Cat Head Biscuits with Sawmill Gravy

When I first saw this recipe I did a double take. Cat Head biscuits! No actual cats were used in the making of this recipe. :) This is actually one I chose as part of the May 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is Crafty Lady 13 from Dalton, Ohio. She found the recipe in Deen Brother's Y'all Come Eat cookbook. The biscuits have this name because they are the size of a cat's head. I can tell you it was an attention getter at the dinner table though!

Cat Head Biscuits

3 cups self-rising flour**

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 TBSP butter or margarine, cut into pieces and softened

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, buttermilk and butter just until the dough comes together. On a floured surface pat the dough into a 1 1/2 inch thick round. Cut the dough into 6 4-inch circles. (I only had a 3 inch cookie cutter - so mine were a bit smaller.) Transfer biscuits to baking sheet. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

**If you are like me and don't buy self-rising flour - it can be made at home. You will need:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix well and use for every 1 cup of self rising flour.

Sawmill Gravy

1 lb bulk sausage

4 1/2 TBSP flour

2 1/2 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet brown sausage. Sprinkle flour over sausage and coat well. Gradually add milk and stir. Bring to a boil and stir until gravy is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break open biscuits and spoon gravy generously over the top. Enjoy!

Crockpot Yogurt

A few friends of mine had mentioned months ago that they made their own yogurt at home in their crockpots of all places! I was intrigued so went online and did a search. The recipe I am posting is a result of that search. I've been making this for months now. Yeah I know - I could just as easily buy it - but I found it's much cheaper and cost effective to make it myself. I use this in place of sour cream or buttermilk in my baking recipes.

Crockpot Yogurt
You need at least a 4 quart crockpot

1. Turn on your crockpot to low. Pour in 1/2 gallon of milk. (8 cups)
2. Keep on low for exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes.
3. When the 2 hours and 30 minutes passes - turn off the crockpot and unplug it. Let the milk cool with the lid on for 3 hours.
4. After 3 hours passes - remove 2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures** and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the crockpot. Whisk thoroughly.
6. Place the lid back on the crockpot and wrap the entire pot in a thick bath towel.
7. Let it culture overnight.
8. In the morning - stir yogurt if desired and place in a container of your choice. This does make 1/2 gallon of yogurt so you will need a good size container.

**On the yogurt with active cultures - when I first start - I just use one of the 6 oz containers of store bought PLAIN yogurt. After the first batch of yogurt is made you can simply set aside 1/2 cup of this yogurt to make your next batch.

This is not a sweet yogurt. To sweeten - add favorite fruit and some honey. This is really good mixed in with granola. We also use it in fruit smoothies. I only add the fruit/honey to the little bit I will be using at that time - not to the whole batch.

Freezer jam would also work as a sweetener.