First Birthday Sneak-Peek

My little Munchkin turns one year old on Saturday.

How did that happen!?!?!?

*Pause to consider the passage of time and how old I now feel.*

Since half of the week is going to be spent out in the woods, and the other half is going to be spent eating Thanksgiving goodies and hanging out with family and friends, I've done a lot of the party planning ahead of time. I'm sure I will post pictures of the party (parties, actually), but I want to share some of the "fruits" of my puttering over the last few weeks. :)

Thanksgiving, Brewer-Style: Hunting Camp and Sausage Biscuits

In just under 6 hours the Hubby, the Munchkin and I will be packing ourselves into the truck and heading off to the woods of West Virginia (wild and wonderful) as the festivities of Thanksgiving Week begin to unfold.

And since the woods does not have Internet access, my "Thanksgiving" post needs to be up before Thanksgiving. I'm sure you'll forgive me. There are several other luxuries we'll have to do without this week, like extra space (cramming 8-10 adults and 5 children into a small space is a trick!) or running water, so I made tons of food to bring with us (the women folk and the kids) to snack on while the men-folk hunt.

The last few years for Thanksgiving (minus LAST year, in which the Munchkin decided to make his first appearance and I spent the holiday in the hospital) I have made one of the special treats that my Mom makes for Christmas every year....

Sausage biscuits.

Since Thanksgiving is the "big" holiday in the Brewer family, I decided to bring my own little bit of tradition into it and make these a yearly treat. They are usually gone within a few minutes, so I guess everyone likes them. :) 

Even if people comment that they would be better with cheese, or even gravy. 

Let me set you straight, people -- these are NOT "sausage biscuits and gravy" sausage biscuits. These are just plain old "sausage biscuit" sausage biscuits. They stand very well on their own, thankyouverymuch. 

I have strayed from tradition insomuch as to use spicy or maple-flavored sausage, and they taste just as delicious.

(You are welcome to make them however you like, and use whatever you like to serve them with -- I just like to stay true to the original). 

This year I made a quadruple batch. I hope it's enough! :)

So, I give you the recipe and share this one small piece of tradition that makes this holiday special to me. What recipes make Thanksgiving special to you?

Sausage Biscuits

Makes: 36

1 lb. sausage

2 2/3 cup flour

2 T. sugar

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 cup shortening or butter

1/4 cup warm water

1 T. dry yeast

1 cup buttermilk

1. Cook sausage into crumbles, drain well, and set aside. 
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. 
3. Cut in shortening (or butter) until mixture resembles small peas.
4. Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl, stirring until yeast is dissolved. 
5. Add buttermilk and yeast mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. 
6. Stir in drained sausage and drop by teaspoon on to lightly greased baking sheet. 
7. Brush with melted butter (optional - they are great without it!)
8. Bake at 450F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Note: You can freeze them before baking (after dropping the biscuits onto a baking sheet, pop them into the freezer to harden for 1 hour, and then place them in a large Ziploc bag). When ready to bake, just place them on a baking sheet again and add one or two extra minutes to the baking time. 

Frankenstorm

So I apologize for the nearly-month-long-silence on here. The rest of October got pretty busy, and just about when I was getting ready to post some wonderful things (felt-book how-to's, November meal plans, first birthday party ideas)...

...Hurricane Sandy dumped over 2 feet of snow in our area of West Virginia and knocked out power in 90% of the county.

*Sigh*

Call it the Frankenstorm, the Octoblizzard, or whatever you like. It stinks.

Our house is on a side road off of a side road, several miles down the 'main' road from town. So when power goes out, we don't get it back for a LONG time. Last July it was out for about 10 days. We have a well pump, so when the power goes out... so does our water.

It was easier to "handle" in the summer, but in the winter it gets pretty chilly without heat. Especially when it is FREEZING and SNOWING outside.

So, the Hubby and I packed our perishables into coolers, gathered up a few days worth of clothing, and squeezed into the cab of his Ford Ranger with the Munchkin and his enormous car seat. Oh, I should also mention that the truck is a stick shift, so the person sitting in the middle seat (*ME*) gets absolutely no leg room whatsoever.

ANYway, we were able to make it "out", dodging downed power lines and hundreds of fallen trees, and utilizing the 4WD. Thankfully, a family from the church here has alternate heat and city water, and they were gracious enough to let us stay at their home.

After several days, though, we realized that it was going to be several more days until even the first customers received power back, and even longer before the 'rest' of us.

So, what did I do? I bundled up the Munchkin, repacked my car, and headed to NY to visit my parents. :)

I tell you what, it sure is nice to be able to wash bottles with warm water again!

Oh, and the Munchkin got to meet my mom's parents for the first time on Saturday. So thankful for that! Their health has been failing lately, so it is wonderful to get to visit with them and have them meet my little guy.

So, I really don't have much to post about other than this long and rambling apology for not posting anything OCD within the last month. Hopefully I'll be able to organize all the chaos that is going on right now, and get something posted soon!