Easy Homemade Buscuits

This recipe came into my inbox today from Thrifty Florida Mama. It sounded simple, cheap, and I definitely love that you can freeze ahead of time! I haven't tried it yet, but I still wanted to share it with you! Thanks Thrifty Florida Mama! : )

[The rest of this post was copied straight from her e-mail]

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup crisco or shortening (I use Butter flavored Crisco)

2/3 cup milk, buttermilk, water/milk mixed

Directions:

Sift flour and stir in baking powder. Pour the milk into the cup and then add the shortening till the cup reaches the 1 cup mark. (this will give you an easy way of getting the shortening out of the cup). Pour into flour mixture and stir until it becomes crumbly.

I then just pinch off pieces of the dough and roll in my hands until the dough isn't sticking to me anymore. Then place into a sprayed round pan for baking. Biscuit sides should touch one another to help them rise up tall and fluffy.

You can turn them onto a floured surface, roll out, and cut for more perfect biscuits but I find that unnecessary.

Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bottoms are nice and brown.

This recipe comes from my favorite frugal site on the Internet, frugal-families.com. I've been a member there for a looooong time and the ladies that meet and post there are the best on the web. If you are looking for some frugal inspiration for the new year you should consider joining the forums. It is just $10 per year which helps cover the hosting fees for the owner. There are no advertisements and no junk there. Just a wonderful community of like-minded frugal ladies.

Manicotti

Ingredients:

• 10 manicotti shells
• 1 lb. (2 cups) ricotta cheese
• 1 T. parsley
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ½ c. Parmesan cheese
• ½ c. mozzarella cheese

Ingredients: (Serving Day)

• Marinara or spaghetti sauce
• Parmesan cheese

Cooking Day Instructions:

 

Cook manicotti shells according to package directions (see hint). Mix all ingredients together and fill manicotti shells. Wrap shells in plastic wrap (2 or 3 together). Freeze, in freezer bag.
Serving Day:

 

Pour sauce over bottom of ungreased baking dish. Lay stuffed manicotti noodles on top of sauce and top with leftover sauce. Then top with Parmesan cheese and bake at 425º for 30-35 minutes.

 

*Hints*

• Slightly undercook manicotti shells when preparing for freezer. This will make it easier to fill them and prevent overcooking when reheated.
• A pastry bag (or plastic bag w/ corner cut off) is a great tool for filling manicotti shells quickly.
• Most manicotti shells are stored in individual, lightweight plastic trays. After stuffing the shells, place them back into trays. Wrap thoroughly with plastic wrap, then place trays in freezer bag.
• Recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.

My Personal Tips:

• We use "Fiesta Blend" or "Mexican Blend" - first is walmart brand, second is kroger brand - (or whatever the blend is called at your grocery store) for the cheese on top
• Garlic & Onion pasta sauce is GREAT on top!
• Don't substitute Cottage Cheese for Ricotta...will NOT be the same!

Cinnamon Bun Icing

Okay, so my mom has asked for this a few times and I keep forgetting to actually post it on here. ;) So here you go. This is from All Recipes. Here's the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cinnamon-Bun-Icing/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

Ok, that's weird. I can't get the recipe to show up right now so I can't actually type it in here. I guess I'll add this later. :)