Stretching a grocery budget is easier by including some homemade biscuits in your meal planning. Made from scratch biscuits can be served any time of day and cost less than pennies a serving, which fits nicely in a grocery budget.
So what’s so great about biscuits? They are inexpensive to make, easy to prepare, and can complement a wide range of dishes. This versatility makes biscuits a fantastic way of stretching a meal and preserving your budget when unexpected company shows up.
Recommended reading: Best Pastry Cookbooks
Two easy biscuit recipes
“Baking Powder Biscuits” is the most common biscuit recipes. The ingredients for this version include:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 TB baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 c. shortening or margarine
- 3/4 c. milk
- Mix together dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
- Slice the shortening into thin pieces, and drop in the flour mixture. Cut into the flour with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
Hint. No pastry cutter? Your hand mixer will also work for this step.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour in the milk all at once, and stir by hand just until all the flour is moistened.
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead. Kneading is done by folding the dough onto itself, pressing gently, and repeating. Don’t knead for more than 8 strokes or the biscuits won’t rise as well. (alternatively, you can use your favorite bread maker’s dough setting to make the dough)
- Pat the dough into a 1/2 thickness and use a biscuit cutter or the top of a drinking glass to cut.
- Place one inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, until golden brown.
To turn this recipe into a recipe for dumplings, try adding 1/4 cup of milk and 1 large tablespoon of crushed parsley. Drop the dumplings into a batch of stew, cover, and let steam for 15 minutes until the dumplings puff up and are light amp; fluffy.
For a richer tasting biscuit that’s great for making sandwiches, or delicious paninis, my favorite alternative recipe is “Mama’s Best Biscuits.” This recipe calls for these ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 TB baking powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup margarine or butter
- 2/3 cup of milk
- Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Cut in butter or margarine with a pastry cutter.
- Make a well in the center of the flour and add milk all at once.
- Stir gently just until moistened.
- Knead lightly til smooth, no more than 8 strokes.
- Roll to 1/2 thickness and cut using the top of a glass.
- Bake T 450 Degrees for 10-12 minutes.
- Let cool, then slice in half lengthwise.
Budget meal ideas with biscuits
Homemade biscuits are a regular staple at our home, and are served up at least three times a week.
For breakfast, biscuits are a fantastic stand alone bread substitute. They can be served with eggs on the side, topped with gravy, or lathered up in honey or jam for a quick and easy breakfast. They can also be sliced in half, and topped with fried ham amp; eggs and drizzled with cheese to make your own version of a McBiscuit.
Lunchtime ideas for biscuits include serving them plain with soup or slicing in half and filling with sliced lunch meats or cheese. Biscuits are also great for snack lunches and picnics.
Dinner provides the most versatility for biscuits. Homemade biscuits are a great substitute for dinner rolls, can be used as dumplings in stew recipes, and can help to bulk out a meal when extra company comes for supper. We’ll even use homemade biscuits as the base for Chicken a la King, Sloppy Joes, and Creamed chip beef.
Cost and nutrition: Biscuits cost around 45¢ for 10-12 servings when using bulk white flour and margarine.
An average size biscuit contains 153 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 19 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of fiber. The fiber can be increased by using wheat flour instead of white, for a wholesome biscuit that is equally as delicious.
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