No More Boring Drive Thru or Diner Biscuits and Gravy

I almost cruised through the drive thru at McDonalds this morning, but the line was a little TOO long for my liking. Then realized I had all the ingredients to make Biscuits & Gravy at home. Back in the old days I baked biscuits at Hardee's and learned the secret to good biscuit making. Although we used real buttermilk, I can make an awesome baking powder biscuit that is just as good and fluffy. Ditch those Grands biscuits, you know those flaky ones you pay out the ear for... you now have an awesome and quick recipe to make your own right here.

Take those and add some sausage gravy

And then get this lovely little concoction..

Gravy from McDs is frozen in sausage like packaging and warmed up and also their biscuits are frozen and nuked in a microwave. Do yourself a favor and make your own. No preservatives and you know exactly what is in your food. If you want that little McD's taste, add a little bit of sugar to your gravy. 

And now for your recipes:

Baking Powder Biscuits - 

2 C flour

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 to 1/3 C shortening (more makes the flakier biscuits)

3/4 C milk

1. Mix the dry ingredients together then add shortening. 

2. Use a pastry blender, a couple of knives, or just your clean hands to mix the shortening into the flour mixture until it is spread throughout.

3. Make a hole in the center of the bowl by moving the ingredients to the sides.

4. Add milk

5. Stir with a fork until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly, but do NOT overmix it.

6. Roll out on a floured board to 1/2" in thickness and cut out the biscuits with a cutter or a drinking glass.

7. Put on an ungreased baking sheet/pan and bake at 425F for 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown on the edges of the top of the biscuits

8. Remove from oven, then pan and put on a wire rack to cool. You can brush with butter on the tops if you want, but it isn't necessary.

9. Serve.

You can easily double this recipe if you have a hungry group to feed. I also use this recipe with the lesser amount of shortening to make dumplings for my chicken soup or beef stew.

Sausage Gravy

This is on you to suit your tastes, but this is the method to make this.

Brown 1/2 pound of sausage and reserve about 1/4 cup of drippings, add 1/2 to 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp sugar (optional) to the drippings and add a little more flour if needed if it doesn't 'sop' up the grease in the pan. Add 1 C milk and cook on medium heat until it begins to thicken. If it is too thick, add more milk until you get the right consistency a little at a time... maybe about 1/4 c at a time. Season to your preferences or dietary restrictions.

Just a good old comfort food that can be made for a few dollars and made up in advance to eat the next morning before work or school.

Making a Kitchen Towel Hanger with Potholder

I decided to follow the lead after seeing a video on how to make these things. Of course we all know what one person does well... might end up as a fail if we do it. So needless to say, I had one of those experiences while making this for the first time.

Okay so with this project you'll need 1 potholder with the thingy you can hang it with and a matching or coordinating kitchen towel folded in thirds lengthwise.

You will place the Potholder pretty side up. Then... take your towel and lay it on the potholder pretty side down. This will be totally centered over the potholder as the line straight in the middle of the potholder. You will spread the towel to cover to the sides of the potholder. Pin in place and stitch a straight stitch size 4 length across the towel with the potholder under it. Flip the potholder in half and place a button on the side opposite the hanging loop. Then loop to close. This can hang from an oven door handle or towel bar. I didn't have buttons so I substituted the plastic snaps you see people make diaper covers with. I used size 20.

I first tried this on the thinking that you gather the towel in the middle with the basting stitch. WRONG! It didn't look good at all to me. I like how these lay better and when you hang them from the towel bar. I'll be making more now that I have this method DOWN! Just make sure that you choose patterns on the pot holder that won't be upside down when coordinating. It's really fun to make and can be made for as little as $2.00 each like these were from Dollar General.