I have an abundance of yellow squash and what to do? Make biscuits of course!
These biscuits remind me of a popular restaurant chains garlic-cheddar biscuits and are so delicious! Except of course…I’ve added yellow squash to the mix which makes them even more fantastic 😋
Yellow Squash-Cheddar Biscuits
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup diced yellow squash
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, onion powder and sugar until combined.
Add the cubed butter into the flour mixture.
Use a pastry cutter, a fork or you can also use your fingers to cut the butter into the flour mixture until lentil-size pieces form.
Stir in the cheddar cheese and squash.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until the dough comes together.
Place the dough on a flour dusted surface and pat gently into three circles and 3/4 – inch thickness.
Dust a 3-inch biscuit cutter with flour and cut 8 biscuits from the dough.
Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Remove from the refrigerator and place the biscuits in a preheated oven of 425 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with tons of butter (ok that’s my personal preference! 😋)
Today in American history…former First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes was born on August 28, 1831 in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Married to former President Rutherford B. Hayes, she was our Nation’s First Lady from 1877-1881.
Official White House Portrait (The White House Historical Association)
Lucy Hayes was a well educated woman for her time and was the very first First Lady to have a college degree – graduating from Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College in 1850.
“There is not to be found a better receipt for white cake than the following. The cake is mixed contrary to the usual rules of making cake, but it is the best mode of making it fine-grained and delicate.”
Ingredients: Whites of six eggs, scant three-quarters of a cupful of butter, one and one-quarter cupfuls of pulverized sug-ar, two cupfuls of flour, juice of half a lemon, one-quarter of a tea-spoonful of soda.
If soda is used, mix it well with the flour, and pass it through the sieve several times to distribute it equally. Beat the butter to a light cream, and add the flour to it, stirring it in gradually with the ends of the fingers until it is a smooth paste.
Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth, and mix in them the pulverized sugar; now stir the eggs and sugar gradually into the flour and butter, adding also the lemon-juice, and mix it smoothly together with the egg whisk. As soon as it is perfectly smooth, put it into the oven, the heat of which should be rather moderate at first. When done and still hot, spread over it a frosting made with the white of one egg, pulverized sugar and a flavoring of lemon.
The frosting is a decided improvement, and, according to the receipt, only requires a few minutes to prepare.
I made a traditional white cake today using my favorite recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction – it’s the only one that I ever use when making a white cake – it’s truly the best! (And I’ve eaten a lot of cake in my life 🤣)
To honor and remember former President Lyndon Johnson’s birthday today…I decided to make one of his favorite meals in the kitchen tonight.
He was a “meat and potatoes” kind of man (my kind of person!) and enjoyed steak, potatoes…cornbread. Just pure deliciousness! 😋
One of his favorite meals was Chicken Fried Steak. He would have enjoyed spinach and mashed potatoes to go along with it too. Oh and don’t forget the cornbread with lots of butter.
For dessert and especially for his birthday he would have most likely enjoyed his favorite cake which was German Chocolate.
Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients for the Chicken Fried Steak
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 lb. cube steak
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 TBSP butter
Ingredients for the Gravy
1/3 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
Directions for the Steak
In a medium bowl, add the milk and eggs. Use a hand held whisk to mix the eggs and milk together until well blended. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. Whisk the ingredients together really well to get the spices well blended into the flour.
Work with one piece of steak at a time. Sprinkle both sides of the steaks with a mixture of salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp combined)
Place the steak in the egg/milk mixture and turn to coat on each side.
Place the steak into the flour mixture and coat thoroughly on each side.
Once again, place the meat into the milk/egg mixture, turning to coat on each side.
Finally, place the steak back into the flour and turn to coat.
Place the breaded steak into a clean plate – I lined the plate with parchment paper to handle easily.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the butter.
When the butter sizzles immediately, you know it’s ready. The butter will become brown and golden and time to start cooking the steaks.
Cook the steaks for two minutes on each side until brown, golden and crispy.
Remove the steaks from the skillet onto a paper toweled line plate to drain the excess grease.
Wrap in foil to keep the steaks warm while you make the gravy.
Directions for the Gravy
After all the steak is fried and removed onto a plate, pour off the remaining grease into a heatproof bowl.
Without cleaning the skillet, return the skillet to the stove over a medium-low heat.
Add 1/4 cup of the grease back to the skillet and allow it to heat up accordingly.
When the grease is hot, sprinkle the flour evenly over the grease.
Using a whisk to mix the flour with the grease, creating a golden-brown paste.
Helpful hint: If the gravy mixture looks too greasy, add more flour. If the gravy looks too clumpy, add a little more grease.
Pour in 3 to 4 cups milk and whisk constantly. Add the salt and pepper while cooking…and whisking…until the gravy is smooth and thick – should be thickened between 5 to 10 minutes.
If the gravy is overly thickened? Add more milk.
Make sure to taste the gravy to make sure it is perfectly seasoned – might need more…all depends on your preference.
Serve immediately over the chicken fried steak and if you are having mashed potatoes…goes wonderful over those too!!
I love stumbling across old recipes and trying them out in my kitchen. Sometimes I’m successful…other times? It can be a little dicey. It’s always a fun time researching and exploring though! Some recipes I get really excited about. Other ones like a former President’s squirrel stew recipe not so much 🤣
The other day I came across a recipe for Norman Rockwell’s favorite oatmeal cookies and I was so excited like a kid in a candy store. Oatmeal cookies are my personal favorite (peanut butter closely behind it) so I just had to make them. Plus, it’s always such a fun thing to taste what people in history enjoyed too!
Norman Rockwell (1984-1978) was an American painter and illustrator. He is most famous for his cover illustrations of every day life in America which were published in the Saturday Evening Post for nearly five decades.
Today in American history…former President Bill Clinton was born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas 🇺🇸
I was lucky enough to meet him (and get a picture taken!) at an event in Washington, D.C. several years ago while he was in office. That was pretty cool!
The day I met President Clinton in 1999
One of President Clinton’s favorite meals (besides a McDonald’s cheeseburger back in the day!) has been Chicken Enchilada’s. I was able to stumble upon his favorite recipe and made them for dinner tonight to honor his birthday.
I have to say they are quite delicious and I can understand how this recipe would be his favorite. They were pretty easy to make too and if you are feeling like making a Mexican type dinner – I highly recommend!
Today in American history…former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was born on August 18, 1927 in Plains, Georgia.
Rosalynn Carter Childhood Photo (Jimmy Carter Library and Museum)
Rosalynn Carter was well known for her advocacy work with mental health and caregiver issues.
Some other interesting facts about her life are:
✔️ One of her favorite things to do was to go fly fishing.
✔️Mrs. Carter has a rose, an orchid, a camellia and an azalea named for her.
✔️Was valedictorian of her Plains High School graduating class.
✔️President Jimmy Carter’s mother helped to deliver Rosalynn Carter into the world in the house next door to his home (the families were neighbors). Three year old Jimmy Carter met baby Rosalynn soon afterwards.
✔️Mrs. Carter was an honorary chair of the Last Acts Campaign to improve end of life care and was an early advocate for the hospice movement and palliative care.
✔️Mrs. Carter was a key advocate for passage of legislation during the Carter administration requiring vaccinations for school children.
First Lady Rosalynn Carter (official White House photo)
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In honor of Mrs. Carter’s birthday today, I made a delicious Strawberry Cake and used her own personal recipe.
The cake is so moist and delicious. If you love strawberries this is the perfect cake for you – it’s filled with them! 🍓
You can serve it plain but wow it is extra delicious and yummy with homemade whipped cream too! Or maybe even a scoop of vanilla (or strawberry!) ice cream 😋
In the written recipe, it says to use an angel food cake pan. I’ve made this cake previously and a Bundt pan would work perfectly too.
Today in American history…former First Lady Florence Harding was born on August 15, 1860 in Marion, Ohio.
A childhood photo of Florence Harding with her brother
Florence Harding was the first future First Lady to vote in a Presidential election following the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Consititution.
Official White House portrait
During her tenure as First Lady, she used her platform to advocate for animal rights, veterans welfare and women’s equality.
President Warren Harding and Mrs. Harding enjoyed waffles very much. If you ever get the chance to visit their home in Marion, the waffle iron can still be seen on the stove. There is also a plaque in the kitchen that reads, “You eat the first fourteen waffles without syrup, but with lots of butter. Then you put syrup on the next nine, and the last half-dozen you eat simply swimming in syrup. Eaten that way, waffles never hurt anybody.”
It’s been a hard season for gardening in our little area here in Virginia. However…my friend Joyce just so happened to have had an abundance of summer squash that miraculously survived in her garden. Thankfully, she brought over and shared with me her plentiful bounty of squash – what a wonderful friend!
This bread is incredibly moist and delicious – especially with the lemon glaze over the top. It’s definitely “a keeper” and something that I will be making again (and again!) in the future. Who knew that a squash bread could be so tantalizing and delicious! 😋
Lemon Summer Squash Bread
Ingredients
For the bread…
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon Zest (one lemon)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup summer squash, grated
For the Lemon Glaze…
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk
Directions
Grease and flour (or use parchment paper) a 9×5″ loaf pan.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl add the beaten eggs, vegetable oil and sugar and mix until well blended.
Add the buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest to the mixture and blend well.
In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
Mix well – make sure all of the lumps are gone in the batter (you don’t want lumpy batter!)
Add the grated squash into the batter and fold gently.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until the top is a golden brown.
Remove from the oven.
Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan before removing.
Cool the bread completely before adding the lemon glaze.
Directions for the Lemon Glaze
In a small mixing bowl, mix together the confectioners sugar, lemon juice and milk.
Drizzle over the top of the bread. Enjoy!
(For the drizzle…I personally use an icing piping bag. It’s much easier and comes out more uniform)
Today in American History…our 31st U.S.President, Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa. His favorite food was fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. His favorite dessert was his Grandmother Hoover’s Peach Cream Pie. So to honor President Hoover’s birthday today we are enjoying his favorite meal 🇺🇸
The Historical Homemaker 