Sunday, September 2, 2012

A Bit of Texas Pride


Mmmm....  Texas Style food is the BEST!  There's nothing better than waking up to a pan full of flaky biscuits, warm and fresh out of the oven.  I'll bet you think they are lots of work to whip up, but I promise you they are easier to make than Grandma's were! 

Follow me, and I'll lead you to a recipe that will make your family happy, fill your freezer, and give you a taste of old-fashioned Texas pride!!!

Before we get to that amazing biscuit recipe, I want to share another bit of Texas Pride:  Texas Style Barbeque!!  Is there anything better in life than a slice of tender smoked brisket or a rack of savory baby back ribs?  And doesn't the thought of a pan full of peach cobbler or pecan pie cobbler just make your knees week?


Let me share a bit of the Texas lifestyle with you.  There's an old BBQ joint located in Adkins, Texas, just outside of San Antonio.  The place is called Texas Pride.  How can you get any prouder to live here than to name your restaraunt "Texas Pride"??  One of the many reasons that I love living here in this state, a place that I've called home my entire life, and a place that generations of my family have called home, is that we have so much pride in who we are. 


The feel of going back in time hits you as soon as you pull into the parking lot.  When was the last time you were greeted by a parking attendant on horseback? 


Walking up to the restaraunt, you begin to feel that you have gone back in time to the old towns of times gone past. 


I remember riding one of these at the grocery store when I was a little girl.  I'll bet you have the same kind of memories!


Once you enter the building, the awesome aroma of wood smoke and meat just fills the air.  Right away your stomach starts to grumble!  (I don't know who this guy is who ended up in my photo!)


This sign just cracked me up.  And for you who don't live in Texas, Big Red is the most amazing soda ever.  It's fizzy, red, unmatchable deliciousness!!!


Here's one of our trays with some of our goodies:  Baby Back Ribs and Pit Smoked Brisket (in the wrappers), mac-n-cheese, cole slaw, beans, and peach cobbler.  Our other tray had more ribs and brisket, cheezy potatoes, green beans, and pecan cobbler.  YUMMM!!!


Holy Cow! 
While there was a concert in their music venue, we had such full tummies, so we decided to share a dance out in the parking lot under the Texas stars and the full moon, then ride off into the South Texas sunset.
  
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 Now that your tummies are grumbling for some South Texas grub, here's a recipe for you!
Waking up Sunday morning, we still had that feel of old-time Texas in our hearts.  There's no better way to satisfy our nostalgic feelings than to bake up some super easy Homemade Biscuits ~ Texas Style.  Did I tell you that these wonderful old-fashioned biscuits are FREEZABLE!??  Make some on Sunday morning, and have biscuits for the rest of the week.  No cans of biscuits in The Menu Maker Mom's kitchen today!  No strange chemicals either!
Ingredients:
6 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks butter, very soft
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
Enough milk to thin the yogurt until it's the consistency of buttermilk
In a very large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Using two forks or a pastry blender, blend in the butter until you can't see any big chunks any larger than a tiny pea.  I have also done this in my Kitchenaide mixer, using the whisk attachment.
Mix up your yogurt and milk in a small bowl.
Add the thinned yogurt to the flour and mix with your hands or a wooden spoon. 
Turn the whole mess out onto a surface covered with another 1/4 cup of flour.  Knead the dough only about 10 times.  It will feel quite wet, not at all like pizza dough or bread dough.
Pat the dough out until it's 1" thick.  Cut out your biscuits with a biscuit cutter, clean can, or glass that is about 2-1/2" in diameter.  Just press the cutter straight down, don't swivel it around to cut the biscuits.  Straight cuts make higher rising biscuits!
Bake your biscuits at 400 degrees farenheit for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. 
Flash freeze any extras, then transfer to a plastic freeezer bag, and pop them into your freezer.  Place frozen biscuits on a cookie sheet, bake at 425 for about 15 minutes for fresh homemade biscuits any time!
Makes 24 2-1/2" biscuits.
Wanna bite?