They never said biscuit-making would be easy. Isn’t that a famous quote? No? Well it should be. Because it’s the truth! Pillsbury has made life too easy on us. (Never thought I’d say THOSE words)

But I also don’t want to spend my entire afternoon in the kitchen creating the perfect biscuit dough, either. This momma has plenty to keep her occupied without slaving over biscuits. So I was very excited to find this recipe over at Fun Cheap Free. And I figured they were worth sharing because A) I was able to snap pretty narly pictures of them and B) they were actually edible and C) Addie just loved them and she’s my biggest critic.

The ease of this recipe is what makes it so good. That and the fact that it only contains 3 easy ingredients.

Start with 3 cups of self-rising flour. The self-rising part is very important so don’t use any other kind.

Or if you don’t have the self-riding kind, make your own self-rising flour with this recipe:

1 c. flour
1 & 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Make a well in the middle with your wooden spoon and pour in 1/4 cup vegetable oil. Or canola oil, or whatever kind oil you have.

Next, slowly add in 1 & 1/4 cup buttermilk and then using a fork stir to combine. Don’t worry about it being all lumpy.

Lose the fork and then use the two best cooking utensils that God gave you, your hands. Knead the dough until well combined and then turn out onto a floured surface.

Roll it out, but not too thin. You want them pretty thick in order for them to rise a bit and have some fluff to them. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out circles and place them on your baking sheet.

Place them on the stove while you let your oven preheat to 400 degrees. This gives them some time to rise a bit. But just being honest, mine rose very little and they still turned out fine.

I also put a little square of butter on each of mine before I placed then in the oven. And then when I got them out of the oven I sprayed them with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Neither of those are required, but make them extra good.

Bake for 10 minutes.

All you need is a good old cup of coffee and some jam to go with your biscuit and you’re set.

These seriously were the easiest biscuits I’ve ever made. While they are buttermilk biscuits and don’t have that buttery taste like some biscuits, you can add whatever you like to them to make them yummy.

I think they would make great biscuits for making and freezing sausage biscuits!

3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
Recipe Type: Breakfast, Side, Bread
Author: Fun Cheap Free
Ingredients
  • 3 c. Self-Rising Flour + extra for counter
  • 1/4 c. Vegetable Oil
  • 1 & 1/4 c. Buttermilk
Instructions
  1. Place 3 c. flour in a large bowl. Using your hand or a wooden spoon, make a well in the middle. Pour oil into well.
  2. Slowly add the buttermilk and use a fork to combine. Don’t worry if it’s lumpy. Use your hand to knead it into a dough ball.
  3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out leaving it fairly thick. Use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out circles and then place them on a baking sheet.
  4. Place on stove to rise while you wait for your oven to preheat to 400 degrees.
  5. Once preheated, (optional- place a tiny square of butter on top of each), bake for 10 minutes or until starting to get golden.
Notes

Her recipe said these only make about 6 or 7 biscuits, but I was able to get about 24 of them out of it. Mine were a lot smaller than hers, I’m sure. But they were plenty big for us.


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Homemade Butterfingers

August 21, 2012 by 7 Comments

We’re now on day number 2 of our CandyBar Week here at Pennywise Cook. It’s great making cakes and cookies and casseroles and all, but there is great satisfaction that comes when you have a batch of homemade candybars laying around. I’ve been using them for more than just eating by themselves. I’ve thrown a few in homemade ice cream a couple of times. They also make great bribery tools for the kids. And the husband…

Today’s homemade candybar is Butterfinger! Oh yeah, that’s right. Peanut Buttery, orange goodness. You might just be surprised by what exactly goes into these.

It’s possible that you may need to have a seat before you continue reading.

Almost everyone that tasted these could not guess what it was that these are made of. But they ALL said they taste exactly like the real thing.

It all starts with the famous fall candy, candy corn. I’m a big fan of it myself, but just like coconut I know there are some who don’t like it. It doesn’t matter. If they like Butterfingers, they will like your candybars even though they contain candy corn. If you’re concerned about whether that will make a difference, just don’t tell them. It can be our little secret.

But you might just be dying to share this 3-INGREDIENT recipe with everyone.

It starts with 1 pound of candy corn getting all smooth and melty in the microwave. I was a little surprised, but this was my first experience melting candy corn. It was fun. I was surprised at how quick it went back to being firm again.

Here’s a view of the melted candy corn awaiting the arrival of peanut butter. That’s the next step once you get it melted. Stir in a 16 oz jar of creamy peanut butter.

Then it’s time to pour it into a square pan to freeze. I used another piece of wax paper to smooth the top out and create a perfect square. I didn’t freeze it with the wax paper on top.

No need to freeze it long. Just let it get firm for about 15 minutes. You’ll find that the candy corn really firms up well.

Cut it into squares. You decide how big. Just eyeball it. I tried to make mine smaller so I could eat more. 🙂

Then it’s all a matter of using two forks to roll the squares through melted chocolate wafers. When I started, mine were really ugly y’all. But as I went on, I got better and they began to look fairly similar to a candybar. I even used my fork to drizzle little lines on the top to mimic the real thing. Not perfect, but I think it was a nice touch.

And they turned out SO good! They taste so incredibly similar that it’s crazy. I was very impressed with them and I know you will be too!

Let me know if you make them!

Recipe adapted from Plain Chicken.

Homemade Butterfingers
Recipe Type: Dessert, Candy, Snacks
Author: Adapted from Plain Chicken
With just 3 simple ingredients, you can create your very own Butterfinger candybars!
Ingredients
  • 1 Pound Candy Corn
  • 16 oz Jar Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 2 Cups Chocolate Wafer Melts
Instructions
  1. Melt candy corn in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir then continue microwaving in 15-second increments until melted completely. Stir between each interval.
  2. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth. Pour into a lined or greased 8×8 square baking dish. Freeze for about 10 minutes. Place wax paper onto a cookie sheet.
  3. Cut into small squares. Melt chocolate wafers according to package. Using two fork, roll the square into chocolate coating all sides. Lay on wax paper and allow to firm. Freeze for about 10 minutes once all are coated.

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