White Lily Biscuits & Gravy
These White Lily biscuits are a Southern tradition. They’re based on my Granny’s baking powder biscuits and they’re perfect with creamy sawmill gravy!
When you order anything other than breakfast at Cracker Barrel, there is a very important question that they ask you:
“Biscuits or cornbread?”
Biscuits, duh. Ah, biscuits. Though I’ve developed a much greater appreciation for cornbread since I developed my own method of making it, I would never, ever choose cornbread over a biscuit. NEVER.
I remember as a kid asking my mom to make biscuits from scratch, or to make biscuits from scratch with me, or something. I don’t recall that it ever happened. My mom is a great cook but was never much for baking from scratch, which is a shame since her mom made some famous-in-these-parts yeast rolls (she was the cafeteria manager at the elementary school near their home and made the rolls from scratch. People from the community would come to the school to buy her rolls). I never met my mom’s mom (Mamaw) but wish I knew how to make those rolls. The biscuits in our house back in those days were poppin’ fresh, probably with flaky layers.
My first experience with homemade biscuits? NOT GOOD. Don’t ever try to make biscuits from scratch for the first time on Thanksgiving. Take. My. Word. Why I decided to make biscuits on Thanksgiving anyway I’m not quite certain (Thanksgiving doesn’t generally make me think, “Mmmmm, biscuits….”) but I did. It was the very first Thanksgiving-the very first anything-that we hosted in our house, with Philip’s family and my family jammed into our not-very-big house. Philip’s sister put the sweet potato casserole into the teeny little broiler drawer in our ancient stove (yes, you read that correctly. A broiler drawer. It was wide enough to fit a broiler pan into and it was on the bottom of the stove because what could possibly go wrong with fire shooting out of a broiler that’s four inches from the floor?????) and set the marshmallows on fire. But that’s not the point here.
The point is this: I set out to make biscuits. They involved flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, shortening, and milk. The directions stated that the biscuits should be rolled to 3/4″ thickness. Those jokers at Better Homes and Gardens actually showed someone measuring the biscuit dough with a ruler. I don’t think Philip and I got out a ruler, but we were definitely all like, “No, we definitely need to roll it more.” The directions said not one thing about not overworking the dough or any of that important stuff.
So. I pulled those babies out of the oven, expecting big, beautiful, puffy biscuits. Instead? Hockey pucks. Freaking disks of baked biscuit dough. Philip’s sister called them “biscuit cookies”.
My ego was bruised. For several years, I bought my biscuits from the freezer section, till I found the book Small Batch Baking at a bookstore. My interest was piqued and while I didn’t make very many of the recipes (mainly because they required specialized small equipment) I immediately glommed on to a recipe for southern-style biscuits, supposed to be similar to Hardee’s. I made them from the book until I eventually committed the recipe to memory, then I started experimenting with my own methods, using all-purpose flour with baking powder, soda, and salt instead of self-rising. Eventually I started using more baking powder a la my Granny Reese, who used shortening in her baking powder biscuits, but you know I just can’t do that so I use unsalted butter. Then I started folding the dough to make layers. I make my White Lily biscuits every Saturday. Sometimes I serve my White Lily biscuits with gravy, sometimes with jam. But regardless what I serve with them, one thing’s for sure…
I’ll never choose cornbread over a biscuit. And if you try these White Lily biscuits, you may never either.
Mary
Yield: 10-12 biscuits
15 minPrep Time:
12 minCook Time:
27 minTotal Time:
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (a soft wheat brand like White Lily will turn out the best biscuits)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold, cut into chunks)
- 1 cup buttermilk (can also use milk, cream, or half-and-half or splash a little vinegar into the bottom of a measuring cup and fill it the rest of the way with milk to approximate buttermilk)
- 4 tablespoons bacon or sausage drippings
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put a baking stone or baking sheet in the oven to preheat.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender or your fingertips to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add buttermilk a little at a time, stirring after each addition, until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly coat the outside with flour. Flatten and fold into thirds. Repeat the flattening and folding twice, adding flour as needed but being careful not to add too much flour, which will toughen your biscuits.
- Lightly press the dough into a rectangle about an inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or knife to cut into the desired number of biscuits. I use a knife and don't worry about the shape of my biscuits. Not using a biscuit cutter prevents me from having to re-roll the scraps, which will also toughen it.
- Place the biscuits on the preheated pan barely touching one another. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 12 minutes. Serve with butter, jelly, gravy, etc.
- To make the gravy: While the biscuits are baking, Preheat a 10-inch skillet (cast iron works great) over medium heat. Add the drippings and heat until the fat starts to shimmer. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, until it just begins to brown. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking and allowing to thicken after each addition. Continue adding until the gravy reaches the consistency that you like (you may need a little more or a little less than the recipe calls for). Salt and pepper the gravy to taste and serve with biscuits. It's also delicious on toast, chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, fries....the list goes on and on!
Notes
This recipe makes 10-12 biscuits, but I usually cut the recipe in half to make 6. Also, to make the biscuits pictured here I used self-rising flour and omitted the salt, baking soda, and half of the baking powder.

Eggnog French Toast (Slow Cooker)
Slow cooker eggnog French toast is the perfect recipe to use up eggnog that’s on the brink (not that I know what THAT is) and BONUS: 10 minute prep time and it cooks overnight! It is SO easy and everyone in your family will love it. Use milk if your family doesn’t like eggnog! Delicious year-round, but PERFECT for Christmas breakfast!
Eggnog Recipe
How many of you, like me, wait with baited breath for eggnog season? I mean, seriously. We get pumpkin spice lattes in September but we have to wait until after Halloween for eggnog? There is something about that that just doesn’t sit well with me. You see where my priorities lie. #eggnogloverforlife
When I was a kid my dad taught me about the glorious beverage that is eggnog, and I was lucky to marry a man who shares my feelings about it. Languishing eggnog is not much of a thing in our house. We throw it back in servings much larger than what is recommended on the side of the carton. NO JUDGMENT PLEASE. We only get eggnog two months out of the year so we make the most of it!
Eggnog French Toast
But it does happen, and when it does, you’re gonna need some eggnog recipes. Eggnog French toast is a perfect solution. Not that you can’t buy eggnog for the sole purpose of making eggnog French toast, because that is a 100% legit reason for buying eggnog. Though I hope you will drink some of it too, because eggnog.
Slow Cooker French Toast
Making eggnog French toast in the slow cooker is the perfect way to have breakfast waiting for you when you get up. I mean, you could totally make it as a baked casserole (just sub eggnog for milk in this recipe), but sometimes when you wake up you need to get some carby goodness into your stomach ASAP, and slow cooker eggnog French toast is the ticket to a no-wait breakfast.
French Toast for Christmas Breakfast Without the Fuss!
Could you totally do this for Christmas breakfast? Heck yeah you could. Like, eggnog French toast is the perfect Christmas breakfast. And you probably should, because people will love you for it. I mean, those people probably love you already, but they’ll be like, “Heck yeah, eggnog French toast.” Well, that’s what I said when I ate this for breakfast this morning.
Whatever you do, don’t skip the lining your slow cooker with foil and spraying it with cooking spray step. The custard will burn on and will ruin your slow cooker. Ask me how I know (sorry, old wound, still hasn’t healed).
But you’re going to do the aluminum foil and spray step, so don’t worry. Just make eggnog French toast in your slow cooker!
Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!
Mary
Yield: 4-6 servings
10 minPrep Time:
8 hrCook Time:
8 hr, 10 Total Time:
Ingredients
- 12oz bread, sliced (Use a sturdy bread like French, sourdough, country bread, or Challah, which is what I used)
- 4 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups eggnog
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- maple syrup, powdered sugar, and nutmeg (for serving)
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Tear off a long piece of aluminum foil and fold it in half lengthwise. Use this folded sheet of foil to make a "collar" to line your slow cooker. Tear off another long piece of foil, fold it in half lengthwise, and cut down the fold. Lay one piece of foil across the slow cooker in one direction and press down into the cooker, then repeat with the other piece in the other direction. The inside of your slow cooker should be completely lined with the foil collar and "sling". Spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- Arrange the sliced bread in layers in the stoneware. I placed 3 slices of bread in each layer, slightly overlapping, and placed a piece down each side to fill in the gaps on the sides.
- Whisk the eggs, eggnog, and nutmeg together and pour over the top of the bread. My bread slices kind of "floated" above the custard so I pressed them down to soak it up. I just used my hands but if that makes you squeamish just use a spatula.
- Cook on low for 8 hours. If there is any liquid left, you will want to uncover the French toast for the last 20 or 30 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and more nutmeg, if desired.
Grilled Naan Bread Pizza with Grape Tomatoes & Basil
If you are like me, you can’t get enough grilling in the summer. What better way to hang out in the great outdoors, keep your kitchen cool, and get great tasting food? Grilled naan bread pizza is an easy crowd pleasing weeknight dinner!
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Who’s Responsible for the Grill?
I used to fall squarely into the trap of “men grill and women cook in the kitchen”. I just started grilling last summer, after almost 16 years of marriage. One day I just decided that it was summer and I wanted grilled food and since Philip’s schedule is too crazy for him to do much grilling I was going to have to do it myself!
Our grill went kaput at the end of the summer last year so we just got a new one. Cook’s Illustrated recommended the Weber Spirit E-310, but since it is just the two of us we decided that we didn’t need three burners. We went for the two-burner Weber E-210 instead and it has been great so far!
Grill All the Foods!
Speaking of Cook’s Illustrated, I got an America’s Test Kitchen book, Master of the Grill, to help me with cook times and ideas for the grill. I am sure that you will see me refer to it plenty of times over the summer! I have been putting everything I can think of on the grill. I make it a goal to never turn on my oven from May to October because it is so hot here. Grilling helps me accomplish that goal (I occasionally break the rule if I need to bake something in a pan that is too big to fit in my countertop oven).
Grilled Naan Bread Pizza
Costco sells giant packages of naan bread in the bakery section for just a few bucks and I love the stuff (if you happen to think ahead, though, this is an amazing recipe for homemade naan bread). I prefer it to storebought pita bread for dipping into hummus, and of course it is amazing with homemade curries (this butter chicken from HalfBaked Harvest is one of my personal favorites).
One of my very favorite ways to use this naan bread, though, is grilled naan bread pizza. I mean, what’s not to love about something that is (a) pizza; and (b) thrown together in less than 10 minutes on the grill? As in, you literally assemble it on the grill? Mine has grape tomatoes and basil, but you can customize this anyway you want.
Tips for Perfect Grilled Naan Bread Pizza
- Don’t grill too hot! I preheated my grill to medium and honestly, I could have turned the heat down a little bit more and been in good shape
- Get your ingredients ready before you put the pizzas on the grill. Once those bread rounds hit the grates, this is all going to go very quickly! I like to put everything in individual bowls and transport them on a cookie sheet to the grill.
- Use plenty of oil! I clean my grill with a brush once it gets hot then I oil the grates with a wad of paper towels held on long tongs. Then I oil the naan bread too!
- For extra non-stick insurance, use foil or parchment paper. For foods that might easily fall apart or that have toppings, I like to put a little square of foil or some parchment on the grill. The food will easily lift off of that without leaving behind half of your dinner!
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Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite and The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!
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Mary
Yield: 4 servings
10 minPrep Time:
4 minCook Time:
14 minTotal Time:
Ingredients
- canola or vegetable oil for the grill
- 4 naan bread rounds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 ounces mozzarella, grated (I used fresh but you could also use low-moisture)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup chopped or julienned basil
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium heat for fifteen minutes. Use a grill brush to clean the grates. Hold several paper towels folded or wadded in long grill tongs. Dip the paper towels into the canola or vegetable oil and thoroughly oil the grill grates.
- Brush both sides of each piece of naan bread with olive oil. Place 4 sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper on the grill and place a piece of naan on each piece. Cover and grill for two minutes.
- Flip the naan bread rounds. Divide the mozzarella and halved tomatoes among the naan rounds. Cover and grill for an additional two minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Use a large grill spatula to carefully remove the pizzas from the grill. Top with the basil, slice, and serve.
Notes
Prep time includes active time to top the pizzas while they are on the grill.
Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole with Ham, Cheese, and Broccoli
Loaded with ham, Cheddar cheese, and broccoli, this Instant Pot breakfast casserole (or strata, if you will) comes together so quickly and is a perfect one-dish meal for breakfast or brunch…but no one will judge you if you eat it for lunch or dinner, either!
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Breakfast Casseroles are the Best!
Raise your hand if you love a one-dish breakfast?🙋🏻You guys know that I love my grandmother’s Christmas egg soufflé. When I set out to make an Instant Pot breakfast casserole, I knew that I wanted it to be even easier than that one, which is saying a lot.
I decided to go with ham instead of bacon or sausage, since it doesn’t need to be precooked. Combined with sturdy bread cubes (I went with tangy sourdough), smoked Cheddar (though you could certainly use regular), broccoli, and eggs, this breakfast casserole – or strata – took about fifteen minutes to throw together after dinner. I covered the dish with foil and stuck it in the fridge overnight.
This is a seriously simple “pot-in-pot” meal. Just pour a little water in the bottom of your Instant Pot, add the trivet, and set your baking dish or soufflé dish in a little sling made out of foil. A few minutes under high pressure and you have a perfectly baked egg casserole that is 100% customizable (don’t like broccoli? Leave it out! Prefer pepper Jack? Go for it! This breakfast casserole is your oyster!). Also, let’s take a quick second to address the elephant in the room: that broccoli is not pretty. I promise it was delicious and it wasn’t mushy!
For real, you guys. You can have this Instant Pot breakfast casserole however you want it. And trust me…you want it!
Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite and The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!
Save this recipe for later on Pinterest! Yield: 4-6 servings 4 15 minPrep Time: 35 minCook Time: 50 minTotal Time: Ingredients Instructions
Mary