My grandma made the best buttermilk biscuits ever!  They were the best with gravy, or with a pat of butter and smear of preserves.   We made little sandwiches out of them with eggs and bacon long before McDonald's ever thought of the idea.  Below is her recipe, the only change I made is to substitute shortening for lard, since lard isn't readily available these days.

Today I want to share with you a recipe that I I like to make to give as a gift.  This rice pilaf mix is perfect for busy people that still like to cook their own healthy meals.  It's also great for seniors because its easy to use and make a tasty, inexpensive, healthy meal or side. 

After making the mix, I put it in small canning jar, and I tie a bow around the neck of the jar with a tag with instructions on how to cook the dish.  Sometimes if I am really ambitious, I cut a circle of fabric with my pinking shears and put that over the lid and then tie around the neck of the jar.

I got the base recipe for this out of a magazine, years ago.  At the time I thought it a bit bland, so I started tinkering with it.  It took a long time to perfect it, and what it took to make it truly delicious was the brown sugar.  I have to give credit for suggesting it to my late Mother.  She always was the best cook.  Thanks Mom!

This coating mix can be used on just about anything, it isn't just for chicken.  I have used it on pork chops, potato wedges, cauliflower florets. and slices of squash.  Really anything that can be breaded and fried can be breaded in this mixture and baked in the oven.  I use it to make chicken nuggets all the time, they are so yummy and much lower calorie than the ones you would buy at the store or a fast food restaurant. 

​I found this Picture on a Facebook Page I like called:
Homesteading/Survivalism

It really does not take a lot of explanation, you simply carve pumpkins using a hand drill.  I think the possibilities are awesome!!  I love the patterns shown on the bottom picture, and I can think of lots of others that would be really cool. 

I am definitely going to make a few of these, this Halloween, not only from fresh pumpkins, but also from the foam pumpkins that you can carve!

Yay for great ideas from Facebook!

Jade   :)

Update 2014~
I found a tutorial on how to carve pumpkins using a drill, if you are interested, check it out:

Pumpkins Carved With A Drill