Breakfast: It's not just for breakfast anymore

I love breakfast.

I recommend eating it as many times as you can fit in during a typical day, 'specially if you're feeling blue.

One of my favorites is sausage gravy and biscuits. Homemade biscuits. Gravy from scratch. Scramble some eggs soft, not dry (yuck). Put some cheese in your eggs, this is cholesterol central here!

Sausage gravy and biscuits, as taught by my ex-mother-in-law (whom I adore to this day).


Biscuits:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup lard
3/4 cup buttermilk

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in the buttermilk; knead dough gently.
Roll out to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 450° for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

This makes 8 to 10 biscuits.

While the biscuits are baking, start your gravy!

Sausage Gravy:

1 pound breakfast sausage (I like the sage, chorizo might work, for the adventurous)
1 to 2 tablespoons butter,if needed
1/4 cup flour
Enough milk (I'll explain later)

Crumble the sausage in a frying pan and cook thoroughly. Add flour and stir in. If the flour soaks up all the sausage grease, or you bought low-fat sausage (silly) add the butter and stir until melted.

Slowly pour in milk (start with about 2 cups), stirring as you pour.

The gravy is going to be thick, but if it looks like paste, add more milk until it's the thickness of pudding.

Note: this thickness is determined AFTER the milk has heated up and thickened.

Take the biscuits out of the oven and place in a serving bowl, cover with a towel.

Scramble some eggs.

Serve.

Enjoy.

I like a bit (okay, a big bit) of maple syrup on my biscuits and gravy, it's a Vermont thing.