Helen Marie

Sorry for my extended absence.

My precious mother-in-law passed away quite suddenly

after a harsh round of chemotherapy for a quick growing lung cancer.

She will be sorely missed.

What a lady.

She took 8 little kids, 6 sons and 2 daughters, away

from an abusive relationship

and raised them with the love and help

of a wonderful man, our Papa Freddie.

She was our strength and the glue that  kept our

family together.

She kept her kids on the right path with her tough love.

Gone too soon.

We love you both, Grandma and Papa.

Rest in Jesus.

Pear Preserves

Pear Preserves is probably my favorite preserves of all!

Every year around this time, I want to make Pear Preserves.

I don’t always get to, but thanks to my sweet sister-in law, Martha,

I did this year and I am so glad!

In fact, I plan on picking, peeling, and slicing some

more pears tonight!

I can’t wait to try it on some of these homemade biscuits!

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I don’t really have a recipe, but here’s what I did…

By the time I  peeled, cored,  and sliced the pears I was left with 2 ice cream buckets full.

I covered the slices with sugar and put the lids on to sit overnight.  I didn’t measure anything, just kept in mind that most people put 1 part sugar to 2 parts pears.  My friend said her mom says 1/2 cup sugar to every 1 cup of pears but that might be too much, depending on how sweet you want them.  I think I might have used 5 or so cups of sugar.

I cooked the pears about a total of 3 hours on medium high heat.  About this time, they started turning amber colored and the smaller pieces were turning translucent.   They liquid was similar to honey so I knew the pears were ready.

I then poured the  preserves into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headroom and sealed with sterilized lids.

Yield: 4 pints and 2 half-pints

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For more recipes, visit these sites…

Granny’s Pear Preserves

Pear Preserves with Lemon Slices

Southern Lady Cooks Pear Preserves

Help on my homemade biscuit quest

I’m on the quest for the perfect biscuit.

I plan on trying a new recipe on Saturday.  This cooler weather always makes me want to bake!

Do you have or know of a fabulous biscuit recipe I should try?

I’m looking for plain and simple biscuit recipes with no additions like cheese or spices…one you’d have for breakfast with your sausage gravy and eggs.  :)

Anyway, if you have a great recipe, please post the link or recipe  in the comments section.

Thanks!

Sour Cream Biscuits

September

is

National Biscuit Month

and I do love me a fluffy biscuit still warm from the oven!  Total comfort food on a crisp fall morning.

I’m on a quest to find the perfect biscuit.  One that stays fluffy and tender even after they cool off.  The biscuits that I’ve made recently are fantastic out of the oven, but after they cool down and sit a while, they get kind of grainy.  I’m thinking it might have something to do with the fat or flour used.

Recently I tried a new recipe using sour cream and was impressed with the tenderness of dough.  Topped with some apple butter,  that warm biscuit was just right along with my scrambled eggs.

Sour Cream Biscuits

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2 cups self-rising flour

3/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tablespoons water

.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour and sour cream.   Mix to a soft dough.  Add additional water if necessary.

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With well floured hands, shape dough into round biscuit shapes.  Place in greased baking pan with sides touching.  Brush biscuit tops with oil.  Bake at 450º  for 10-12 minutes.  Brush with butter before serving.

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*For this batch of biscuits, I preheated an iron skillet,  along with about 3 tablespoons of oil.  I wanted to see if the bottoms of my biscuits would be crispy…and they were!  :)

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Tip:  If you don’t have self-rising flour, use 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 3 teaspoons baking powder.

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Also check out my Southern Buttermilk Biscuit recipe.

And here’s a great low carb biscuit recipe for all my low carb fans.

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I’m linking to…