Christmas Morning Biscuits

I was so stinking proud of myself. For the first time, I made biscuits from scratch. Probably not a big deal to most, but oh well. Not only was it my first attempt, they were AWESOME!! Unfortunately, I could eat these every weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be doing that. Not hard to make at all, very simple recipe. And they will easily translate to Any Morning Biscuits, too. :)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

Directions
1.In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2.Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

One reviewer suggested replacing half the shortening with butter to avoid blandness. I didn't have any shortening, so I used all butter. Great taste and texture! Soft, and not at all dry like biscuits can be. I also used a star cookie cutter for most of them since I don't have a real biscuit cutter and I wanted to be festive! Served hot out the oven with a buttery spread :), apple butter, honey, and blueberry jam.

T. Flo’s Dr. Pepper Chili

A while back, I read this recipe on Tina's blog and, with my love of Dr. Pepper, knew I had to try it. Tonight was the perfect snowy, frigid night. And it is delicious! Besides being an amazing photographer, she makes a mean chili recipe too!

Ingredients
1.5 lbs of ground beef
5 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4 pieces
1 large onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs. cumin
1 tbs. oregano
3 tbs. chili powder
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
salt & pepper to taste
1 large tomato (from garden)
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato soup
1 can of Dr. Pepper
1 tsp beef concentrate or 1 cup of beef broth
1 block of chocolate
1 tsp cinnamon

Before you start cooking combine the onion and the jalapeno together. Also, mix the chili powder, cumin and oregano together in a bowl.

Render the bacon until crisp in a large pot; set bacon aside.

Brown meat in the bacon fat until brown, then drain and set aside. Salt & pepper the meat.

Add some OO to the pot, and when hot, add the onions and jalapenos. Cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for a minute, being careful not to burn it.

Add the chili powder, oregano and cumin to the onions and fry for a couple of minutes to release the flavors.

Add beef & bacon to the onions and spices. Mix together and cook for a few minutes.

Add the Dr. Pepper, tomato sauce and tomato soup and bring to a simmer. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Add diced tomato and beef concentrate (or broth). Stir everything together.

Bring to a simmer and cook for one hour.

After one hour add chocolate and cinnamon and continue simmering for another hour.

Adjust seasonings to your taste. Serve alone or with rice, nacho chips, shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream and or hot sauce. Enjoy!

Served with cornbread made from scratch! I made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, including using the slow cooker, but you can make your own! My only suggestion is frying the bacon whole, very crisp, then crumbling as small as possible before adding to the mix. I used turkey bacon because I have some, but it's probably better if you go whole hog. :) Thanks, T!