biscuits
Posted: January 29, 2017 Filed under: breakfast, sides | Tags: beer, bisquick, butter, cheddar cheese, garlic salt, sugar Leave a comment
Two Birds. One Biscuit.
I love it when you can enjoy two great things from one! Like:
- Two tasty recipes that are born from one simple ingredient.
- A history lesson served with a delicious slice of quiche lorraine.
- And this biscuit recipe – a fast way to make some homemade biscuits that are infused with the taste of beer. Why just drink a beer when you can eat one, too! Read more about cooking with beer!
foodie tips
❤ If you don’t want a hint of sweet in your biscuits you can dial back on the sugar to 1 tablespoon… or none. But as Joe taught me… “It’s not nice to fool with Betty’s Cook Nook!” You can always adjust after you make *and try* a recipe the first time.
❤ Use your favorite flavor of beer. I used what I had in my refrigerator’s drink drawer which was Modelo Especial. My Mom “Betty” would have Pearl Light handy. And my Dad would be alongside to share a Budweiser with you. Thirsting for more beer? Enjoy some vintage beer commercials below!
❤ I brushed some melted Falfurrias butter on my biscuits and gave them a slight sprinkle of garlic salt. For a second round of biscuits I added a handful of cheddar cheese and they tasted great! The cheesy biscuit pic is below.
Cooking with your fur babies makes everything better. Shown here is my amazing Chesapeake Bay Retriever, “Lucca.”
He has his eyes on the prize!
i. ingredients
2 cups | bisquick
2 tablespoons | sugar
½ can | beer
optional: to serve | butter
optional: to serve | dash of garlic salt
optional: ½ – 1 cup | cheddar cheese, grated
Using a cookie scoop makes biscuit-making a snap!
A scan of Mom’s original biscuit recipe!
ii. what to do
0. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
1. In a medium-sized bowl add the bisquick, sugar and beer. Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until well combined.
2. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a prepared cookie sheet.
I used a cookie dough scoop to keep things consistent in size. If you want your biscuits a little taller than they are wide you can also scoop the batter into a prepared muffin tin (sprayed with Pam baking spray)
3. Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately alongside your favorite breakfast spread.
Yields: About 10 biscuits!
Betty’s Son
Founder and “Nostalgic Food Blogger” of Betty’s Cook Nook
Everything’s betta’ with chedda’!
burger pizza
Posted: April 11, 2016 Filed under: casseroles and one-dish meals | Tags: basil, bisquick, garlic salt, ground chuck, oregano, parsley, swiss cheese, tomato sauce, vegetable oil Leave a comment
Let’s Eatsa The Pizza
As a self-proclaimed pizza junky my at-home pizza-like objects often take a variety of forms involving Boboli crust, a nice slice of bread topped with Joe’s Red Sauce or this home grown recipe for Trader Joe’s Bacon Cheese Bread. No matter the form the cheesy, savory taste of pizza is always a delight, morning or night.
It wasn’t until my first trip to Italy that I discovered I actually prefer thin crust pizza topped with a few simple ingredients. Sorry, cheese-stuffed crust, deep-dish gooey pie!
This burger pizza recipe surprised both Joe and I – we agreed it was a bit like the home grown Boboli pizza of the 1970s. But before we dive into how to make a slice of this burger topped piggy pie let’s enjoy a little story.
Burgertime … In The Beginning
Following our family’s Pong and Atari 2600 digital scores, in walked ColecoVision. My Mom “Betty” and I spent many mind-numbing moments playing our hearts away in front of the likes of Dig Dig, Frogger, and BurgerTime. Let’s have a brief look at some of the BurgerTime action:
Wow. Chef eating pickles, eggs, hot dogs brought to life in cutting edge ROM graphics. Exciting, huh? Hah! More than 30 years later I still have my Coleco game console including my BurgerTime cartridge, which shows my inner love of food-related fancies. Anyone game for a BurgerTime playoff?
foodie tips ~
❤ We didn’t see instructions for how to prepare 1 cup of biscuit mix so we got as close as we could – we used 1 cup Bisquick brand mix plus ¼ cup whole milk to mix. Also, we added a tad more biscuit mix to dust our pastry/cutting board.
❤ Out of Bisquick? Try this substitute for 1 cup of Bisquick mix: 1 cup flour + 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder +½ teaspoon salt + 1 tablespoon of shortening. Mix it all up and voilà!
❤ Mom’s recipe doesn’t specify this but we browned our ground chuck before topping and baking the pizza.
❤ I thought to use fresh herbs but I was corrected. “Dried is what would have been used,” Joe said. I agreed.
i. ingredients
1 cup | packaged biscuit mix (most commonly known in the 1970s as bisquick)
¼ cup | whole milk (if following the foodie tip above)
to coat dough | wesson oil
½ pound | ground chuck, browned (see foodie tip above)
to taste | salt, pepper and garlic salt
½ teaspoon | oregano or basil (we used oregano but I love me some basil)
8 ounce can | tomato sauce
1 tablespoon | parsley, chopped
¼ pound | swiss cheese, cut into 1-inch strips
ii. what to do
1. Prepare dough according to package directions (or my above foodie tip).
2. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece to fit the bottom and sides of the pie pans. Place in pan and brush with the oil.
3. Put half of the remaining ingredients on each of the pies in the following order: crumble the ground chuck evenly over the dough, sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic salt and oregano or basil. Cover with tomato sauce and parsley. Arrange the swiss cheese strips on top, like a spoke of a wheel.
4. Bake in a 400°F preheated oven about 20 minutes or until brown and cheese has melted.
Yields: 2 delicious pizzas
~ Patrick
Betty’s Son
Founder and “Nostalgic Food Blogger” of Betty’s Cook Nook
A Scan Of My Mom “Betty’s” Burger Pizza Recipe
onion lover’s twist
Posted: May 19, 2015 Filed under: appetizers, sides | Tags: bacon, butter, cheese, egg, flour, garlic salt, ham, milk, onion, paprika, parmesan cheese, poppy seeds, salt, sesame seeds, sugar, yeast Leave a comment
Are You Bready For This?
After setting my appetite on making this twisted bread, I realized that Mom’s cut-out recipe had a seriously odd shape and some of the article was missing (see the original far below). I flipped the time-worn clipping over and realized that Mom must have really cut out the recipe on the reverse as the shape and article size were spot on. Finger to forehead!
An Artist’s Rendering Of The 1968 World’s Fair in San Antonio
What was on the back, er front, of the recipe? A 1970s story about NIOSA which included a recipe for Quiche Lorraine – a dish that garnered serious street cred at the 1968 World’s Fair held in my hometown of San Antonio. H.R. Pufnstuf debuted at the fair – something I just learned!
A few words about this recipe: I was super-surprised to learn that the recipe’s creator – Mrs. Nan Robb – won $25,000 for the recipe … in 1970!
$25,000 is a lot of money today. So while I joked about eating $25,000 bread, today I found out that after inflation, in 2015, $25,000 of 1970 money is really worth about $155,000! For real!
So now you have a funny story to serve along with this bread!
foodie tips ~
❤ I’ve had a few foodie fails here at Betty’s Cook Nook. My first attempt at making the dough for this recipe is one of them! Turns out the yeast I had on hand was old and after mixing everything together I think the bread actually fell rather than rose. LOL. So make sure and score some fresh yeast from the store to ensure your bread will rise to the rooftops.
❤ Feeling a little insecure about my ability to rise bread, I resorted to some online research to look for tips. Warm ovens and heating pad suggestions aside, I netted out with boiling some water in a glass measuring cup to warm my microwave. I covered my dough-filled bowl with a towel, inserted it into the microwave along with the water and let it do its thing for an hour. The dough more than doubled in size. Magic!
❤ You can easily half this recipe. What I wound up with was about the size of a boogie board. You can also make two “half-sized” loaves by cutting the dough strips in half before braiding – what better way to give a $12,500, er $77,500 gift (post inflation) to a friend?!
❤ I’m not going to point out the obvious but since I obviously pointed something out … you can introduce any of your favorite ingredients into the filling for this twisted bread recipe. I’m thinking of ham and cheese or bacon and maybe a little scallion.
i. ingredients
for the dough:
1 package | active dry yeast
¼ cup | warm water
4 cups | flour (separated into two 2 cup piles)
¼ cup | sugar
1 ½ teaspoons | salt
½ cup | hot water
½ cup | whole milk
¼ cup | butter, softened (Mom’s Mom “Nanny” always insisted on Falfurria’s brand butter)
1 | cage free egg
for the filling:
¼ cup | butter (you know what to do)
1 cup | onion, finely chopped (we used yellow)
1 tablespoon | parmesan cheese, grated (we used 2-3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon | sesame seeds or poppy seeds (we used sesame)
1 teaspoon | garlic salt
1 teaspoon | paprika
ii. what to do
1. Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside. That was easy!
2. In a large mixer bowl dissolve the yeast in warm water. There’s no need to sift the flour – add 2 cups of the flour to the yeast mix (reserving the 2 cups of flour for later), and add the sugar, salt, water, milk, butter and egg. Blend at low speed until moistened then crank up the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. By hand, stir in the remaining 2 cups flour to form a soft dough. Mix it well! Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place until light and it has doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
3. While the dough is doing it’s thing let’s make the filling. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining filling ingredients above and mix well. Let rest.
4. After the dough has risen, stir it down. Transfer from bowl then toss it around on a floured surface until no longer sticky. Roll the dough out to a 18″ x 12″ rectangle. Cut the dough into three 18″ x 4″ strips.
5. Spread each strip with the filling mixture, making sure to leave about a half inch around all edges filling-less so you’ll be able to pinch and seal the edges together (you’ll want them sticky). Start with the 18″ side and roll each strip up and press/seal the edges together so the filling is safe inside the doughy roll-up.
6. On your prepared cookie sheet, braid the 3 rolls together. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until light and doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
7. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
I loved this bread warm and fresh out of the oven. You could also slice it to make a savory sandwich bread.
~ Patrick
Betty’s Son
Founder and “Nostalgic Food Blogger” of Betty’s Cook Nook
Here’s a scan of Mom’s original recipe.
I joked above about the odd shape of this cut out. Here’s another Betty’s Cook Nook recipe with a funky shape!
Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!
It’s not a chicken dinner per se but today is your lucky day – I’m posting the reverse side of the Onion Lover’s Twisted Bread recipe! Go on, click on it for a larger view of what’s coming next to Betty’s Cook Nook!
beef polenta pie
Posted: April 12, 2015 Filed under: appetizers, casseroles and one-dish meals | Tags: bread crumbs, celery salt, cornmeal, egg, garlic, garlic salt, green pepper, ground beef, hot pepper sauce, mushrooms, onion, processed american cheese, tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce Leave a comment
A Pie To Try
Mom clipped this recipe from the April 1976 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I was just cough-cough-9-years-old-cough-#omg-gasp at the time. In the original recipe scan below you can read the story about how this recipe was chosen for the “He Cooks” section of the magazine.
While my first attempt at this recipe didn’t present as beautifully as I had hoped, it was surprisingly tasty. Mastering my Nikon DSLR is a constant work in progress so I’ll plan on another photo session when I make this tasty dish again.
foodie tips ~
❤ Looking for polenta in the ingredient list? You won’t find it there labeled as such, but cornmeal is often used to make the Italian dish, so there you have it! Besides, eating “Beef Cornmeal Pie” just doesn’t sound as tasty. To learn more about the differences (or not) between polenta and cornmeal visit this nice article I discovered.
❤ Me gusto processed American cheese. We used Velveeta slices for the polenta pie topper then later revisited the article and saw the stacked pyramid shape (below) which had more foodie flair than our cheese-flung approach. I think next time I make this I will grate cheddar or mozzarella to better coat the top of the pie.
❤ If you don’t want to make the “peppy sauce” below, you can substitute it with your favorite homemade or jarred sauce. Here’s one of mine. We preferred doubling the peppy sauce recipe to yield 2 cups of sauce. I guess I’m a saucy kinda guy.
i. ingredients
½ pound | ground beef
5 ounces (about 2 cups) | fresh mushrooms, chopped
¾ cup | green pepper, chopped
½ cup | onion, chopped
1 clove | garlic, minced
1 | cage free egg, beaten
¾ cup | soft bread crumbs
1 teaspoon | salt
½ teaspoon | dried oregano, crushed
⅛ teaspoon | fresh cracked black pepper
few drops | bottled hot pepper sauce
¾ cup | cornmeal
¾ teaspoon | salt
2 cups | water
3 slices | processed American cheese
for the peppy tomato sauce topping:
8 ounce can | tomato sauce
⅛ teaspoon | garlic salt
⅛ teaspoon | celery salt
dash | worcestershire sauce
ii. what to do
1. Make the beef mixture: In a 10-inch skillet, cook the ground beef, mushrooms, green pepper, onion and the garlic until beef is browned and the veggies are tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano, pepper and the hot pepper sauce. Combine this mixture with the meat mixture. Turn into an ungreased 9-inch pie plate and set aside.
2. Make the cornmeal mixture: In a medium saucepan combine the cornmeal, ¾ teaspoon salt and the water. Cook and stir over medium heat until it’s thick and bubbly. Spread this mixture atop the meat mixture that’s been waiting for you in the pie plate. Cover with foil then bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes. Uncover the pie and top it with the cheese. Return the pie to the oven until the cheese melts, about 3-5 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
3. Make the peppy tomato sauce (if not using your own sauce substitute): Combine the tomato sauce, garlic salt, celery salt and the Worcestershire sauce. Heat through. Makes about 1 cup of sauce.
4. To serve: Cut your polenta pie into your desired wedge and top with the sauce.
Makes 4 servings
~ Patrick
Betty’s Son
Founder and “Nostalgic Food Blogger” of Betty’s Cook Nook
Here’s a scan of Mom’s recipe clipping (note the time worn folds in the paper). This recipe has a great intro story I hope you read. Note: The recipe’s author, Stephen Braitman, is wearing a button that I’m pretty sure reads “I’m An Advocate For Women”. Right on, Stephen! :)
crabbie canapés
Posted: February 25, 2015 Filed under: appetizers, meats poultry and fish, seafood | Tags: butter, cheese spread, crabmeat, english muffins, garlic salt, lawry's seasoned salt, mayonnaise, shrimp Leave a comment
Fresh From The Sea : Canned Crab
Per Wiki a canapé is a type of hors d’œuvre, a small, prepared and usually decorative food, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite. The name comes from the French word for “couch”, drawing on the analogy that the garnish sits atop the bread as people do a couch.
So let’s read between the lines – you eat these canapés with your fingers while sitting on the couch? Oui, oui, parfait – yes, yes, perfect! I’m in!
You can read more about my family’s love for the Texas Coast here … including some nuggets about why I’m not a huge fan of seafood. But I have to admit – these were quite good and while you eat hors d’oeuvres in one bite the two of us almost ate all 36 canapés in one sitting. That says a lot! #cryforhelp
Snap, snap – let’s get to this recipe (pun intended)!
foodie tips ~
❤ Canned crab? Yeah, all I can say is “it was the 1970s.” A time before everything farm-to-fork fresh was expected. The 70s were a time when speed to market (or in this case speed to belly) was key. There’s no doubt my parents loved fresh seafood because we spent many summers crabbin’ and fishin’ at the Texas Coast. See the crabby pic below!
❤ I had a difficult time finding the Old English Sharp Cheddar Cheese Spread (below). I discovered after some online research that it’s hard to find in stores but you can order it from the folks at Amazon.com. I found its kissin’ cousin – Kaukauna Spreadable Cheese from Wisconsin at my local HEB. Hint: After scouring the aisles for the creamy cheese stuff I finally found it in the refrigerated section by the deli.
❤ I like these canapés broiled until just a little toasted black develops here and there. The result was a crispy, bubbly texture that complimented the nook and crannies with the cheese and crab mixture.
❤ You don’t have to broil these all at once. In fact there wasn’t a way for my pan to hold 12 prepared english muffins halves *and* fit in my freezer. We prepared these in two batches and you’ll find these are best enjoyed warm, which works out perfectly for entertaining.
i. ingredients
1 stick | butter or oleo (my Grandmother Nanny insisted on Falfurrias brand butter)
1 jar (5 ounces) | Kraft brand Old English Sharp Cheddar Cheese Spread (see substitute above)
1 ½ teaspoon | mayonnaise
½ teaspoon | garlic salt
½ teaspoon | Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 can | crabmeat (or shrimp) – we used Chicken of the Sea
6 | Thomas’ english muffins, split
to garnish | green onions, sliced (optional)
ii. what to do
1. Let the butter (or oleo) and cheese spread soften to room temperature – about 30 minutes or more.
2. Mix the butter and cheese spread together with the mayonnaise, garlic salt and seasoned salt until creamy. Gently fold-in the crabmeat (or shrimp) and combine.
3. Spread the crab mixture on the split English muffins and place them on a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer. Freeze for about 10 minutes so the crab mixture sets well.
Crabbie Canapés Going Into The Freezer
4. After chilling, cut the muffins into ⅙-ths. You can broil them now or freeze them for later use. If freezing, I inserted a piece of wax paper between laters to prevent the crab mixture from sticking together.
5. To Serve: broil the crabbie canapes until they are bubbly crisp. You can garnish with some sliced green onions, which I thought added a tasty texture.
Yield: 36 Crabbie Canapes
Crabbie Canapés ~ Fresh From The Oven
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
~ Patrick
Betty’s Son
Founder and “Nostalgic Food Blogger” of Betty’s Cook Nook
Here’s a scan of the original recipe from Mom’s cookbook – she received it from a family friend named Gere Cahill who lived down the street in the La Fiesta Apartments. I remember Gere always dropped off Christmas presents for us every Christmas Day and he had me over to swim a few times, which was tons of fun. His gifts live on thanks to this recipe.
My Dad hypnotizing a live crab at the Texas Coast, July 1975.
“nuts and bolts” party mix
Posted: December 4, 2011 Filed under: appetizers, The Best Of The Best Recipes | Tags: butter, cashews, cheerios, corn chex, garlic salt, lawry's seasoned salt, oleo, peanuts, pecans, pretzel sticks, rice chex, tabasco sauce, wheat chex, worcestershire sauce Leave a comment
Ready to get the party started?
This recipe was a Kiker family favorite during the holidays.
It still is.
The more we made, the more we shared. And the more we shared, the more we ate. The circle of life.
I found it interesting to see that Mom’s *original* recipe (below) called for Corn Pops… and that it was later scratched out and replaced with Cheerios. I’m guessing perhaps the sweet-salty match-up was too “avant garde” back in the 70s… Or was it?
I dove-in head first with my first attempt re-making this classic by using both the Corn Pops and Tabasco. And you know what? I loved them both!
While my childhood friend “Snoopy” later popularized the Party Mix, Mom was making this original before it was available, pre-made in a bag, at the grocery stores (there’s not much fun in that).
Brother Roger said “Nuts and Bolts” would often be served warm in Mom’s white CorningWare bowls, which he still has to this day. And his favorite part? Taking the pretzel sticks and “stabbing” the Cheerios in their center hole, so he could stack ’em up.
Move over, popcorn. There’s an old snack in town. Nuts and Bolts rules. Hands down.
PS ~ I take responsibility for the doodling on the back of the well-worn recipe card; seems I was too young to have respect for life’s “little treasures.”
i. ingredients
group 1 :
1 stick (1/2 cup) | oleo (my Grandmother “Nanny” loved Falurrias Brand Butter!)
1 tablespoon | Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon | garlic salt
¼ teaspoon | salt
to taste | Tabasco (if desired)
to taste | Lawry’s brand seasoned salt with black pepper (if desired)
group 2 :
2 cups | cheerios (the “bolts”)
3 cups | wheat chex
3 cups | rice chex
to taste | pretzel sticks
1 package | lightly salted peanuts (the “nuts”)
1 package | cashews (the “nuts”)
1 package | Texas pecans (the “nuts”)
ii. what to do
0. Preheat oven to 325°F.
1. Melt the oleo (butter) in a large baking pan and add the “group 1” ingredients. Stir well.
2. Stir-in the “group 2” ingredients until well coated.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
4. Serve warm, if you can.
foodie tips ~
♥ This recipe is great for making treats for gift-giving… especially during the holidays when friends and family may pop-in for a visit.
♥ I remember mom also using Lawry’s brand seasoned salt on the party mix. Roger remembers it, too. Rahhhh, salty! I sprinkled some seasoned salt with black pepper on top just before I put them in the oven and it brought back the good times.
♥ Why not consider adding Corn Chex to the party? The more, the merrier.
A Scan Of Mom’s Original Party Mix Recipe Card
Betty's Cook Nook 