Make from Scratch: Grandma’s Biscuits

Photo by gozalewis

This is a guest post from Sarah, who blogs at The Frontier Kitchen. Sarah loves to experiment in the kitchen to create delicious recipes and shares them on her blog. You will be delighted to know that many of the recipes are very frugal!

I’m delighted that Briana asked me to do a guest post on here! It’s always so fun to see what deals Briana finds for her readers.

First off, I wanted to share with y’all some simple tips to follow for saving money at the grocery store.

• Use coupons. If you’ve been a frequent reader of Briana’s I’m sure you’re probably rolling your beautiful eyes and saying “duh!” because she is so great at encouraging people to use coupons with her posts. Need convincing? When I use grocery coupons, I typically save 50% – 80% on my grocery bill!

• Shop Weekly Sales. Chances are your life is a busy one. If so, you might find yourself without the time to clip coupons for a week or two, you can still save tons of money at the grocery store just by buying the fruits, vegetables, breads and meats that are on sale. Then, plan out your dinners for the week using the sale items for the bulk of your meals.

• Never overpay for meat. Grocery stores generally have better prices on meat than superstore chains like SuperTarget and Walmart. Wondering what a good price on meat is?

Boneless skinless chicken breast: $1.99/lb. or less.
Bone-in chicken: $0.99/lb. or less.
Beef Roasts: $2.99/lb. or less. I generally pay $1.99/lb. for mine but I do live in an area flowing with cattle so prices in your area may be higher.
Ground Beef: $1.99/lb. or less.
Fresh Fish: 4.99/lb. or less.
Steaks: 5.99/lb. or less.

All of these meats freeze beautifully so you can buy in bulk and freeze whatever you won’t use within 3 days.

Another one of the best ways to save money on meals is by making food from scratch. Now, I know quite a few of you are probably thinking to yourself “But I’m busy and don’t have time to make things from scratch!” I hear you, I really do.

What if I was to give you a recipe that was not only simple but also only took about 5 minutes longer to make fresh with quality ingredients instead of buying it pre-packaged  and loaded with ingredients created in a lab? Well, get ready, because this biscuit recipe will be restaurant quality, easy, money saving AND ready in 15-20 minutes. Once you try these biscuits, you’ll never go back to the pop-can variety again.

{Grandma’s Biscuits}

Makes 10-12 biscuits

• 2 c. flour ($0.20) Bought flour on sale for $1
• 2 tbsp. sugar (0.05)
• 1 tsp. salt (0.01)
• 4 tsp. baking powder (approx. $0.05)
• ½ tsp. cream of tartar (approx. $0.05)
• ½ c. cold butter ($0.25) Used a coupon when butter was on sale for 1.99, bringing the price down to just $0.99!
• 1 c. cold milk ($0.15)

Stir together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in milk and stir quickly to combine.

On a well floured surface, knead the dough by folding it in half, pressing it out slightly and repeating those two steps until the dough holds together, about 2-3 kneading repetitions. I usually sprinkle 1/8 c. flour onto the counter, place the dough down and then sprinkle another 1/8 c. flour on top before kneading.

Press out until ½” thick, cut into 2” rounds using a cookie cutter or even a drinking glass. Place on an oiled baking sheet, close together for softer sides and about 2” apart for crispier sides.

Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

Total Cost: $0.76 for 12 biscuits! You would easily pay 3 – 4 times as much for just 8 biscuits in a can!

Bargain Briana here: I think I could probably handle these biscuits, even with my time schedule! What about you? Do you cook from scratch instead of buying prepackaged to save money?

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