Biscuits 'n Gravy

E! loves comfort food, and Biscuits 'n Gravy is one of the most comfortable things you can eat. Unfortunately she's not a fan of black pepper and won't let me put pepper in things (though I might have snuck a pinch into this batch of gravy).  You could always serve the gravy on toast if you don't have time or delicious buttermilk. I could go for a tall, refreshing glass of buttermilk right now...

Brown the sausage before starting the biscuits; we aim to have the gravy ready slightly before the biscuits. We've been cutting the biscuits with a 2.5" drinking glass, but we eat these often enough that we're getting a biscuit cutter.

We didn't have shortening tonight, but we did have grandma's jar 'o bacon fat in the fridge, so we were still able to get a dual fat action with added delicious bacon flavoring.

Hand patted Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Brown Sausage if you're making gravy.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combing flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Using fingertips, rub butter and shortening into flour mixture until you get a crumbly mixture; don't dally, you don't want to melt the fat.
Pour in the buttermilk and stir until dough comes together. It will be sticky.

Turn dough onto floured board and fold dough onto itself 4 or 5 times. With flat hands, press out into a 1/2" thick round. Cut biscuits straight down with a 2" cutter, minimizing left over dough. Place biscuits on cookie sheet with edges touching so they can help each other rise. Collect leftover dough and gently form into another round to cut more biscuits; try not to work the dough too much.

Press your thumb into the middle of each biscuit so it cooks more evenly. Bake at 450 until gold on top, 15-20 minutes.

Sausage gravy that I'm not allowed to put pepper in

1 pound Breakfast Sausage
1/3 cup All-purpose Flour
4 cups 2% Milk
1/2 teaspoon Onion Salt
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Salt
[1 to 2 teaspoons Black Pepper ]

Chunk and Brown the sausage. Lower heat and sprinkle the half the flour over all the meat. Stir in the flour until it's soaked up, add the seasoning salts and continue adding the rest of the flour until it won't take anymore. Cook the flour into the sausage on low heat for at least 3 minutes.

Stir in the milk a little at a time. Raise the heat and cook until thick, about 11 minutes. If it's too thick, splash in some more milk. Taste to adjust seasonings. Serve immediately over biscuits.

Thai Peanut Noodles

When I was still single, invited this guy over for dinner. In an effort to impress him, I made this chicken/noodle/peanut sauce recipe. As we were eating, he was like, "Peanut butter noodles!" I was so annoyed that he would describe my practically gourmet meal in such a mundane way. Alas, that really is what it is, so now we just embrace it.

 

The above picture was taken tonight when we threw something tonight. It's delicious! We used leftover noodles, and frozen veggies on the side. Also, this version was meatless, but it can be made with chicken as well. This meal is also super fast, which makes it even better.

Thai Peanut Noodles

AKA


 Peanut Butter Noodles

• 1/2 cup green onions, diced
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• ~ 2-3 cups cooked long pasta noodles (spaghetti, linguini, fettuccine, angel hair, etc.)
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil 
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• Optional: shredded or diced chicken

Sauce: 

• 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
• 1/4 cup honey OR 2 Tbsp brown sugar
•  1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky preferred)
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp rice or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp chili-garlic sauce

Instructions:

•  In a wok or large skillet, heat sesame oil. Add cooked pasta, green onions, carrots, and garlic. Mix well and allow to heat through.
• Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, combine all sauce ingredients over medium heat. Stir until heated through and peanut butter is completely melted.
• Pour hot sauce over noodle mixture. Combine.
• Garnish with additional chopped green onions and chopped peanuts. Serve with additional steamed vegetables. (We often use broccoli and cauliflower, but any stir fry vegetables work too.)