Okay...I admit it. They are the 7-Up Biscuits that have been all over the Internet for quite sometime. This is so not my original recipe but, frankly, I can't for the life of me figure out who to thank for these babies. As you will see, however, I did put a small spin on them.

A few simple ingredients and a few minutes is all it takes for awesome biscuits....

I am not a good biscuit maker. Canned biscuits have always been my friend. So what made me try my hand at biscuits? On a Thursday night? Why the monthly Improv challenge, of course. Sponsored by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, the monthly Improv challenges us to take two assigned seasonal ingredients and make something wonderful. This month's theme? Lemon and Lime!

Lemon-Lime Biscuits

By Inspired by Several Internet Recipes
Published 05/16/2014

A few simple ingredients (including your favorite lemon-lime soda!) results in the best tasting biscuits ever!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 cups baking mix (such as Bisquick)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup lemon-lime soda
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel, optional
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime peel, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.; spread the melted butter in a 9" baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cut the sour cream into the baking mix. Add the soda and the lemon and lime zest, and stir just until the mixture is combined (it will be sticky).
3. Generously flour a large sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat. Scrape the dough onto the prepared surface and sprinkle with more flour. Gently roll out the dough. Make 9 biscuits, using a 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter. Arrange the biscuits in the prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden.

Yield: 9 Biscuits
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.
Total time: 25 mins.
Tags: biscuits, easy, bisquick, 7-Up, lemon, lime

The added lemon and lime zest brightens up the flavor...

Easily double the recipe and use a 9 x 13-inch pan, if desired.

It doesn't get much better.....

Check out what everyone else is making with Lemon and Lime:

An InLinkz Link-up

Orange and Yogurt Glazed Sweet Potato Rolls

In my continuing sweet potato journey, I present to you my Orange and Yogurt Glazed Sweet Potato Rolls. These were interesting, as I truly invented these as I went along. Oh, I've made sweet potato dough before, and I based the rolls on the Orange Glazed Sweet Potato Breakfast Braid that I made for the Midwest Living Magazine's Best of the Midwest contest. But, I wanted these to be a little different, something easy to put together for a brunch or, in my case, a treat for my co-workers.

What's great about adding sweet potatoes to a yeast dough, is that it not only adds flavor, but it adds some moisture, and it surely adds a beautiful color. Of course I wanted to add a little spice to the mix, so there's cardamom and ginger, but the flavor that I think goes best with sweet potatoes is orange---so I started by putting some grated orange peel into the dough, and I finished it with a glaze made up of the rest of the orange. Not being one to leave well enough alone, I threw some vanilla yogurt into the glaze, as well, and I'm so glad I did....yum!

How easy is this? Just divvy up the dough into 24 balls and put them into buttered cupcake pans. I let mine sit in the fridge overnight--then I just baked them in the morning for fresh, warm rolls.



Orange and Yogurt Glazed Sweet Potato Rolls
Printable Recipe

1 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
4- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup mashed, cooked sweet potato

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, butter, granulated sugar, and orange peel until the butter is almost melted and the milk is 110-115 degrees F. (bathwater warm to the touch).

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, salt, ginger, cardamom, and sweet potato. Add the warm milk mixture and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping down the side of the bowl. Turn the speed to medium and continue to beat for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size; about 1 hour.

Gently deflate the dough, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grease 24 muffin cups and set aside.

Divide the dough into 24 pieces; shape into balls. Place one ball into each prepared muffin cup. Cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes (if preparing ahead of time, refrigerate the dough overnight and allow the rolls to rise for about one hour before baking). Bake at 350 degrees F. for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden. Invert the rolls onto a wire rack and cool slightly. Place the rolls on a serving plate and spoon the glaze over them. Serve warm.

Orange and Yogurt Glaze:

1 orange, peeled and sectioned
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 (6 oz) container vanilla yogurt
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a blender, combine the orange sections, orange peel, and vanilla. Cover and blend until nearly smooth. Blend in the yogurt. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup of the orange mixture* with 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Stir in enough of the remaining powdered sugar until glaze is of spooning consistency.

* Refrigerate the remaining orange mixture or blend in some additional fruit and use as a smoothie.

 I wouldn't tell anyone if you spread some of that leftover orange yogurt on the top, but at least use a little butter.

I think this will make a good entry into the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission's "No More Mallows!" recipe contest, don't you?

Pretzel Buns

Have you discovered Pinterest? Oh boy---is it addicting or what? I keep pinning pictures of great looking food to my boards. Besides my own stuff, though, I hadn't made any of the things that I fully intended to. Until today. Today, I made the Pretzel Rolls.

I've been eyeing these little devils for weeks, all the while buying pretzel buns at Trader Joe's. Want to see how I made them? Here you go:

Pretzel Rolls (adapted from [Une Bonne Vie])

Printable Recipe

1 3/4 cups milk, warmed to 110 degrees F. (bathwater warm)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

3-3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

Coarse salt for sprinkling

Water Bath

7-8 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

4 tablespoons baking soda

Place the warmed milk in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the olive oil and the yeast. Let this mixture stand for about 5 minutes or until it starts to foam (this way you know the yeast is working). Add three cups of the flour and the salt.

Attach the dough hook and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour, if needed. The dough should nearly clean the sides of the bowl, but still be a little tacky. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly, by hand, for about a minute until the dough is smooth and elastic.

When measuring the flour, lightly spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. If you have to add flour, add it a tablespoon at a time.

Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and turn it over so that both sides are oiled. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rise in a draft-free area until it's doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.; Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Punch the dough down and plop it on a floured surface ( I prefer my Silpat), then divide it into 8 pieces. Form each piece of dough into a ball, slightly flattened. Place the dough balls on the lined baking pan, cover and allow to rise for an additional 20 minutes.

While the buns are rising, prepare the water bath. In a large pot, combine the water, salt, and baking soda; bring to a rolling boil. Gently drop the dough buns into the boiling water, two at a time, and let them "poach" for about 30 seconds on each side. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them back on the lined baking pan. Using a serrated knife, cut 2-3 lines across each bun and sprinkle with course salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the buns are a deep brown. Transfer to a rack to cool.

I found the dough balls to be a little sticky when I was putting them into the boiling water, so I dipped my fingers in a little flour first. The water does foam up, so make sure your pot is large enough. A crinkly appearance is normal--this disappears during baking.

As you can see, I was a little stingy with the salt--I usually scrape salt off of my pretzels, but I found that I did like a little on these.

If you aren't going to use all of these right away, go ahead and pop some in the freezer. They thaw quickly and stay fresh much longer if frozen.

I may never buy another hamburger bun again.

Fiery Tomato Chile Cheese Buns

Let's take a little break (at least 10 minutes) from all of the sugary holiday treats. Remember those cans of tomatoes I got from Red Gold Tomatoes? Of course you do. Just scroll on down and look at the Cincinnati Chili Pizza I made from the can of sauce. Well, on the same day that I made the pizza, I experimented a bit with the other half of my pizza dough. I couldn't wait to try out these spicy diced tomatoes with green chilies, so I tossed some on top of my pizza slice...they were pretty tasty (since the tomatoes are canned  fresh off the fields, I imagine they taste fresher that some of those mealy ones you find in the stores this time of year). Oh ya, where was I? The pizza dough. Sometimes, the quickest ideas are the best. Just look at what I made with the rest of my dough.

I opened this to use some on my pizza....

....and got the bright idea to make it into rolls.

Roll out the dough into a 9X12 square, just like for cinnamon rolls. Then sprinkle some olive oil and garlic powder over the dough, along with some well-drained diced tomatoes with green chilies.

Sprinkle about a cup of shredded cheese over the tomatoes, roll up the dough from the long side, and slice it into 12 slices. Put them in a buttered a 9X13 inch baking pan and let them rise for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.; bake for 25-30 minutes.

And, behold a tasty treat!

Next time, I'll try some crumbled sausage, pepperoni, or bacon in these, too. Don't you just love an easy snack? What would you roll up in these?

Disclaimer: I did receive some free product from Red Gold Tomatoes for review purposes. All opinions are my own.