A review by Marty Martindale
Playing games with “scratch,” meaning doing things the long way, starting with no combined ingredients, has been the goal, for many.One of the earliest tweakers was General Mills who came out with their Bisquick 75 years ago. Probably its major precursor was self-rising flour, invented 163 years ago by a Henry James in the UK back in 1845. What made Bisquick revolutionary was the Betty Crocker kitchens discovered a way to include shortening in self-risers containing flour, baking powder and salt.
New to the Bisquick line is their Heart Smart Bisquick, low in fat, cholesterol-free with added calcium. Probably still the most amazing for either version is the category they call “Impossibly Easy Pies.” The book contains 30 of these “automatic pies.” Simply put, you mix all the recipe’s ingredients together, and once it’s cooked, it has a golden cruise on top. Some call these pies, “the pie which does the impossible by making its own crust.”
Here’s some recipes from the book:
· MICROWAVE APPLE CRIST: Calls for apples, brown sugar, oatmeal, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.
· IMPOSSIBLY EASY CHEESEBURGER PIE: Gather ground beef, an onion, Cheddar, milk and eggs.
· EASY CHICKEN POT PIE: Frozen mixed vegetables, cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, milk and an egg
· SAUSAGE CHEESE BALLS: Sausage, Cheddar, Parmesan cheese, rosemary and parsley
· IMPOSSIBLY EASY COCONUT PIE: Coconut, sugar, margarine, milk, vanilla, eggs and whipped topping
· CORNMEAL PANCAKES ‘N SAUSAGE SYRUP: Sausages, Cheddar, cornmeal, eggs and milk
· CHOCOLATE CHIP WAFFLES WITH ORANGE CREAM: Cream, Powdered sugar, orange juice concentrate, powdered sugar, orange peel, milk vegetable oil, egg and chocolate chips
· QUESADILLA APPETIZERS: Green chiles, shredded cheese, half-and-half, red pepper sauce, eggs and salsa
· OLIVE BALLS: Cheddar, butter, Worcestershire and stuffed olives
· SMOKED SALMON MINI TARTS: Milk, sour cream Worcestershire, eggs, Cheddar, smoked salmon and green onions
· TACO CHICKEN: Tortilla chips, chicken, egg, taco sauce, salt and vegetable oil
· CHICKEN CHOWDER WITH DIJON DUMPLINGS: Vegetabled oil, onion, chicken breast, skim milk, frozen vegetables, broth, thyme leaves and Dijon mustard
· EASY GARDEN BACK: Zucchini, large tomato, onion, Parmesan cheese, skim milk and eggs
· MEXICAN CORN CAKES: Cornmeal, skim milk, egg whites, salsa, whole kernel corn, ripe olives, refried beans, Cheddar cheese and sour cream
· IMPOSSIBLY EASY ITALIAN SAUSAGE PIE: Sausage, mixed vegetables, milk and eggs
· ALMOND CRUMB CAKES: Sugar, butter, almonds, milk, eggs, butter and almond extract
· LEMON BISCUIT PUDDING: Sugar, milk, lemon peel, half-and-half and an egg
· IMPOSSIBLY EASY PUMPKIN PIE: Sugar, pumpkin pie spice, milk, butter, vanilla, eggs, whipping cream and pecan halves
· IMPOSSIBLY EASY RASPBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE: Milk, vanilla, eggs, sugar, cream cheese, raspberries and sugar
· PEANUT BUTTER-CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS: Peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar and chocolate chips