Bisquick Biscuits & The Brick Factory

The first thing I learned how to cook was biscuits.

I remember my mother letting me make them when I was about 9 or 10 years old and wanted to help in the kitchen.

Now that I look back on it, I greatly appreciate my mother's patience.

Even though she was busy getting dinner on the table for 7 hungry family members, she still let me help her in the kitchen by giving me the job of making the biscuits.

I remember her telling me not to play with the dough too much otherwise the biscuits will become tough.

I wanted them to look just right, so I took my time getting them to the right shape and size.

That must be why my brothers called them "bricks".

I played with the dough too much and the biscuits were hard.

As bricks.

My brothers Gordon and Warren used to pick up the biscuits and drop them on their plates so they could hear them "THUNK" on their plates.

My youngest siblings Margaret and Ken were too little to join in on the fun of teasing me.

The first biscuits I learned to make were made from Bisquick.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup Bisquick

2/3 cup  to 1 cup milk

Pour the milk into the Bisquick and stir lightly with a fork to combine the ingredients just until moistened.

When the Bisquick is moistened, stir vigorously and count to 30.

2/3 cup milk will look like this--a stiffer dough.

I like a softer dough, so I use 1 cup milk.

Beat this vigorously and count to 30 too.

Then turn out onto a surface that you've sprinkled a little of the baking mix onto, gather into a ball and knead 3 times.

Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. 

The softer dough will be really soft, you'll be able to just pat it to 1/2 inch thickness.

Cut into desired shapes, you can even cut them square.

After you've cut the first biscuits, gently gather the scraps and lightly press them into a round biscuit shape, being careful not to handle them too much.

Put them on a baking sheet and bake in a 450ºF oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Bake until just lightly browned.

I am thankful my mother had the patience to allow me to learn by doing-- and gain experience, confidence and proficiency by repetition.

I still remember sitting down to dinner and my brothers saying,

"I can see The Brick Factory is open today!"

You could also put 2 tablespoons chopped chives and 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese in the dough, that makes a good biscuit too.

I think we'll have biscuits when everyone comes over for Thanksgiving dinner next month.

Itadakimasu!

***

This is my family that had to suffer through The Brick Factory.

Now they all come to my house for holiday dinners.

I was about this age when I started to learn how to make biscuits.

My sister Margaret and my brother Ken were too little to tease me.

This is one of my favorite photos of Ken when he was little.

I used to carry this one in my wallet when I was in high school.

Ken's the youngest and was the most fun.

He was always happy and laughing.

He loved sports.

Football.

Basketball. 

Baseball.

That's Ken on the top row, second from left.

He's an Angels fan.

Ken used to have a mullet.

He's musical, too.

He was the only one that got to take music lessons--he took accordion lessons from Milton Mann.

We see him on holidays--all the kids look forward to seeing Uncle Ken.

I wonder if he still has his accordion...

The time he brought it over for Christmas and played Christmas carols on it was such a treat!

His nieces and nephews liked to make Uncle Ken play Guitar Hero with them.

They liked to make him sing Michael Jackson songs.

This is a favorite photo of mine of Ken as an adult.

He'll always be my baby brother.

Love you, Ken!

***

Bisquick Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup Bisquick

2/3 to 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450ºF.

Pour the milk into the Bisquick and stir lightly with a fork to combine the ingredients just until moistened.

When the Bisquick is moistened, stir vigorously and count to 30.

Then turn out onto a surface that you've sprinkled a little of the baking mix onto, gather into a ball and knead 3 times.

Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Gently gather the scraps and lightly press them into a round biscuit shape, being careful not to handle them too much.

Bake in a 450ºF oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Variations: crumbled bacon bits, chopped chives, grated cheese, chopped olives or chopped jalapeños.

Cheesy Impossible Zucchini Pie

Does anyone remember the Impossible Bisquick Pies from the 80's?

I think they're called Impossible Pies because they're Impossibly Easy.

That they are.

Easy.

Remember that bag of sliced zucchini I was going to give away when I made Zucchini Okazu?

The zucchini was still in the refrigerator, despite my best attempts to give them away.

When we got back from our camping trip and looked for something fast and easy to make, this casserole was the choice.

I had put 10 cups of sliced zucchini in a zippered plastic bag and squeezed as much air out of the bag as possible before sealing it.

That seems to work for me to keep vegetables--especially lettuce--fresh for a longer time.

It worked really well for the sliced zucchini.

My mother used Bisquick, so I keep some on-hand.

I don't use it too often, so I keep mine in a zippered plastic bag in the freezer.

I have this really old recipe in a binder and use it as a guideline just to make the 'crust'.

The egg, milk and Bisquick mixture makes the casserole's crust.

Ingredients:

10 cups sliced zucchini

1 sweet onion, chopped

4 cups sliced mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups grated 

pepper jack cheese

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

3/4 to 1 cup Bisquick

Start by mincing the garlic and chopping the onions.

Get them going in a skillet with about a tablespoon or so of olive oil.

Don't you just love the smell of garlic, onions and olive oil?

I do.

Then slice the mushrooms.

Put them in the skillet with the garlic and onions.

Then add the sliced zucchini.

Season with salt, pepper and a few chili flakes.

If you have meat eaters, you can brown a half-pound of ground meat, today I'm using ground turkey.

I ran outside and picked a couple of sprigs of rosemary and a small handful of thyme.

Pick off the leaves--if the stem is not woody, you can finely chop the stem, otherwise just zip the leaves off--and give them a rough chop.

Add the herbs to the zucchini mixture and turn off heat when the zucchini are just wilted.

Grate the cheese.

You can use any kind of cheese you like or have on hand.

Spray the casserole dish(es) with cooking spray or rub the edges with butter.

I'm making two, one meatless.

If you only have one vegetarian in your family, you might be able to use one big casserole dish and make a third of the casserole meatless, since you layer the ingredients in this dish.

Just a thought.

Put the zucchini mixture on the bottom, then put the cheese on top, 1 cup per casserole.

Add the Bisquick, milk and eggs to the blender.

I added a 1/4 cup Bisquick because I had liquid left from the zucchini mixture and didn't want to dump it, so I put it in the blender vessel.

Improvise.

Blend the mixture until it's all combined well.

Pour half of the Bisquick mixture over each casserole.

It should cover the veggies.

Then put them into a 400 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Does anyone notice anything?

I forgot to add the ground meat!!!

Not to worry.

If that happens to you, simply take the casserole out of the oven and add the ground meat on top.

You don't even have to stir it, just sort of push it down under the Bisquick mixture a bit and pop it back in the oven.

When it's golden brown on top, it's done!

You can jiggle the dish a little to be sure it's set.

The great thing about these Impossible Pies, is that you can pretty much invent a new one every time you make it.

Spinach, bacon, swiss cheese and mushrooms is good.

So is taco meat, tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese.

A bag of frozen vegetables and left over shredded chicken works too.

Serve it with a nice green salad.

Yum!

Itadakimasu!

***

Here are some more photos from our weekend trip to Big Sur.

Remember Beeto?

I just got a very nice thank you note from her in the mail for taking her with us to Big Sur.

She's very thoughtful.

She and Karen call themselves "custers".

Cousins that are like sisters.

You might think Gary is doing the crane move from Karate Kid.

He and Mitchell are hooking the trailer up to go home.

Thanks again, Mitchell and Karen!

We had a great time!

Beeto kept score of how many games each person won.

We played Wits and Wagers, multi-player solitare, daihimin (that's a Japanese card game that my sister-in-law from Japan taught us--like Big 2), and other games.

She also keeps a cookie count.

Who eats the most cookies?

Beeto's taking Spanish in school.

We talked all about Gorda Springs and what it means.

She said, Chubby Lady Springs.

Fat Lady wouldn't be nice.

And Beeto's nice.

She was excited to stop and see the sea lions near San Simeon.

They made loud noises.

Dixie was scared!

Mostly they basked in the sun.

A few wiggled in from the ocean.

Beeto loved it!

She got particularly excited to see this brown little guy.

She said it looked EXACTLY like her dog Wammer!

EXACTLY!

We stopped in Moro Bay.

And these two talked about how scary it would be to climb these stacks all the way to the top.

Someday, Beeto's going to grow up and might not think it's so much fun to go with us on vacation, especially without her cousins.

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Until then, we are so thankful and happy she chooses to come with us.

Beeto, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!

***

Ingredients:

10 cups sliced zucchini

1 sweet onion, chopped

4 cups sliced mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups grated 

pepper jack cheese

Optional--1/2 lb. ground turkey, browned

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

3/4 to 1 cup Bisquick

Mince garlic and chop onions. Saute them in about a tablespoon or so olive oil until wilted. Add sliced mushrooms and zucchini. Saute over medium-high heat until wilted. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Set aside.

Grate cheese. Prepare baking dish(es) with cooking spray or butter. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Divide zucchini mixture into two casserole dishes or one big one. Sprinkle browned ground meat over zucchini as desired. Top with cheese. 

Put Bisquick, milk and eggs into blender and blend until well combined. Pour over zucchini mixture. Cook in oven 35 to 40 minutes or until set and golden brown. Serve with green salad.