BISCUITS AND GRAVY

When it comes to Biscuits and Gravy, you are either a lover of it or a hater.  I love them but would never order them at a restaurant because you never know what they are really made of.  So when I make them at home they are consumed in large quantities.  A single batch is never enough to go around. 

Start out with a good quality sausage.  I use the country mild or regular but if you like it to have some extra kick they make the hot kind.

Brown the sausage in a large pan.  Break the pieces up so there are no large chunks.

Add 1/4 cup chopped onions.  I had an onion hater in the group so I didn’t really dump these in.

Instead I fried them in a  separate pan and added them at the end after taking some out and setting it aside for him.

Add 6 Tablespoons of flour to the meat.

Stir and let this cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.

It should look like this, the flour is cooked into the meat.

Pour in 4 cups of milk.  Please use whole milk, its the right thing to do.

Add 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Now a couple dashes or worcestershire sauce.

And last a few dashes of hot sauce.  Put in as much as your taste desires, or none at all if you don’t desire it.

Stir together and cook over low to medium heat until it thickens.  Try to keep the heat on the lower side or it will start to stick on the bottom of the pan. 
While the sausage & gravy is cooking you have time to mix up the biscuits. 

Start with 2 cups of flour in the food processor.

Add 4 teaspoons of baking powder to the flour.

Now 3 teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Cube 1/2 cup of cold butter (1 stick) and put in processor.

Blend until butter  chunks are gone.  If you do not have a processor you can just cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender.

In a mixing bowl, pour 2/3 cup of buttermilk.

Add one egg and whisk until combined.

Dump the flour mixture into the bowl and mix with a spoon just until moistened.

The dough will be very sticky.
 
Generously flour your counter and dump the dough from the bowl onto the counter.  Now put a generous amount of flour on top of the dough.  Knead the dough about 20 times.

You should end up with a nice ball of dough. 

Roll out to 3/4 inch thick.

Cut with a round biscuit cutter.

And place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

To serve, place biscuits on plate and pour gravy mixture over top.  This isn’t a very good picture but my company had arrived and they were all hungry so I had to hurry to finish it up. 

BISCUITS AND GRAVY
1 pkg Jimmy Dean sausage
1/4 cup chopped onions
6 Tablespoons flour
4 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
dash Worchestershire sauce
dash hot pepper sauce
Brown sausage and onion.  Add flour and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.  Stir in milk.  Add seasonings and cook over low heat, stirring until thickened.

Biscuits
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter in food processor.  In separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg.  Add flour mixture and stir just until moistened.  Turn onto a well floured surface and knead 20 times.  Roll to 3/4 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes 12 biscuits
This recipe makes enough to serve six people.  I usually have to double it.
The Law of Perseverance
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  Matthew 7:7

MOCHA PUNCH

This punch is a tradition for our Christmas celebration.  It is cold and creamy and bursting with chocolate!  I doubled it because a single batch isn’t enough for our group. 

Start out with 1 1/2 quarts of water in a kettle.  Add 1/2 cup instant chocolate drink mix.

Add 1/2 cup of sugar

And finally add 1/4 cup of instant coffee granules.  Don’t make a mistake and use coffee grounds!  You need instant coffee granules.

Stir this all together and put on a medium / low burner.  Do not bring to a boil.  We just need to heat the water and dissolve the ingredients.

Remove from the heat and let it cool down.

Pour into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the punch.  I made this three days ahead of time.  This looks like a big jar but remember I was doubling the recipe so I have twice as much here as you would have. 

About half an hour before you want to serve the punch, scoop 1/2 gallon of vanilla and 1/2 gallon of chocolate ice cream into a large container.

Pour the drink mixture over the ice cream.  I asked this tall dark assistant to help me since I couldn’t pour and snap pictures at the same time.

And begin stirring.

And stirring every few minutes, breaking up the chunks of ice cream.

Until it looks like a chocolate shake.  You can serve it right from this container or dump it into a pretty punch bowl.

Dump in the whipped cream and stir.  You can use it to garnish too but I just dump it all in. It just makes the punch that much more creamy.

Ladle into cups and serve. 

For the adults, add a Tablespoon of Kahlua and it makes quite the yummy drink. 

MOCHA PUNCH
1 1/2 quarts water
1/2 cup instant chocolate drink mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Put water into a large saucepan.  Add drink mix, sugar and coffee.  Heat until ingredients are dissolved.  Do not boil.  Let cool and then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.  About 30 minutes before serving, spoon ice creams into punch bowl.  Add drink mixture and stir until ice cream chunks are gone.  Garnish with whipped cream.
Makes about 5 quarts of punch. 

The Law of Use
For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.  Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  Matthew 25:29

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

I love making stuffed foods.  They are so all inclusive, meaning thats all you have to serve for a meal.  Along with some good crusty bread.  These peppers are so easy to prepare plus the ingredients are not too expensive.

Cut off the tops of the peppers.

 

 

Then remove the seeds.  Take the tops and dice into pieces.  You can either use these later in the recipe or put into a baggie to use for another recipe.

 

 

Bring a large kettle of water to a boil and drop the peppers in.  Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

 

Remove the peppers from the boiling water with a pair of tongs.

And drain them upside down on a paper towel.

 

Dice up 1/2 cup onion, 1/2 cup celery and 1/2 cup green pepper.  (This is where I use the tops)

Also chop up one medium sized tomato.  Set all of your chopped veggies aside.

 

You will need 2 cups of cooked rice.  I love using this organic long grain rice.  It has such a good flavor.  You can use minute rice or even brown or wild rice, just so you have two cups of cooked rice.

 

 

OK now to the meat.  Brown one pound of hamburger.

 

   

Add the chopped celery, onions and peppers.  I had about a half cup of shredded carrots in the fridge so I dumped them in.  They’re not called for but I needed to use them up.  Stir this together and let it cook for a few minutes.

 

   

Now add the diced tomatoes, the cooked rice and 1/4 cup of ketchup.  Salt & pepper to taste. 

Stir this all together and cook for a couple minutes.  Look at all those pretty colors!  This makes an awesome meal in itself!

 

Place the peppers into a deep baking dish so they don’t tip over.  This recipe makes four large peppers but I am doubling it, thus the reason for eight peppers in the dish.  Fill the peppers with the meat mixture and press down.

 

Top off each one with an extra spoonful.  The lighting here is terrible, I had lost my daylight.  But you get the drift of what to do.

 

In a small bowl, combine an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce and  one Tablespoon of sugar. 

 

 

Add 1/2 tsp of dried basil leaves.  Stir this together.

 

 

Spoon half the sauce over the peppers.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

 

Spoon remaining sauce over peppers and sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Bake another five minutes.  I made a double batch and froze the ones we didn’t eat.  They are so easy to take out of the freezer and warm up.  (And the carrots worked great in these)

 

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

4 large green peppers

2 cups cooked rice

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup ketchup

1 – 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Parboil the peppers and drain on paper toweling.  Brown ground beef and add the onion, celery and peppers.  Let cook for about five minutes.  Add the tomato, cooked rice and ketchup.  Simmer for a couple of minutes. 

Stuff peppers with hamburger mixture.  Combine the tomato sauce, sugar and basil leaves.  Spoon half of the sauce over peppers and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Spoon remaining sauce over them and top with the shredded cheese.  Bake an additional five minutes.

 

THE LAW OF RECIPROCITY

Judge not and you will not be judged; condemn not and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.  For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.    Luke 6:37-38