National Biscuit Day - May 29!

Okay, buttercups, settle in with a cuppa (or maybe a big ol' glass of sweet tea, this is Texas, y'all!) because your favorite tattooed, pink-loving, slightly shy singing-dancer-blogger-mama is BACK! And guess what glorious day is hurtling towards us like a perfectly baked, golden brown… well, biscuit? That’s right, my loves, mark your calendars for May 29th, 2025, because it’s National Biscuit Day! 🎉

Now, some of you might be thinking, "A whole day for biscuits, Elizabeth?" And to that, I say, honey, have you tasted a truly amazing biscuit? It's not just a side; it's a hug in carbohydrate form. It's the fluffy cloud your gravy floats on. It's the reason breakfast is the most important and the most delicious meal of the day.

So, how am I, The Review Ballerina, going to celebrate this momentous occasion? Well, first things first, there will be biscuits. Lots and lots of biscuits. My teenager, Lil' Ballerina (yes, she’s rolling her eyes at the name even now), will probably emerge from her cave (aka her room) if the aroma of freshly baked goodness wafts strongly enough. Even Daddy Ballerina, bless his heart, gets excited at the sight of a warm biscuit slathered in butter. It’s a universal language, people!

I’ve been known to get a little… enthusiastic… about food, especially when it involves butter, sugar, honey, etc etc. A biscuit has a certain grounded elegance, a rustic charm that even this sometimes-shy dancer can appreciate. Plus, you can FILL THEM WITH ANYTHING. Seriously! Talk about a dance on your tongue Mmm!

Think about it:

• Breakfast: Sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit? A classic for a reason. Drizzle a little hot sauce if you’re feeling spicy (like this mama’s dance moves after a few cups of coffee!).
• Lunch: Crispy fried chicken nestled between two halves of a fluffy biscuit? Oh. My. Goodness. It’s a Southern symphony in your mouth.
• Dinner: Biscuits served warm with a hearty stew or chili? They soak up all that deliciousness like a sponge… a very tasty sponge.
• Dessert: Strawberry shortcake with a sweet biscuit instead of the traditional sponge? Mind. Blown. (Okay, maybe not instead, but alongside? Absolutely!)

And speaking of deliciousness, did you hear about the biscuit who went to the doctor? He was feeling crumbly! 😂 Oh, I crack myself up sometimes. It's been over ten years of this blogging gig, you learn a few things – like how to tell a truly terrible food pun.

But seriously, National Biscuit Day isn't just about eating (though that's a HUGE part of it). It's about celebrating the simple joys in life. It's about that warm, comforting feeling you get from a homemade treat. It's about the memories made around the kitchen table, flour dusting your apron (and probably your hair, if you're anything like me).

So, on May 29th, 2025, I encourage you to get your bake on! Try a new biscuit recipe, support your local bakery, or just grab a tin of those pop-open wonders (no judgment here, we all have those days!). Share your biscuit creations, tag me in your photos, and let's spread the biscuit love!

What are your favorite ways to enjoy a biscuit? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to wear pink while you’re celebrating – it just makes everything better. 😉

Stay fluffy, my friends! 💖 

#NationalBiscuitDay #Biscuits #FoodBlogger #SouthernCooking #ComfortFood #Baking #HomeBaking #May29th #TheReviewBallerina #PinkLover #Foodie #TexasFood #ButteryGoodness #GetYourBakeOn 

Recipe Wednesday: Summer Fruit Salad!

I don't know about all of you but Texas Summers just suck. I cannot stand Texas heat, I love cold. So when I wanted a fruit salad, this was the perfect one to make!! Although this calls for bananas due to my stomach I can't eat them, but you can make sure to add them to yours!

Ingredients

Sauce:

• ⅔ cup fresh orange juice
  ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
  ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
  ½ teaspoon grated orange zest
  ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salad:

• 2 cups cubed fresh pineapple
  2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
  3 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
  3 bananas, sliced
  2 oranges, peeled and sectioned
  1 cup seedless grapes 
  2 cups blueberries

Instructions

• For the sauce: Bring orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, orange zest, and lemon zest to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.
  
• For the salad: Layer fruit in a large, clear glass bowl in this order: pineapple, strawberries, kiwi fruit, bananas, oranges, grapes, and blueberries. Pour cooled sauce over fruit; cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Elizabeth is a wife to her wonderful husband, a work at home mother to her beautiful little girl and a blogger for some time now. When she isn't spending time with her "Livvybug", or laughing with her husband, she is looking for new review opportunities and writing or singing along to classic rock and pop music!

#recipe #recipewednesday #summer #summerfruitsalad #reviewballerina

Recipe Wednesday: Baked Cinnamon Apples!

This has to be one of the most incredible desserts we've ever made! Make sure to make this with a little vanilla ice cream to cut the sweetness, as Dolly Parton said in Steel Magnolias!

Prep:

10 mins

Cook:

45 mins

Total:

55 mins

Servings:

4

Pan:

1 8-inch glass pan

Ingredients

• 3-4 Golden Delicious Apples
• 2/3 Cup of Water
• 2 Tablespoons warm butter
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 Teaspoon corn starch
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Layer apple slices in the bottom of an 8-inch glass baking dish. 
• Mix water, butter, flour, and cornstarch together in a bowl until no lumps remain. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Pour apples in the baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until soft and juicy, about 45 minutes.
• Once cooler, add one scoop of vanilla ice cream into bowl, and top with delicious apples!

Elizabeth is a wife to her wonderful husband, a work at home mother to her beautiful little girl and a blogger for some time now. When she isn't spending time with her "Livvybug", or laughing with her husband, she is looking for new review opportunities and writing or singing along to classic rock and pop music! 

#recipe #recipewednesday

Recipe Wednesday: Five Minute Fudge!

Delicious, Decadent, Quick and Easy to Make! Take a look on how to make delicious 5 minute fudge!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 9 ounces butterscotch chips 
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Lightly butter an 8-inch square pan. 
• Heat chocolate and butterscotch chips along with the sweetened condensed milk together over low heat. 
• Stir until fully melted and smooth. Velvety!
• Stir in vanilla and remove from heat. 
• Pour into the prepared pan making sure the top is smoothed out, and chill covered in the refrigerator. 
• Slice and serve when fully cooled and you have some delicious, amazing fudge!

A Couple of Sweet Notes:

• If you’re adding nuts, make sure to add them before removing the mixture from the heat. It will set up quickly once removed and you don't want the nuts to just fall off.
  
  
•  Any type of chip can be substituted for the butterscotch. Some suggestions: peanut butter, mint, a different depth of chocolate flavor, or even those delicious peppermint ones from Toll House!

Elizabeth is a wife to her wonderful husband, a work at home mother to her beautiful little girl and a blogger for some time now. When she isn't spending time with her "Livvybug", or laughing with her husband, she is looking for new review opportunities and writing or singing along to classic rock and pop music!

#recipe #recipewednesday

Recipe Wednesday: Lemon Lush!

It is seriously like the best lemon merengue pie ever but in a different form! Enjoy!!

Recipe Wednesday: Strawberry Shortbread!

Delicious Strawberry Shortbread, a must have during a get together!

July 9 - National Sugar Cookie Day!

Did you know that July 9th is National Sugar Cookie Day?? Seriously! It is go look it up! So how about we discuss today cookies, and I'll even add a recipe at the bottom!

I'm not a huge fan of sugar cookies and I willingly admit it. I mean I'll eat them (who wouldn't?) if offered in front of me but sometimes you get a sugar cookie that is hard as a dang rock. You try to eat it, you do, but each bite is just nothing but sandy bits of hard crunch and you smile sweetly while swallowing it right?

Yeah, that's about right isn't it? Thanks Peter for the great example! 

But come on, sometimes you get that amazing sugar cookie that is soft, moist, just delightful! Sweet but buttery, and you can't help but eat one, two, ten...the whole package right? What is your favorite kind of sugar cookie? I love the soft ones so here's a great recipe for that! This is Alton Brown's recipe. To be honest, my husband does a lot of this man's recipes so we're going to share his today!

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Elizabeth is a wife to her wonderful husband, a work at home mother to her beautiful little girl and a blogger for some time now. When she isn't spending time with her "Livvybug", or laughing with her husband, she is looking for new review opportunities and writing or singing along to classic rock and pop music!

Recipe Wednesday: Peppermint Marshmallow Brownie Bites

Peppermint Marshmallow Brownie Bites Recipe

With Christmas coming fast, I definitely love finding recipes to try new things. Here is something fantastically yummy!

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes: 40 bites

Ingredients

• 1 brownie mix + ingredients from back of box
• 42 mini peppermint marshmallows
• 12 ounces white melting chocolate (CandiQuik)
• Sprinkles

Instructions

1. Bake the brownies according to the 2 egg directions on the back of the box. Do not over bake. you want the brownies to be very soft and fudgey. Let cool completely.
2. Cut into 42 small bite size pieces. Flatten each piece and place a marshmallow in the center of the flattened brownie. Roll into a ball and place on a wax paper lined tray. Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
3. Place the white melting chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until melted and creamy. Dip each brownie bite in the chocolate using a toothpick. Set back on the wax paper and top with sprinkles or colored sugar. Let set. Store in a sealed container on the counter. Makes at least 42 brownie bites.

Note: Use regular mini marshmallows if you can't find the peppermint marshmallows.

Make sure and take pictures if you choose to make these and send them to me!

Elizabeth is a work at home Mother of a sweet and beautiful daughter. She is a wife of seven years and a blogger for some time now. When she isn't spending time with her "Livvybug" she is looking for new review opportunities and writing or singing along to classic rock and pop music!

Recipe Wednesday: Bats and Cobwebs!

Bats and Cobwebs Recipe

How about a tasty lunch or really amazing dinner recipe that is Halloween themed? I love italian food so this is right up my alley!

Recipe Wednesday: Ooey Gooey Breakfast Rolls

Ooey Gooey Breakfast Rolls Recipe

We shall start out this Recipe Wednesday with a yummy breakfast recipe! With Autumn now upon us, this sounds like a delightful breakfast!

Recipe Wednesday: Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe

What is dinner, without dessert? For the first day of Recipe Wednesday and to celebrate the first day of Autumn, I present to you a tasty dessert, Pumpkin Cupcakes! Note: I would suggest using the Bake It Pretty Icing Kit with this!

Recipe Wednesday: Salsa Chicken

Salsa Chicken Recipe

I'm betting you're now hungry staring up at that picture, well I am too! I love Salsa chicken I began making it for lunch and left overs a couple of months now. It's easy to set up, easy to cook, and best part is this is great if you don't have much in the house! The recipe is really easy to follow as well and this has four servings!