Biscuits for My Boys, because it’s their favorite

This Momma loves her boys! There is a 14 year difference between our oldest son and our youngest. They only lived under the same roof for about 4 years before Bubba spread his wings and got his own place. Bubba thinks Little Guy is funny and likes to make him do and say things to amuse himself, and Little Guy loves Bubba’s crazy music and wrestling with him. If you didn’t know they were brothers, you’d never guess it just by seeing them-they are different in almost every visual way. Bubba has long brown curly hair, Little Guy is a toe head with straight, slightly shaggy hair. Bubba is about 6 feet tall with broad shoulders, Little Guy is a tall 7 year old, and a string bean.

But their hearts are the same. We are blessed to have 2 sons that have the most tender, compassionate, and loving hearts. There is something so pure and beautiful about a little boy who loves ferociously, whose heart is bursting with love for his friends and family. My most favorite thing about each of them is their sweet heart. I remember the way each of them loved me at about age 3, when I was their absolute favorite person in the whole world, and I could do and fix anything! Both boys loved to snuggle when they were little. Lucky for me, Little Guy still loves it, and he is super snuggly first thing in the morning. I distinctly remember a time when Bubba was around 3 and he grabbed my face, kissed me really hard, looked me square in the eyeballs and said with so much intensity, “I just love you so much Momma!” Those are moments that I treasure in my heart.

This sap of a Momma is bawling like a baby, and tears are rolling down my cheeks as I remember and write this. Why do they stay little for such a short time? (I sound like my grandma)

When Bubba was little, his favorite thing to eat for breakfast was sausage&egg biscuit sandwiches. I made him fresh biscuits for breakfast almost every single day for a couple of years. He absolutely LOVED them, so I made them. I would make a 1/2 batch every morning, which made 4 or 5 biscuits, and he, Sissay, and I would polish them off. These biscuits are very easy to make, so it wasn’t a chore to make them each morning. I also love to cook, so making breakfast every day is something I enjoy. I am not a big fan of cereal, so my kids didn’t really eat it much growing up. There is a famous story in our family that one morning when Bubba and Sissay were about 9&11, I was running behind schedule getting ready for work/school. I told them to grab a bowl of cereal because I wasn’t going to have time to make them breakfast. They both stopped dead in their tracks, looked at me with shocked faces, and Sissay said, “Are we in trouble?” Seriously, a true story!

Little Guy has his own breakfast favorite that he wants every single day. Toast with Magic and bacon. You would call it cinnamon toast, but I had to get creative when it came to getting this picky eater to try something new. I told him that I sprinkled magic on the toast, and he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. He also prefers “magic” on his biscuits, and calls it biscuits with magic-we are very creative with our food names. It is so funny to me how many people say, “I haven’t had cinnamon toast in so long, I used to love that!” Well, bring it back into your morning and remember how good it is. Maybe you can even introduce it to your kids or grandkids, and share this oldie but goodie with them.

Bubba’s favorite biscuits are from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. My dad bought me this cookbook for Christmas one year as a thank you for being his barber. It was the first “real” cookbook I ever owned, and is still one of my favorites.

Baking Powder Biscuits-from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoons Salt
• 1/3 Cup Shortening
• 3/4 Cup Milk

1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Add the milk all at once. Using a fork, stir just until moistened.

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2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly kneed dough by gently folding and pressing dough 10-12 strokes or until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut dough with a floured 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.

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3. Place biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove biscuits from baking sheet and serve hot. Makes 10 biscuits.

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** Because I change every recipe I make, I use slightly softened butter instead of shortening. Sometimes I use my pastry blender, sometimes I use my small Kitchenaid Mixer with the whisk attachment to cut in the butter. I always use my hands to flatten out the dough. My last recipe change is that I brush the tops of the unbaked biscuits with softened butter before they go in the oven. After all, butter is the secret to life.

I started making my own jam less than a year ago. It started as a 50th birthday gift for one of our friends. Nothing is better than a loaf of homemade bread and jam! I did the same thing for another friend’s birthday, and it kind of became a thing. Then one day, I bought a lot of bags of frozen mixed berries and some jelly jars the grocery store. It’s a very very simple recipe- just berries, sugar, and a little cornstarch to thicken a bit. There is a little bit of time involved, and some elbow grease if you don’t want seeds in your jam. (I do NOT like seeds in my jam) I am still perfecting the process, but it has a consistently delicious, fruity taste with just the right amount of sweetness.

Lisa’s Mixed Berry Jam

• 2 bags frozen Mixed Berries
• 1 1/2-2 Cups sugar depending on your tastebuds (I like 1 1/2 Cups)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Corn Starch and 1 1/2 Tablespoons water mixed and set aside

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Dump 2 bags of frozen Mixed Berries into a heavy dutch oven. I use my 6 qt. cast iron dutch oven. Add sugar and stir. Let come to a low boil over medium high heat, stirring every couple minutes to incorporate sugar and prevent burning. Reduce heat to medium and continue to low boil for 15-20 minutes, stirring every couple minutes until the mixture gets a bit foamy.

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Remove from heat and run through fine mesh colander, saving the juice. In order to get the pulp of the fruit and remove the seeds, I mash the fruit against the colander walls with a rubber scraper and scrape down the outside of the colander and add the pulp to the juice. It requires some elbow grease, but it is well worth it! If I were using berries without seeds, I would simply use an immersion blender to finish breaking down the fruit into a jam consistency and thicken with a little corn starch.

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Using a ladle, fill your jelly jars to the bottom ring of the jar and put the lid and ring on tight. Move to refrigerator to cool. Use within 2 weeks, but I’ve never had it last that long!

You cannot go wrong with these Baking Powder Biscuits and Mixed Berry Jam! The jam also makes a great hostess gift, or even as little bit of sweetness to share with loved ones.

I really miss the days of making biscuits every morning for Bubba. Those years when they are little disappear all too soon. He’s a wonderful young man and I love seeing him so happy, living his life exactly how he wants to. I couldn’t be more proud of him and I still love him to pieces, but he no longer snuggles with me, or wakes me up in the middle of the night when he has a bad dream, or needs me to fix his owies. I wish I had known back then how quickly they grow up. That is the bitter-sweet part of having that knowledge with Little Guy. I know he won’t be little forever, and that makes part of me sad, but I find myself slowing down and enjoying the little moments with him because I know they won’t last forever. My two boys have very special places in my heart, and I will always make them anything in the world they want to eat because it makes me so happy to make them their favorite foods. Whether my kiddos are young or young adults, being a Momma is one of the best things in my life. And they nourish my heart.