Comfort Food Staple

There are some foods that will help solve life's biggest disasters.  As a Texan, these have always included chili and gravy, among more traditional foods like chicken noodle soup.  Nothing is better than smothering recent problems in homemade skillet gravy.  So this weekend, when I painfully discovered that someone wasn't exactly the person I thought they were, biscuits and gravy seemed the perfect remedy.

Any self respecting Texan should know how to make gravy because: (1) it's a million times better than the stuff they sell in the package and (2) it's ridiculously easy to make.  There are probably infinite recipes for gravy but this is how I do mine.

Skillet Gravy "Sort Of" Recipe
Ingredients:
Breakfast sausage or bacon
Flour
Milk
Jalapenos (optional)
Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

• Brown whatever meat you've decided to use, and render off the fat.  Do not drain the fat.
• Sprinkle the meat with some flour.  Again I never measure, but probably 3-4 tablespoons will do the trick.  Cook the meat and flour together for a couple minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.  

• Add approximately 1-2 cups of milk.  I usually just pour enough milk to roughly cover the bottom of my skillet.  I also add some pickled jalapenos and the juice at this point.  However, if you're not addicted to hot food like I am, feel free to skip this step.

• On medium high heat, warm the mixture until it begins to thicken.  Stir fairly frequently to avoid lumps.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Gravy is fairly forgiving.  If it isn't thick enough for your liking you can always toss in some extra flour.  Conversely, if you end up with gravy cement add a little more milk to loosen the mixture.
• Once satisfied with consistency, use to smother biscuits, chicken fried steak, or anything else.

Enjoy with a big cup of coffee and watch your troubles ebb away.