Orange Biscuits

Okay, one more recipe from Sister Bessette! This is her orange biscuit recipe. We had them one time when we had dinner at her house and they are SO yummy! I could eat them for a dessert!

Start with a regular biscuit recipe (this is hers):
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 C. flour
Sift these together (I learned that a sifter is a must when making clump-free biscuits) and cut in 5 tbsp. shortening (she told me that she swears by Crisco) and 1 C. buttermilk.

Here is where we add the "orange biscuit" part:
In a saucepan combine:
1/2 C. orange juice
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C. butter
2 tsp. grated orange peel
Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes, then divide among 12 muffin cups (that you should spray with cooking spray). She actually told me that this recipe really makes 24 muffin-cups worth!

Take your regular biscuit dough and pat it into a 1/2 inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Combine cinnimon and sugar (to taste) and sprinkle over the butter on top of your biscuits. Pound out your biscuits (you can use a sterile can or a circular cookie cutter or whatever) and put them in the muffin tins CINNAMON-SUGAR SIDE UP!

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-16 minutes.

I also learned that biscuits freeze really well, so they can last forever!!

Cherry Pickles

This is another recipe from the amazing woman in my ward. These cherry pickles are Justin's absolute FAVORITE things ever!!! He kept begging me to learn how to make them and when I told him that I had finally learned how I think he was happier than he was on our wedding day and the day each of our children were born combined!

Use ripe cucumbers, peel, cut lengthwise, and scoop out seeds.

Cut about 20 cucumbers into cubes. Cover with water and 1/2 C. salt. Bring to a boil and cook until transparent, but firm. Drain off the water and make a syrup of:
3 1/2 lb sugar (there are 2 cups in a pound so you would need 7 cups)
1 pint white vinegar (or 2 cups)
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 sticks cinnamon

Boil and pour over the hot cucumbers; let stand overnight.

Next day bring to a boil, add two small jars of drained cherries. Bring back to boil and place in hot, sterile jars to seal.

Zucchini Relish

With canning season coming soon I thought I would post a few of the canning recipes I learned this year. There is this amazing woman in our ward who is my food storage idol (seriously, I think you could feed a family of ten really well for about three years with just what she has right now)! This is her recipe for zucchini relish. When my dad came to visit us not too long ago, he couldn't get enough of this stuff. It's REALLY delicious!!

10 C. ground zucchini (ground, grated, whatever)
4 C. sliced onion
1 red & 1 green pepper
Mix these together and let them stand overnight with 1 tbsp. salt

Next day, rinse well and drain for 2 hours. Put the veggies in a large kettle combined with:
2 1/2 C. white vinegar
5 C. sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. black pepper

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 minutes. Pour boiling mixture into sterile jars, seal.
It's really delish! A great food storage item!

Homemade Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping

I found this recipe off a post on my friend's blog. Here is the online source of the recipe http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2008/03/28/make-your-own-junk-food-homemade-magic-shell/

The following is copied right off of that website.

Homemade Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping

• 150 g finely chopped eating chocolate
• 100 g of refined coconut oil*
• pinch of salt

* I feel that using a touch of unrefined virgin coconut oil helps aid in the elusive “fake” flavor that store bought Magic Shell imparts. If you really want to go the nostalgia route, try out 80 g refined coconut oil + 20 g unrefined virgin coconut oil.

Combine the ingredients in a pyrex or glass bowl and melt in the microwave till almost, but not completely liquid. Stir to finish the melting outside of the microwave.

Pour melted mixture into a squeeze bottle or recycled pancake or maple syrup container. The mixture does not need to be refrigerated for storage. It will be liquid at room temperature in the warm summer months, and will be hard during the winter.

To reheat the Magic Shell to drizzle on your favorite frozen dessert, heat in the microwave (~ 40 seconds twice at 80% power), or sit the closed container in a cup of hot water for about 10 minutes.

Different flavor ideas for homemade Magic Shell

I’m a sucker for variety, and this is a great recipe to play with. Simply toggling a flavor with different varieties of chocolate will yield nice variety.

• Peppermint Patty: drops of mint flavoring with dark chocolate
• Creme de Menthe: drops of mint flavoring with white chocolate and green coloring
• Candy Bar: 70:30 mixture of refined:virgin coconut oil, drops of almond flavoring and milk chocolate
• Silky Orange: drops of orange oil in dark chocolate
• Creamsicle: drops of orange oil in white chocolate with orange coloring
• Spring Lemon: drops of lemon oil in white chocolate with yellow coloring
• Lime Me Up: drops of lime oil in white chocolate, and a sprinkle of salt on the shell as it hardens
• Midnight Chocolate: dark chocolate with smoked salt

See how tantalizing this project gets? One thing is certain, stock up on ice cream now before you resort to eating this off of frozen spoons.