Biscuits & Gravy

Got the biscuits recipe here: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/04/08/super-easy-recipe-whole-wheat-biscuits/

Got the gravy recipe here: http://www.cookingforkeeps.com/2014/03/11/skinny-biscuits-gravy-whole-wheat-sage-biscuits/

Courtesy of: 100 Days of Real Food & Cooking For Keeps

Made on: 4/12/15

INGREDIENTS

  • Biscuits
    • 2 cups whole wheat flour
    • 4 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 3 T coconut oil
    • 1 cup almond milk
  • Gravy
    • 1/2 lb ground sausage (in my case, deer sausage)
    • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
    • 2 cups hot milk, any kind
    • Black pepper, to taste
    • Red pepper flakes, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Biscuits:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Add the coconut oil (in solid form) to the mixture. The original recipe called for butter, but I substituted coconut oil. Everything turned out OK for me, but feel free to use ½ a stick of butter instead. The coconut oil is softer than cold butter, so it blended more than it would butter.

4. Add the milk and mix to create a dough. Knead it with your hands 8-10 times and place on floured counter or cutting board.

5. Flatten the dough to about ½-inch thickness and cut into desired shape using whatever you have. Obviously, a biscuit cutter would work, but a glass would be fine also. Cookie cutters make fun shapes, especially if you have kids helping! I used a cookie cutter with a fun edging and a small, circular shape.

6. Bake the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Gravy:

1. In a large sauté pan, brown sausage. I use ceramic cookware, so I didn’t add any oil, but feel free to add your preferred oil if that’s how you usually brown your meat.

2. Stir in flour and cook for one minute.

3. Slowly whisk in hot milk. Add your preferred amount of black pepper and red pepper flakes. I like things a little spicy, so the red pepper is totally optional, though most seasoning are optional, really. You don’t like black pepper? Leave it out! Love Italian seasonings? Throw some in! I mean, why not?

4. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened, about ten minutes.

Notes:

· In the gravy, I used one cup almond milk and one cup skim milk. I use almond milk for most things I make for the grown-ups, but I’m too cheap to use it two cups at a time!

· I used a couple patties of deer sausage in my gravy because they had been sitting in my freezer. I cut the patties up into bite size chunks before cooking. Normally, I would probably use ground turkey and add seasonings to it to make it more “breakfast sausage-y.”

· I used a small cookie cutter, so my biscuits are pretty miniature. Keep that in mind when looking at pictures!

· For the kids, I opted for a couple variations. Jackson wanted syrup on his biscuits, like pancakes. For Ellie, I sliced her biscuits and half and added grape jelly, which she loved!

Adjustments I would like to make: Next time, I will probably try it with turkey meat, which I have had luck with before. I might use some fun shapes for the biscuits, if the kids are awake enough to want to help!

Overall Satisfaction: Good! The biscuits were super easy to make and made everyone happy. Plus, the original recipe mentions that they freeze and re-heat really well, so I will try that out next time. Brandon loves biscuits and gravy, so I’m excited to have managed to make a healthier version for all to enjoy.

Would I Make it Again? Yep! I will make the biscuits and freeze them for the kids, since I’m currently in the market for on-the-road breakfasts and lunches, and I will probably make the sausage gravy again for a special Sunday breakfast in the future.

Mmmmmm.... gravy...

Jackson's version, with syrup. He forked one right off the plate before I got the picture taken!

Ellie preferred hers with grape jelly. She went back for seconds!