Biscuits & Gravy

The other day I got really hungry for biscuits & sausage gravy, so I tackled the project!  My biscuit recipe came from a Mennonite cookbook that my mom has - it's one that I need to get my hands on.  There are so many good recipes in it!  Here is a link for it.  However, I'm not ordering it until I can find a spiral-bound one.

http://www.amazon.com/Mennonite-Country-Style-Recipes-Kitchen-Secrets/dp/0836136977

The biscuits didn't really turn out well.  I think that perhaps my yeast was old...?  I'll give them a try again sometime.  They tasted okay but didn't rise much and looked a lot like Pillsbury biscuits.  Not exactly what I was going for! 

Well, here's my recipe for Sausage Gravy.  I made it a lot like I make Creamed Dried Beef for over toast, but added and took away a few things...

First, I browned 1 lb of sausage. 

When it was browned there was a little grease in the pan, but not much.  Make sure you keep the grease - don't drain it!!!  That's what gives your gravy good flavor.  I also added a little bit of butter ~ 2 T for a little extra flavor.  Butter makes everything better!  :)  Make sure you let your meat brown so that you have to scrape the brown stuff off the bottom of the pan; be careful not to burn though!

Next, after the butter is melted, add some flour; stirring constantly. This will make your gravy thicken later on.  With this much meat I started with 1/4c flour, but ended up adding more.  It all depends on how much grease is in the pan.

You should add enough flour that the meat crumbles apart when all the flour absorbs.  It should look kind of like this - not dry, but all the grease is absorbed.

Next you need to add milk... probably 4-6c.  Again, it just depends.  You kind of just have to go with it!  I ended up adding 5 1/2 c of milk this time around.  Add it slowly and stir constantly.  You want the sausage/flour mixture to blend in and keep the milk smooth.  If you add the milk too fast you risk getting lumpy flour throughout the gravy.

Heat the milk through, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly (you don't want your milk to scorch!).  As it's heating you can add spices.  Here I added some fresh black pepper..

I also added some seasoning salt and onion salt.  I was out of onion powder, so salt had to do this time!  Add some, taste it, and add some more if needed. 

And there you go!  Enjoy your sausage gravy!  Hopefully your biscuits turn out better than mine.  ;)

Powdered Laundry Detergent

Today I made laundry detergent... a new kind.  I had been using homemade liquid detergent that my mom made for awhile.  I wanted to try something new and I came across this recipe.  It's from a blog I like to read every once in awhile, One Good Thing by Jillee.  I'll add the recipe at the end; I halved it.

First, I grated my Fels Naptha soap & added some Gain Fireworks.  I like to do some things all natural, but I like my clothes to smell good.  So I added the scent crystals.  You don't have to!

Next, I mixed all the rest of the ingredients.  I had everything on hand except for Oxi Clean.  Borax, Baking Soda, Washing Soda, and the container is what I grated above.

Here it is all mixed together.  I'm guessing that the bigger and more dense pieces will settle so I need to remember to mix it up before I use it.  Only takes 2T per load and 1/2 a recipe made a gallon of dry mix.  Should last awhile!

Recipe (from Jillee's):
3 bars Fels Naptha soap, grated
1 box Borax
1 box washing soda
2 c baking soda
2 containers of oxygen bleach
1-2 containers of Purex fabric softener crystals
(I used Gain Fireworks for scent and didn't add fabric softner.  I don't like softner when washing towels because it makes them soak up less!)

Pork Marinade

I got this recipe from my cousin, Bonnie Yoder.  I don't think I've made pork chops any other way in the past 4 years!  Definitely a great marinade, especially for pork chops on the grill!

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c olive oil
1 T lemon juice

Combine all ingredients; cover meat with marinade.  Marinate up to 24 hours.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Once upon a time, when I worked at a local establishment during high school, I had to teach a fellow worker how to use a mop.  Seriously.  The 17-year-old had never used one.  Likewise, some people don't know how to hard-boil an egg.  :)  So here you go...  I like to use eggs from my chickens, but if I need a lot of boiled eggs I usually buy them from the grocery store.  I always keep them in the fridge for awhile - the older the egg, the better it peels.  Also, allow the eggs to sit out on the counter awhile before boiling to avoid the risk of them cracking while boiling.  Oh, and this "recipe" makes perfect yolks, too, I might add!  No grey ring around the yolk!

Put eggs in a pot.  Don't overfill.  Eggs should be in a single layer, but not jammed in or they could break.  Add water to just cover eggs.

Place eggs on burner and turn on high.  Bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, remove pot from burner and place lid on top.  Allow to sit in hot water for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, place eggs in sink.  Plug the drain and add cold water to cover.  Add ice to cool fast.

When completely cool, gently tap egg on the side of the sink.  Do this until it is cracked all over.  Gently peel back shell; run under steady stream of cool water to help pull the shell off.

Easy-Peasy No-Mess Oven Bacon

That's right.  Bacon that's not messy.  I love doing it in the oven.  No grease splattering on me and burning my arms.  And super easy cleanup, too.  Just roll up the parchment paper or foil and throw it in the trash.  Here's now...

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (or foil); lay bacon out to cover pan.

You can overlap the bacon a little bit if you want.  I didn't this time.

Place bacon in a 400 degree preheated oven; bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on how crisp you want it.

Almost done!  This is thin bacon after about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven.  You can tell that it's cooked through when there are big grease bubbles amongst the little ones. 

Of course, drain it on a paper towel!

Throw away the parchment paper - grease and all! 

No mess! 

I said I would never start a blog.  

Then I had to start a blog for grad school.

THEN I reconsidered the whole blogging thing and thought it might be fun to blog about something I really wanted to blog about rather than required school stuff.  

This blog is not intended to fill you in about every detail of my life.  That's what Facebook is for.  Ha!  Just kidding.  That's what a journal or diary is for.  Not the public.  Sorry.  I decided to blog about food.  Recipes, mainly.  See, I watch people cook and then try to do the recipe myself sometimes.  Or my grandma tells me how she does something and I give it a try.  Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it's just okay, and other times it's really good.  Then I go to make the "really good" one again.  But I can't.  Because I didn't write anything down and I forget what I did last time.  It's ok with me most of the time because I'll just make something different.  My husband, on the other hand, keeps telling me over and over that I need to write stuff down.  So this is my attempt to keep better track of my kitchen creations.  Not all will be original.  I think I'll just go with it...  :)  Enjoy!