Biscuits and Gravy

My sister Jenna frequently makes biscuits and gravy when we get together with our family. It always feels so decadent and I feel spoiled when she cooks for us. This summer when I was trying to shake up our breakfast meal plan, I added this to our Friday mornings and when I went to make it for the first time I was shocked at how easy it was! In the past, I've made large batches of biscuits (to eat and to freeze) - but recently discovered Walmarts frozen biscuits and they are just so good and easy, that's what I've been using all summer with no regrets. 

Biscuits and Gravy

Source: All Recipes

Ingredients:
8 Biscuits (Walmart frozen biscuits are better than any canned biscuit - but 
1 pound pork sausage
3 Tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange biscuits 1 to 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir in flour until well combined. Gradually add milk, stirring continuously, until the gravy thickens and comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer and stir for 2 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


Serve-
Split biscuits in half. Place 2 halves on each of 8 plates; top with about 1/3 cup gravy.

Brown sausage in a large saucepan. Use a paper towel to blot out most of the grease from the pan.

Biscuits

 Biscuits

Source: Sugar Spun Run

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
¾ cup whole milk, 2% milk will also work

Directions: 
For best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. It's ideal that the butter is very cold for light, flaky, buttery biscuits.
Preheat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with baking mat. Set aside.

1. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.

2. Remove your butter from the refrigerator and either cut it into your flour mixture using a pastry cutter or (preferred) use a box grater to shred the butter into small pieces and then add to the flour mixture and stir.

3. Cut the butter or combine the grated butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Add milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until combined (don't over-work the dough).

5. Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.

 
6. Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten layers together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating this step 5-6 times but taking care to not overwork the dough.

7. Use your hands (do not use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough to 1" thick and lightly dust a 2 ¾" round biscuit cutter with flour.

 
8. Making close cuts, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.

9. Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place less than ½" apart on baking sheet.
Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-work the dough to get out another biscuit or two until you have at least 6 biscuits.

10. Bake on 425F for 12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
If desired, brush with melted salted butter immediately after removing from oven. Serve warm and enjoy.

Onion Smothered Chicken

 We tried the meal delivery subscription EveryPlate and loved it. Sometimes it's fun to try meal kits like that because it gives me new ideas to incorporate into our meals. This is a great example of that. It's a slightly different flavor profile than I usually make, and the addition of the biscuits and carrots on the side made a big difference. I'm not sure I have ever made biscuits as a side for a chicken dinner - but I definitely will in the future. It was a hit. The chicken tasted so good on it's own, I wasn't sure if we'd enjoy the sauce on top but I really liked the combination of the two. 

Onion Smothered Chicken
(with roasted carrots, and biscuits) 

Source: EveryPlate

Ingredients: 

7-10 chicken tenders

6-8 carrots

1 yellow onion

1 tbs chicken stock concentrate

blackening spice (cajun spice) 

1/2 cup Sour Cream 

Garlic

Flour

3-6 Tbs Butter

1-2 Tbs Vegetable Oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, recipe below. 

(optional: combine hot sauce, softened butter, and a bit of honey to serve on biscuits.) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel, trim, and cut carrots on a diagonal into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Peel and finely chop garlic. Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion. Prepare biscuits.

2. Toss carrots on one side of a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on top rack for 12 minutes. (You'll add the biscuits at the midway point.) 

3. While carrots roast, pat chicken dry with paper towels (this ensures even browning rather than steaming the chicken). Season with blackening spice, salt, and pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 5-6 minutes per side. Turn off heat, transfer to a cutting board to rest.

4.  Once carrots have roasted 12 minutes, remove sheet from oven. Carefully add biscuits to empty side. Return to oven until biscuits are browned and cooked through and carrots are browned and tender, 8-11 minutes more. (Depending on the number of carrots, you may need to leave the carrots cooking and add the biscuits to a second sheet to bake on a second rack.) 

5. While everything roasts, heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for chicken over medium heat. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and 2 tbs plain butter; cook stirring until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add 1 tbs flour; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 1 minute. 

Gradually stir in 3/4-1 cup water into pan until fully incorporated. Bring to a boil; cook scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of pan until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tbs chicken stock concentrate. Season with salt and pepper. 

Thinly slice chicken crosswise, divide among plates along with carrots and biscuits. Top chicken with gravy and serve. 


Biscuits

Source: Sugar Spun Run

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
¾ cup whole milk, 2% milk will also work

Directions: 
For best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. It's ideal that the butter is very cold for light, flaky, buttery biscuits.
Preheat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with baking mat. Set aside.

1. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.

2. Remove your butter from the refrigerator and either cut it into your flour mixture using a pastry cutter or (preferred) use a box grater to shred the butter into small pieces and then add to the flour mixture and stir.

3. Cut the butter or combine the grated butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Add milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until combined (don't over-work the dough).

5. Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.

 
6. Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten layers together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating this step 5-6 times but taking care to not overwork the dough.

7. Use your hands (do not use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough to 1" thick and lightly dust a 2 ¾" round biscuit cutter with flour.

 
8. Making close cuts, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.

9. Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place less than ½" apart on baking sheet.
Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-work the dough to get out another biscuit or two until you have at least 6 biscuits.

10. Bake on 425F for 12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
If desired, brush with melted salted butter immediately after removing from oven. Serve warm and enjoy.

Handheld Chicken Pot Pies

I really love the idea of homemade chicken pot pies and over the course of our marriage I've tried several recipes. None of them have been very successful (either much more work than I'm able to realistically put into dinner or just not very good). However, I came across this recipe and thought "I could do that." I made it for dinner when my little sister  was visiting, and everyone liked it! Plus it came together really easily and that is exactly what I was looking for!

Handheld Chicken Pot Pies
Source: Yummy Healthy Easy

Ingredients:
1 package Pillsbury Grands biscuits
1/4 cup onion, diced

1/2 T olive oil
2-3 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
10-oz. bag frozen mixed veggies, steamed
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º. Cover cookie sheet with a layer of tinfoil, or spray with cooking spray.
Heat oil in a medium sized skillet and cooked diced onion until soft. Add remaining ingredients and heat through.

Open package of biscuits and flatten each circle out with your fingertips. Place chicken filling on one half of the circle making sure to leave the edges clear, then bring the other half over. Press edges with a fork to seal closed. Carefully place on the cookie sheet.

Finish each pot pie and then bake for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot!