Sweet Potato Biscuits

Hello again! It feels like some time has passed. The truth is, time did pass, life was crazy and posting was just not happening. Last weekend I went to my 5 year college reunion. I couldn’t even believe it had been 5 years. Sometimes I wish I could go back to college; those really were the days!!! Since I went to UVa I got to spend the weekend in Charlottesville basking in the sunlight and enjoying our favorite stomping grounds. We might have visited some places more than once, haha.

I like to get away to a place that is so cheap in comparison to D.C. I mean can we talk about how two rounds of drinks for 4 people only cost like $30 in Charlottesville, in D.C. it would be like $50 maybe more depending on what you are drinking. I mean our rent in Charlottesville was unheard of compared to what the going rate is in DC for similar places. Why, oh why, couldn’t I stay in college? My parents would probably say because tuition is not cheap and unless I was footing the bill the sooner I was out of there the better. So like my fellow Wahoos, I graduated 5 years ago and entered the world of grown ups and bills. Blagh!

Since I was in Charlottesville I thought it would be a good time to feature another recipe from the Hollymead collection. Now that we have the CSA I actually like to go through Grandma’s recipes to see what she has that I can use all of our yummy veggies and fruit in. In this past basket we got a giant, not-from-this-planet-sized sweet potato (see picture below). They only had to give us one sweet potato because this thing was so big. I had to pause a moment to think if they can grow this big in nature, like what if this was some mutant crop that the CSA slipped in there hoping it would go unnoticed. Pssh, like anyone wouldn’t notice the enormous size of this thing.

Hey, it even looks like it has veins popping out from too much lifting! Despite it being huge it was actually super delicious and fresh. I happened to have another sweet potato in the house which was super convenient otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to take this picture and you would have thought, “why is she pretending this normal sized sweet potato is some mutant potato from space”. See I prepared myself for these things to happen!

The recipe was incredibly easy. It actually surprised me that it was so easy. I made two batches with that sweet potato. I actually did one that was Gluten-Free (does that seem to be the going trend?). The hubby is trying to steer clear of Gluten as it may be that his genes make him sensitive to gluten (psst. I told him this like ages ago and he doubted me but now…). The Gluten-Free version turned out great! The texture is only a smidge different but not that you would notice really but they don’t get fluffy in the middle so they turn out a little bit denser. The hubby still thought they were quite yummy actually and is happy to see that there is a world without gluten…well a world he can tolerate living in at least.

Ok, so I might have left one little thing out of this post. I turned the biscuits into sandwiches. I was so excited to make the biscuits that I started thinking about what I could put on the biscuits and then next thing you know I making BBQ Shredded chicken and throwing it between two slices of sweet potato biscuit, topping it with some slaw, and calling it a day. The chicken is also incredibly easy to whip together (recipe is below). Since the Gluten-Free biscuits don’t get as fluffy we just forked some shredded chicken on top and did it like a southern style tostada.

Whatever you want to do with these biscuits you will not be disappointed. I took some the next day and warmed them up with some butter and came away with a huge smile on my face. I mean, delish!!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Makes About 2 Dozen 3 inch Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 Cup Mashed Sweet Potato
4 Tbsp. Butter or Shortening
1 and 1/2 Cup Flour
4 Tsp. Baking Powder
4 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Salt

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375. Once heated place your sweet potatoes directly on the rack to roast until done. You can check the doneness by squeezing to see if the potato is soft. Once cooked allow the potato to cool before removing the inside. Once cooled scoop out the potato and mash in a medium-sized bowl. Add your butter and sugar to the potato mixture and mix together. In a separate bowl sift together your flour, baking powder and salt. Add your flour mixture in parts to the sweet potatoes stirring to incorporate. Once mixed in split half of the dough and roll out on a floured cutting board or counter. Roll the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut into rounds. Make sure not to over work the dough or it will prevent the biscuits from rising. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 425. They should get lightly golden when done.

Gluten-Free Option
Follow the steps above but use a Gluten-Free flour instead of regular flour. If you need a recommendation try using King Arthur’s Gluten-Free baking flour. The dough will be a little bit more delicate so don’t overwork and use a spatula when transferring the biscuits from the board to the cookie sheet.

One-Pot BBQ Shredded Chicken

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Molasses
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp. Ketchup
1 Tsp. Mustard
1/2 Tsp. Dry Mustard
2 Tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tsp. Liquid Smoke (Optional)
2 Tsp. Chili Powder
2 Tsp. Onion Powder
1 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1 Lb. Chicken Thighs cut into 2 inch pieces

Instructions:
Add all of your ingredients into a pot. Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Once boiling turn the heat down to low and let the chicken simmer in the sauce for 30-40 minutes until it easily shreds with a fork. Shred the chicken in the pot and allow it to simmer in the sauce until ready to eat. You can adjust seasoning to suit your tastes.