Bacon Gravy with Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 lb. (16 oz.) bacon (or bacon end pieces)

Flour (we use all purpose flour)

4 C. milk (we use skim milk)

1 T. garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. (or more) pepper

2 tsp. Red Devil or other cayenne pepper sauce

Sour cream (optional)

Shredded cheese (optional)

Prepared biscuits (about 6 per person)

Directions:

Prepare the biscuits so that they are ready when the gravy is finished. Lightly warm the 4 C. of milk in a sauce pan or in the microwave for 3 minutes. Open the package of bacon, cut or slice into bite sized pieces (about 1 inch). Cook in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon to separate and turn the bacon pieces. Cook them until they are mostly brown. Remove the bacon from the skillet. Pour the bacon grease into a (glass) measuring cup. Check how much grease there is so that you can measure the same amount of flour.

Pour the bacon grease back into the skillet. Turn the fire on low-medium. Add 1 T. minced garlic and stir. Cook for 3 minutes. Add in the flour (the amount of flour should be the same as the amount of bacon grease that you measured earlier). Stir the flour mixture until the flour is lightly browned.

Add the milk to the skillet. Use a whisk to incorporate the flour mixture into the milk. Continue to stir and whisk the mixture until it thickens (it should become about the consistency of thick cake batter, about 10-20 minutes). (Don't leave it for more than a minute or two or it will burn.)

Once thickened, return the bacon pieces to the gravy. Add in the salt, pepper, and Red Devil sauce. Stir and taste. Adjust the spices to your taste. We usually need to add more pepper.

If it doesn't seem to taste just right, it can be salvage by adding some sour cream and/or shredded cheese to it to add more flavor and creamy texture.

We serve this by breaking up the biscuits into a bowl (about 6 per person) and cover them with about 3 very large spoonfuls of gravy. This makes a very hearty breakfast. We have also been known to serve our gravy bowl with a nice fried egg or two and cheese.