I'm not a big fan of biscuits.

I know, I know.  How very un-Southern of me.

But it's true.  Now, I'm not saying I never eat them.  I can quite adequately tear down some biscuits slathered with an inch of sausage gravy.  Who couldn't?

And actually, that illustrates my point about my relationship with biscuits.  I usually find them to be dry.  Very dry.

Then I tried these biscuits – these easy, mix 'em up in one bowl, drop biscuits. Not dry at all.

I love my pastry cutter / blender to cut butter into a dry mixture.  You can also use a fork, or your hands.

I was gifted a gallon of fresh off the no-pesticide vine blueberries about a week ago, so adding those plump bursts of juiciness into these biscuits was a must.

Then I threw in a few chocolate chips.  I was first introduced to the combination of chocolate and blueberry when I made some fudgy blueberry brownies a couple of years ago.  Since I was a bit blown away by the flavor, I don't think the combination gets enough attention.

Give these jewels a try.  I doubt you'll be disappointed.  If you want to kick the sweetness up a notch – and eat these babies for dessert – try drizzling some honey over them.  O. M. G.

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Drop Biscuits

Original recipe by Jennifer at Bake or Break.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tbsp organic cane sugar
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1/4 cup butter, softened and sliced
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
  
• 1/2 cup whole milk
  
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  
• 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a baking sheet. [Note: I baked these in a toaster oven!]
   
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter. A pastry blender makes it super easy. You may also use a fork or your hands.
   
3. Stir in the sour cream, then stir in the milk. Fold in blueberries and mini chocolate chips, trying not to break too many blueberries.
   
4. Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Original recipe calls for "3 tablespoons (not quite 1/4 cup)" per biscuit. I used a flatware tablespoon, heavily mounded with dough. Pretty easy to eyeball.
   
5. Bake for 20 minutes then check. You're looking for a light brown color and a biscuit that is firm to the touch. Try not to over bake. My little oven didn't require more than 22 minutes.

Yield: 1 dozen

Shared at This Is How We Roll, Thrifty Thursday, From the Farm, Happiness is Homemade, Tasty Tuesdays, and Simple Saturdays.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click a link and buy something. This helps pay for the RV, supports our mountain homestead dream of owning land, as well as my blogging activities, and makes the dogs happy.  Hopefully, the purchase benefits you, too!  The price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! Thanks for reading, following, and supporting Stephlin's Mountain.

From my mountaintop to yours!

5 Ways to Use Ready to Eat (Now!) Bananas

Ever find yourself with more bananas than you can eat before they start to brown? Ever wanted to take advantage of a good sale on bananas, but weren't sure how you'd use them all? Here are 5+ ideas for those ready-to-eat (now!) bananas.

1. Banana Bread

The recipe I used combined all-purpose and whole wheat flour.  I didn't think it was sweet enough (for me) at first, but the more I munched the more I liked what I was munching.  It was a good platform for blueberry-lemon-honey fruit spread, too.  Here's the super easy recipe:

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, at room temp.
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1 cup whole wheat flour*
  
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
  
• 1 tsp vanilla (how I make it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease 9x5x3" bread pan.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (I used a KitchenAid Classic stand mixer).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and whole wheat flour to cream mixture, mixing a bit after each addition.  Mix well.  Fold in bananas and vanilla.  Pour mixture into pan, bake 50 to 60 min. or until cake tester comes out clean - cool in pan 10 minutes, on rack.  Makes one loaf.

*I mill my wheat flour using a WonderMill.  In this recipe I used what I had on hand, which was flour from organic hard white wheat berries.

 

2.  Banana Jam

I had never heard of banana jam before reading this post at Confessions of an Overworked Mom.  It sounded delicious, and it's something that may be preserved with water bath canning.  I gave it a go and was not disappointed.  It's swe-eet, though.  I might lower the sugar amount next time, cuz there will be a next time.  Here's the recipe (adapted from Ellen's, linked above):

• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4-5)
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Put all ingredients in a pan (I used a 12-inch nonstick skillet) and simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until bananas are broken down to your liking. I like some texture, but still want it to spread easily.  Know what I mean?

Now let the jam roll at a full boil 5-6 minutes.  Everything will reduce and thicken.  Ladle jam into jar or jars.  I got a bit over 12 oz.

3.  Chocolate, Peanut Butter, & Banana Smoothie

I've been making this off and on for more than a year.  It's got enough good for you stuff to be a nice breakfast or snack.  Yet it's got enough chocolate flavor that I had it for dessert just last night!

Click here for the Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie recipe!

4.  Blueberry Banana Cake Donuts

These came about when I planned to make some blueberry donuts and at the last minute decided to throw in an overripe banana.  Good stuff happened there – moist, tender, blueberry freshness, with a hint of banana.

Click here for the Blueberry Banana Cake Donuts recipe!

5.  Strawberry Banana Soup

Ok.  I know "soup" is a poor choice for this often made traditional dessert.  You could think of it as a sauce.  If you want to make an angel food cake a little more special, add this strawberry banana mixture.  It wouldn't hurt to top your ice cream with it, either.

All you do is slice up a bunch of strawberries and bananas.  Toss them in a bowl with some sugar and fruit juice.  Just enough of each to bring out the natural juice of the strawberries.  It really is yummy all by itself.

There you have it! 5 ways to use some ready-to-eat (now!) bananas…But I did type 5 plus in the opening paragraph, didn't I? Well, don't forget banana pudding.  The best way is to go all out and make the custard from scratch, of course, but I was short on time the first night we procured the bananas.  So semi-homemade it was.

Get some banana (or vanilla) pudding mix and whip it up.  Get a bowl and layer the following:  vanilla wafers, pudding, and sliced bananas.  Then repeat until the bowl is full or your ingredients are gone.  You have a pretty nice trifle style dessert.

And last, but by no means least, I really enjoy sliced bananas in my breakfast cereal.  Sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times I forget to take this simple step to enrich my morning when I'm in a hurry.

Now the next time you see those marked down several pounds bag of bananas in the produce department, have no fear.  You have at least 5 (or 7) ways to use them!

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Simple & Sweet Fridays, Freedom Fridays, The Homemaking Party, Tuesdays Rubies, Happiness is Homemade, and Tuesdays with a Twist.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click a link and buy something. This helps support my mountain homestead dream as well as my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! Thanks for reading, following, and supporting Stephlin's Mountain.

From my mountaintop to yours!

Fudgy Blueberry Brownies (and Martha Stewart Helped!)

I have a confession to make. Prior to yesterday, I had never made "real" brownies. You know, the kind that do not come from a box. Please don't ask what took me so long. I'm ashamed and have no answer.

One of the things I'm most pleased about since I have been slowly transitioning to real food, is the amount of actual ingredients I now keep in my pantry.  I no longer open the door to a bunch of pre-packaged box dinners made with Lord-only-knows-what.  It's quite exciting for me.

So you know why I was tickled pink (blue?) when I came across Amanda's recipe for Blueberry Brownies at i am baker. Blueberries, butter, chocolate chips, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cocoa powder, flour, and kosher salt -- check!

The recipe is extraordinarily easy. So much so that I promise to never make brownies from a box again. Seriously. Ne-ver.

And the blueberries? Oh. My. Imagine taking a bite of fudginess, followed by a literal burst of berry flavor. Yep.

Another gadget that made these brownies super simple is Martha Stewart's Brownie Slice Pan*. The chances of me ever purchasing one for myself would have probably been slim to none (think "who needs that?"). However, it was a gift from my loving mother. And now that I have used one, I adore it!

It reminds me of a shallow square springform pan, the difference being you lift the product out of the pan instead of "springing" the pan off the product. Get me?

The pre-sliced sectional is a bonus; inserting it is not required.  One of the suggestions from the box is using it with rice krispie treats, and I do think the pre-slice thingamajig would be great with those.

*Note on product link above: First, it's an affiliate link (see disclaimer below). More importantly, this links to the "Chicago Metallic" pan. I assure you it is the same pan that came in the Martha Stewart box I have. My pan even has "Chicago Metallic" imprinted on it. Feel free to look at the "Martha Stewart" version here. As of this moment, it appears to cost about $2.50 more for her name.

Shared at The Homemaking Party, Lovely Ladies Linky, Mountain Woman Rendezvous, Wake Up Wednesday, Wonderful Wednesday, and some of these other fine hops.

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click the link and buy something. This helps support my mountain homestead dream as well as my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! :-) Thanks for reading and following Stephlin's Mountain.

It all started with a recipe for Blueberry Cherry Baked Donuts I found over at the Taste and Tell blog. She posted it back in 2012, and I pinned it months ago. Fast forward to Christmas 2013, and Mom gives me a gift card to Bed, Bath, & Beyond (woo hoo!). A few days ago, I used a portion of it on a new donut pan. The only thing I had to do today was take my 16 month old boy to the vet, so why not take my new pan for a spin afterwards?

I decided to do just blueberry donuts early on, but at the last minute chose to throw an overripe banana in the mix. The batter might have ended up a bit thick, but the donuts are moist and tender with a hint of banana flavor in addition to the blueberry freshness, so I call it a win.

The first lesson I learned with my new donut pan, is be careful not to overfill. My first attempt could have passed for mini bundt cakes. ;-)

My second batch was much more donut-like:

I was so anxious to try them, I didn't wait for them to cool to add glaze. I just slapped some homemade cream cheese icing I had in the fridge on one and took a bite!

YUM!

I did eventually get to the glaze, though, and that made them even better. Just feast your eyes on these blueberry beauties:

If you've stuck with me this far (thank-you!), I'll bet you'd like the recipe. Give these a go, and let me know what you think.

Blueberry Banana Cake Donuts

Adapted from Deborah's Blueberry Cherry Baked Donuts at Taste & Tell blog.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup honey flavored Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup blueberries
• 1 mashed ripe banana (the riper, the better)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat donut pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, melted butter, vegetable oil, and banana. Stir in flour mixture. Fold in blueberries.
4. Fill donut pan about 2/3 full. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Use the toothpick test to be sure they're done. Turn out of pan and cool completely on wire rack.
5. Whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and 3 - 4 tbsp milk for glaze. Top donuts when cool and return to wire rack to dry.

Yield: 18 donuts

Shared at Simple Life Sunday, The Heritage Homesteaders Hop, Simple Saturdays Blog Hop, Simply Natural Saturdays, Happiness is Homemade Link Party, Tasty Tuesday, and Teach Me Tuesday.

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click the link and buy something. This helps support my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! :-) Thanks for reading and following Stephlin's Mountain.