My Favorite Buttermilk Biscuits + Pepper Fried Egg and Bacon Breakfast Sandwich

After many attempts at making buttermilk biscuits, I have perfected my recipe. Fluffy on the inside and golden brown on the outside---they're perfect for biscuits and gravy or a pepper fried egg and bacon breakfast sandwich!

Notes: I do one thing that all the biscuit recipes will tell you not to do: knead. Everyone says it will make your biscuits tough. But every Southern lady I've ever known kneads her biscuits. Once I started kneading, I finally got the consistency I was looking for. My biscuits also starting rising correctly. As long as you don't knead them like bread, it won't make them tough.

I think a pastry blender is incredibly helpful, so if you plan on making these a lot, I would invest in one. You can also use a dinner fork, but it will take you a little longer.

This is also my favorite way to make a fried egg. The whites are fully cooked, the bottom is a little brown and crispy, and the yolk is still runny. If you don't like your yolk runny, poke it before you flip it over.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, cold
1 stick butter, cold

For the sandwich:
1 egg
1-2 strips of bacon
Pepper
Salt
Cheese of your choosing (optional)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the cold butter into small cubes. Work the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or a fork until the butter is the size of large peas.

Stir in the buttermilk. Once the dough comes together, knead it in the bowl for just a minute. Pat the dough out on to a floured service. Pat it into a circle that's about a 1/2 inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter (or an empty aluminum can) and cut out rounds. When you work your way through the circle, gather the scraps and reshape into a ball. Pat the dough out again and repeat until you use up all the dough (should make about 8-10 biscuits).

Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

While the biscuits are cooling, heat a skillet on medium. Cook the bacon. When the strips are done, put them on a plate lined with paper towel. Crack your egg right into the bacon grease. Sprinkle a liberal amount of pepper on the top and season with a little salt. Cook the egg on one side until the edges are a little crisp and brown and the whites are mostly set. Gently flip it over and turn the heat off. Let is sit for about 20 seconds. If you want cheese, lay it on top of the egg now.

Slice open a biscuit. Slide the egg from the skillet onto one of the halves. Top with bacon and make a sandwich. Enjoy!

Bacon and Spinach Baked Ziti

This is a thing of beauty, my friends. Baked ziti is good all by itself, but add in some bacon and spinach? You get baked pasta magic!

Notes: This is just plain delicious. You should make it ASAP.

I added a little less cheese than baked ziti usually has. I just used one ball of mozzarella instead of it plus ricotta cheese. I thought it was just the right amount of cheese and it made the dish not so heavy.

If you wanted to do a lot of this ahead, you could. Assemble the whole thing (minus the bacon on top) and put it in the fridge. Store the crumbled bacon in the fridge separately. All you have to do is take the ziti out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to bake it. Take the crumbled bacon out at the same time.

Ingredients:
1 box penne or ziti pasta
1 26 oz jar of your favorite sauce (I used arrabbiata)
6 slices of bacon
10-12 oz. of spinach (I used 2 bags of the pre-washed kind)
2 shallots or 1 small onion
6-7 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of dried Italian herb mix
1 ball fresh mozzarella
Salt
Pepper

Directions: Heat the oven to 375.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high and add the bacon. While the bacon is cooking, mince the garlic and dice the shallots. Fill a stock pot with water and heat on high. When the bacon is crisp, remove and drain on a paper towel.

Add in the onions and garlic to the bacon fat. Season with salt, pepper, and herb mix, and cook until tender. Add in the spinach and toss until wilted. Crumble two of the strips of bacon and add them to the pan. Pour in the sauce, stir to combine, and turn the heat back to medium-low.

When the water boils, add a small handful of salt. Add the pasta and cook to al dente (follow the directions on the box).

While the pasta is cooking, cut the mozzarella ball in half. Dice half of it and thinly slice the other half.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir. Add in the diced mozzarella and stir again.

Pour the pasta into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with the sliced mozzarella and baked uncovered for 25 minutes.

Crumble the rest of the bacon and sprinkle it on top of pasta. Put back in the oven for just a minute to warm up the bacon. Serve and enjoy!

Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Bacon and Peas

Ever had gluten-free pasta? I tried some once. Um, it got a less than stellar review. I may have just tried the wrong brand, but I'm not exactly itching to give it another try.

I've seen the trick of using spaghetti squash in the place of pasta and I thought that might be a better bet than the gluten-free version.

Notes: Spaghetti squash does not taste like pasta. It's reminiscent of pasta and it looks like pasta, but if you're expecting it to mimic spaghetti exactly, you'll be disappointed.

Spaghetti squash is also a bit bland, so it needs flavor help. I thought the bacon grease would do the trick, but that wasn't enough. Neither was the pesto. It needs salt. So, be sure to salt the squash before you add in the pesto and peas.

I love that you can roast the squash ahead of time (thanks to Martha Stewart for the tip). You could roast it on the weekend and make this a Q.E.D. weeknight meal.

Ingredients
1 large spaghetti squash
5-6 slices of bacon
1/2 bag frozen peas
2 tablespoons (homemade) pesto
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 375. Using a small knife, prick the squash all over. Put it on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Allow the squash to cool and cut it open. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Using a fork, scrape out the strands of squash into a large bowl. This step can be done up to 2 days ahead. You can keep the squash in an airtight container in the fridge.

In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Set the slices on a plate lined with a paper towel. Add the squash to the bacon grease and toss to coat and warm through. Season with salt and pepper (don't be shy). Add the peas and toss enough to heat the peas. Turn off the heat, add the pesto, and stir to combine.

Dish it up, crumble the bacon on top, and enjoy!

Pictured here with optional parmesan cheese!