Reinventing the Breakfast Biscuit

This is a simple variation on a breakfast biscuit or popover using biscuit dough.  The trick to any kind of hand-pie is to cook the fillings first, so if you keep that in mind you can stuff these with just about anything.

Breakfast Pies
1 can refrigerated large biscuits
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 pound bulk country sausage
1/4c chopped onion
1/4c chopped bell pepper
1/2c shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
flour
water

Cook the sausage until it's brown and crumbly.  Drain and set aside.  Saute the onions and peppers, then add the eggs and scramble them together.  When they're done, stir in the sausage and remove from heat.

The biscuits should be of the large "Grands" variety that come eight to a can.  I think the non-flaky kind work best.  Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the biscuit can.  Open the can and separate the biscuits.  On a floured surface, roll the biscuits into flat circles.

Dip your finger in water and moisten the edge of the biscuit circle.  Place a couple spoonfuls of the egg mixture on the biscuit and top with cheddar cheese.  Fold the biscuit over and press the edges with a fork to seal them.  Place the pie on a cookie sheet and repeat until you've used all the biscuits.

Bake according to the biscuit directions until golden.  Serve warm.

You could certainly make your own biscuits, if you prefer!

You could add almost anything to this, like potato, spinach, or mushrooms. You could leave the egg out and use feta to make a nice veggie pocket.  Just remember that when it goes in the oven you're only cooking the biscuit, so make sure all the fillings are pre-cooked.

Bigger is Not Necessarily Better

Just a quick reminder that, when shopping for your household staples, bigger is not necessarily better.  I took these pictures at Walmart this morning.

Eggs at Walmart on November 30, 2010

One the left we have one dozen eggs from Olympia Valley for $1.88.  On the right we have 18 eggs from the same company for $6.22.  Wait, what?  The dozen egg pack works to 15.667 cents each, and is about the normal low price for our area (usually only found at Sam's Club or with a coupon deal).  The 18 pack is 34.556 cents per egg, and I can get 5 dozen eggs at Sam's Club for less than that.

A closer examination of the shelf tags reveals that Walmart is unhelpful.  The price per unit is in the orange box on the upper left of the tag.  One is per 100 eggs, the other is per package. 

The moral:  Do the math before you buy.  Work out the price per unit yourself if the units don't match on the tags for like items.

More Quick Deals

It pays to keep track of prices at your local stores.  Here's two great budget savers at our local Sam's Club:

Eggs:  I thought they were low-prices last time!  Today a carton of five dozen eggs was $3.86.  That's 77 cents a dozen!  For comparison, the best price in Fairbanks right now is one dozen large eggs, 3/$5.  Regular price has been running between $2.39 and $2.89 per dozen locally.

Veggies:  My sister pointed me to this deal.  Sam's has a four pound vegetable tray for $9.98.  It's a very nice variety, and no one said you couldn't use them in cooking. The dip's pretty good too.   For comparison, if you swung by a salad bar for some veggie munchies, you'd pay $5.99 a pound. 

I was actually considering letting our Sam's Club membership lapse, as we never buy big stuff there and that's where the major savings are.  But at these prices the eggs along will pay for the membership in a couple months.

In a completely unrelated note, the kids and I took a drive and saw a moose.  It's either a cow or a very hungry yearling.