Grocery List or things you need to be sure you have on hand: flour, solid vegetable shortening, baking powder, salt, regular milk or buttermilk. 
Approximate Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Moderately Complicated
List of Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3 Tablespoons shortening
2 teaspoons baking powder (rounded)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of milk or buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon soda if using buttermilk
Directions: Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. If you are using buttermilk to make buttermilk biscuits, add the soda to this mixture. Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients using two knives or a pastry blender. Add the milk and mix until dough is sticky. Place on a floured breadboard or pastry cloth. Knead gently about 10 times. Roll out with a rolling pin and cut with a biscuit cutter. Bake in a greased cake pan or cookie sheet OR drop a large spoonfuls onto the baking dish after mixing. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Hints, Tips and Variations: You can make buttermilk biscuits simply by substituting buttermilk for the regular milk and adding the baking soda into the recipe. You can also use whole wheat flour.  The biscuits will tend to be a little heavier.  Since oven temperatures vary you have to keep an eye on the biscuits so they don't burn or come out underdone.
Good Cooks Tell All: There's nothing better than hot, homemade biscuits for breakfast. There are probably lots of different recipes, including biscuit mixes, but this is a good basic one that will give you a lot of satisfaction.
Submitted by: Jean Higgins Root
The Source of This Recipe: My older sister gave this to me when I got married.
Skinny It Down: Substitute skim milk for whole milk.  Buttermilk is essentially skim milk that has been "soured".  If you don't have buttermilk, you can add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk.  Substitute whole wheat flour for white flour.