Skip to main content

Kitchen Tip from Ruth Ross: Buy Bisquick


Always keep a box of Bisquick in your kitchen. That was the advice my Grandmother Ross gave me as she prepared dinner one day.

I don’t remember what she was making, but I remember this suggestion. This morning, I was running short of ideas when I spied a box of Bisquick. I gathered up some basic staples and whipped up some cheddar biscuits and a coffee cake. I thought of Nana as I baked. 

Ruth Brown Ross wasn’t a gourmet cook; I’d describe her as more of a Depression Era cook. She made delicious apple pies, stuffed peppers, ham and bean soup, meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, vegetable soup, and chili. The good stuff.

In 1937, she married Vance Ross of Clarksville, Pa. when she was very young. At the time, she knew how to cook one thing: scalloped potatoes with some onions and a slice of ham on top. Her young husband grew weary of potatoes and ham, so he rolled up his sleeves and taught her how to make an apple pie. After that, she made it all the time. 

If you want to make the Bisquick biscuits pictured above, just look on the box of Bisquick. You will see this recipe, along with recipes for pancakes, waffles, and other goodies. (I added a cup of shredded cheddar cheese to jazz up the biscuits.) I had to google the coffee cake recipe, but I know it was on the box at one time because I used to make it when I was in high school. Here’s the link. https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/bisquick-coffee-cake/

Enjoy!

(I’ll add the apple pie recipe at another time!)


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A 60-year-old letter from my Mom!

As I celebrate my 60th birthday today my thoughts are very much focused on how much I miss my mom and dad. When my mom passed away 10 years ago, I found letters she had written to her mother while she and my dad were living in St. Louis, Mo. in 1964 and 65. I’m so thankful that my grandmother Blanche saved everything, because the following letter details the day I was born: November 29, 1964. My mother was 19 at the time and my dad was 22. The letter was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. George Phillians, Box 883, Clarksville, PA 15322 with a St. Louis, MO Postmark of Dec. 7, 1964. Although my mom’s name was Roberta, her parents and everyone in her family called by her middle name, Lee, which is how she signed this letter. Saturday afternoon (December 5, 1964) Dear Mom & Dad, How are you? Fine I hope! We are all three fine here. Randi is the greatest. (We changed our minds about how to spell her name. We dropped the e & spell it Randi.) She’s so pretty. I guess I’m prejudiced though. H...

The Generosity of Howard F. Shipley Continues

"I am not a religious fanatic but God put every man on this earth with equal right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. I am simply performing my duty to my fellow beings as I understand it." ~   Howard Francis Shipley who helped evicted coal miners during the Coal Strike of 1922 Howard Shipley on a trip in the 1920s with his family: from the left are his wife’s best friend Dora Kinder, his daughter Trissa, wife Annabelle, and daughter Blanche. Howard Francis Shipley 1883-1923 My  Great Grandfather Howard Francis Shipley died suddenly of pneumonia in 1923 when he was just 40 years old, leaving behind his grieving wife Annabelle and three daughters: Mildred, who was already married, and Trissa and Blanche, who were still at home. Howard was a businessman from Brownsville who owned an automobile dealership in the bustling town on the Monongahela River in Fayette County, PA. His hard work made it possible for his family to live comfortably and allowed them to enjoy suc...

The Elephant Barn in Scenery Hill, PA (The Real Story!)

This barn adorned with a painting of an elephant sits along Route 40 between Scenery Hill and Washington and I pass it every day on my way to work. I have never stopped to take a photo of it, never asked anyone about it, or ever heard anyone discuss it.    But that doesn’t mean I haven’t wondered about it as I whizzed past.  Why an elephant? Usually, the barns around here have a “Mail Pouch” ad emblazoned on the side, but not an elephant.  Recently, I was looking in a book Westward of ye Laurall Hill when I stumbled upon a picture of the barn. The author Helen Vogt drew the photo in the book,  w hich  focuses on Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties during the period of 1750-1850.   There it was on page 327, in a chapter titled “Horse Racing - Red Fox Chasers - Picture Barns - Horses.” She maintains it was painted for the Triangle Oil Company, ca. 1940. “Another weathered grey barn at the side of the National Road west of Scenery Hill has the rather...