Spinach + Cheddar “Buttermilk” Biscuits

You guys know I’m a biscuit fiend. (What gave it away? These 10,000 biscuit recipes?) I made this delicious slow cooker soup yesterday (I’ll post that recipe soon, too), and I always serve soup with biscuits, cornbread, or some other bready bread bread on the side. It’s just, like, a requirement. An essential part of the meal. Not to be skipped. Ever.

Especially now!

SPINACH + CHEDDAR “BUTTERMILK” BISCUITS

What you’ll need . . . 

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance (or salted butter)
• 1-1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1-3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup finely chopped spinach (I used baby spinach)*
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

* I think basil or any other “soft” greens would work great too!


Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Cut in your Earth Balance or butter -- I simply used my hands to blend until the mixture resembled coarse meal.
4. Toss in the Greek yogurt, spinach, and cheddar cheese. Mix with a spatula (or your hands) until everything is moistened. You may need to add another couple tablespoons of water so everything sticks together (but isn’t sticky).
5. Then flour a work surface and take your ball of dough and flatten it with the palm of your hand. It should be around 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
6. Take the ring of a Ball jar (standard size) and cut out your biscuits. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Let cool a few minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in your fridge for several days.

FYI: This recipe makes 12-15 of these guys.

RELATED RECIPES

• Whole Wheat "Buttermilk" Biscuits
• Vegan Chocolate Biscuits
• Black Pepper + Basil Biscuits
• Yogurt Drop Biscuits
• Cornmeal Drop Biscuits
• Back Pocket Biscuits
• Cheesy Beer Biscuits
• Cheesy Old Bay Biscuits
• Spiced Applesauce Biscuits

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Grilled Cheese (Knot!)

Alternative to grilled cheese? Take Pumpkin Garlic Knots, bake them so they are slightly under-done in the middle. Then slice in half, top with cheese of your choice, I used cheddar, and broil for a few minutes until browned and bubbly. Then top with the usual garlic knot mixture.

This "recipe" is simple enough.

Goes great with Roasted Tomato Soup!


Happy Halloween, by the way. If you'd like to check out Ada's awesome lion costume, just head over to Writing Chapter Three! I want her to wear it every single day.

And here's to the New Leaf plan and avoiding mass quantities of candy tonight.

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Pumpkin Rut

I've made so many different soups, stews, breads, desserts, etc. with pumpkin. In autumn, I buy a large can of it nearly every week at the grocery store. I don't even think about it, but it's there in the cart at checkout time.

I sat for a good hour trying to think of something NEW to do with pumpkin. Well, that's not all I did during said hour, but you know how it goes when something's on your mind. You carry it with you.

I decided to ask Google for some help.

I searched "ways to use canned pumpkin" and it yielded some good links:

Bon Appetit's 11 Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin
TLC's 10 Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin (Besides in a Pie)
Self.com's 4 Tasty Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin
Food Network's Leftover Canned Pumpkin 5 Ways
Momadvice.com's 8 Ways to Use Canned or Fresh Pumpkin

If you add in my Food for Runners post with 18 pumpkin recipes, I entertained 56 creative, delicious ideas. But many of these recipes -- pumpkin butter, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, etc., etc., etc. -- are sort of been-there-done-that for me.

What to do?


rolled PUMPKIN LASAGNA 
in a SMOKY PUMPKIN CHEDDAR SAUCE

What you'll need for the pasta . . . 

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1+ cup unbleached white flour
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons hot water (= flax egg)
• 3 tablespoons water

Method . . . 

1. In a food processor, pulse walnuts until they become meal. Then add the flours and salt. Pulse until combined.
2. Add in the pumpkin puree, the flax egg, and water. Mix until a dough ball is formed.
3. Take out of processor. If dough is sticky, knead in more flour until it isn't.
4. Let rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. 
5. Then generously flour a work surface and roll out into a large rectangle. Cut into 8 smaller, longer lasagna rectangles (as shown below). 
6. Set aside until ready for use. 
7. Best part: There is no need to boil noodles before baking lasagna rolls.

What you'll need for the sauce . . .

• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 to 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method for sauce . . .

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the garlic and let cook for a couple minutes.
2. Then add the cayenne and paprika. Mix until garlic is coated. 
3. Add the rest of the ingredients -- all but the cheese.
4. Once it sauce is well incorporated take off heat and stir in cheese.

What you'll need for the filling . . .

• 1 block extra firm tofu, drained well
• 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small tomato, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method . . . 

1. Simply crumble the tofu into a large bowl, toss with the black beans and diced tomato.
2. Season with the salt and pepper. 
3.  The key is making sure the tofu is as drained as possible. Otherwise you may have some soggy pasta (but it isn't terrible if that happens).

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spritz an 8" x 8" (9" x 9" works, too) pan with some olive oil. Then pour in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the sauce into the bottom
2. Lay out your lasagna noodles. Spread each evenly with some sauce, making sure that you have a good 1/2 cup or more of sauce left over.
3. Then evenly distribute the filling mixture.
4. Starting at one end, roll the pasta and then place into your baking dish -- one right next to another.
5. When you have finished rolling the pasta, cover with the remaining sauce.
6. You may also choose to add a bit of shredded cheese on top. 
7. Cover dish with foil and place in oven to 45 minutes.
8. Then take off the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. 
9. We actually did this and then turned off the heat and left the dish in there for another 25 minutes while we gave Ada a bath and it turned out great.

My weakness as a food photographer?

Taking photos of cooked pasta dishes. I never, ever get a good shot! The finished pumpkin pasta tastes much better than this photo would lead you to believe.


Anyway, that's how I busted out of my pumpkin rut. And not only did we have a great dinner, we still have half the food left over for tomorrow's lunch. I'll be the first to say that this recipe SEEMS long and complicated, but I assure you -- it wasn't terribly difficult. Even for a weeknight.

Also, if you'd rather use ricotta in place of tofu, that would be delicious! Alternatively, if you'd like to make this recipe vegan, omit all cheese and consider adding in some nutritional yeast for the flavor.

Have you come across any new, fun pumpkin recipes lately? I'd like to make something sweet that I haven't tried before. Hmmm.

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Polenta Pizza

Before I get to the recipe, I forget if I told you what Stephen got me for our anniversary. Actually, I think I mentioned it on Writing Chapter Three. Or maybe here. Sigh -- I don't remember.

Either way: I am obsessed with our Sodastream Fizz machine.

Most people like it for the at-home soda-making. I just like the water. Lots and lots of sparkling water. I was buying bottles of the stuff almost daily. So, this has helped kick that habit. I wonder how long it will take us to break even.

Feast your eyes on that bubbly goodness!

This incredible -- seriously, it's THAT good -- polenta pizza recipe came about because I have had bad case of bread-fatigue. I don't know how it happened because I usually eat A LOT of bread. But yesterday when Stephen suggested making another huge sandwich, I just couldn't do it.

So, we made this instead.


POLENTA PIZZA WITH ROASTED VEGGIES

What you'll need for the crust . . .

• 4 cups water 
• 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal 
• 1/2 cup bulghur wheat*
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

 *Note: Alternatively, you could use another 1/2 cup cornmeal in place of the bulghur wheat. We just didn't have any in the pantry.


Method . . . 

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously oil a glass 9" x 13" baking sheet. Set aside.
2. Boil the water on the stove. Add in the cornmeal and bulghur wheat. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring almost constantly until most water is absorbed.
3. Then take off heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese and add the salt and pepper.
4. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken, then pour into your prepared baking dish. Spread evenly.
5. Spritz with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes.

Notes on making the pizza:

• Keep oven on 400 degrees F. Once you've pre-baked your crust, you can add your toppings as you normally would.
• You can top the pizza with plain sauce and mozzarella cheese. 
• We opted for pre-roasted veggies -- purple onion, chocolate peppers, yellow squash, and garlic -- and shredded cheddar cheese. Instead of sauce, we spread some chopped basil. 
• Whatever you do, bake for another 20 minutes and crank up to broil for a couple minutes so everything gets browned and bubbly.
• Let cool for a few minutes. Eat right away, though I most enjoyed mine the next morning for breakfast!

Today on Writing Chapter Three, we're sharing some of our favorite links discovered via Pinterest. I spend way too much time on there these days!

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Use-It-Up Brunch Bake

On the weekends, we usually have lots of edible odds and ends hanging around the kitchen. A spare tomato. Quarter of an onion. Half a green pepper. Just random stuff that doesn't necessarily constitute a meal. We hate wasting food, but sometimes these bits go bad before we find a good use for them.

On the other hand, we always have eggs and almond milk in our fridge. Cheese is another ingredient we've always got fresh and handy. So, this weekend while Stephen was out running his long run, I decided to whip up something to combine all of these items.

USE-IT-UP BRUNCH BAKE

What you'll need . . .

• 5 eggs
• 1/3 cup almond or other milk
• 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Few slices crusty sourdough bread, cut into smaller pieces

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 2 to 3 quart baking dish by lightly greasing with some butter or Earth Balance.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add the black ground pepper. Then add in the chopped green pepper, tomatoes, bread, and cheese.
3. Let sit for a couple minutes -- allowing the bread to absorb the egg mixture.
4. Pour the mix into your prepared baking dish. Place in the oven and let bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
5. Bake is done when the middle is set and somewhat firm, but be careful not to over-bake.

The best part about this dish? You can use up pretty much anything you have on hand. Just stick with the 5 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup shredded cheese part. The rest is up to you. Use mushrooms, onions, asparagus . . . even kale or collards, etc.

As well, any kind of crusty bread works, but we'd suggest not using regular sandwich bread. It won't taste bad. It just won't be as interesting.


Portion size is also up to you, but I'd say 2 to 3 people can get a good meal out of the dish. Stephen told me, though, he likely could have eaten the entire thing himself!


What's your favorite way to use your edible odds and ends? Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.


And if you're following our baby posts, today on (never home)maker, baby! I share what we learned in our 1-day birth class. It was information-overload, but well worth the time!

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