Biscuits 'n' Sausage Gravy

This is my "official" biscuits and gravy recipe for Saturday mornings.  I mentioned in my post for my Peppery-Garlicky Gravy that that recipe was just for gravy, and I paired it in my post with biscuits, but it wasn't my official biscuits and gravy recipe.  Well, now, this one is.  It's also very kid-friendly.  The trick to making a recipe kid-friendly, I've discovered over the years through lots of trial and error, is to make the dish with few ingredients and with familiar ones.  My Blessings do not like onions, but they do like garlic, so besides salt and pepper, that's the basis of my seasonings for this gravy.  One more tip that I've learned along the way when making this particular gravy is to use plain or original flavored soy milk, not vanilla flavored.  Vanilla makes the gravy too sweet, and believe me, you don't want to listen to a Southern man complain about the sweetness of his gravy.  So, there is no broth in this gravy like there is my others; this is based on the country-style or Southern gravy used to cover biscuits or chicken-fried steaks, or in my case Seitan-fried steaks.  The ingredient list is short, and the cooking process itself is easy, so there's nothing holding you back. We like a lot of gravy, so this recipe yields several cups, good enough for leftovers!   For the biscuits, I just use my Classic Biscuits recipe.  I'll copy and paste that below for your ease.  Let me know if you enjoyed this when you try it. 

Biscuits 'n' Sausage Gravy

Sausage Gravy in the pan

Biscuits 'n' Sausage Gravy


Classic Biscuits:

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
1 and 1/2 cups soy milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the shortening and use a fork or pastry cutter to blend it in until the dough is crumbly.  Use your fingers, if necessary, to complete the job.  Add the soy milk, and stir until well blended.  On a large, lightly floured surface knead the dough for about minute, not longer, or else it will get tough.  Put half the dough back in the bowl.  Roll out the other half to about a 1/2 inch thick.  Using a round glass, cut circles of dough out and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  When you've cut out as many circles as you can, roll the dough back up into a small ball and roll out a second time.  Try to handle as little as possible.  Continue cutting out circles.   With the last remaining dough, shape with your hands a final biscuit.  Repeat process with second half of dough waiting its turn in the bowl.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Serve hot in a bowl covered with a towel.  Makes approximately two dozen biscuits.  Feeds five hungry vegans for two meals.

Sausage Gravy:

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tube pkg. of Gimme Lean Sausage
5 cloves of garlic, minced
6 Tbs. vegan margarine
4 Tbs. flour
4 and 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper 

While the biscuits are baking, you can start on your gravy.  In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Take the Gimme Lean Sausage and break it up between your fingers, kind of smooshing it, and drop in by chunks into the pan.  Don't worry if they're not too small yet.  Add the minced garlic to the pan.  Cook for at least five minutes, occasionally breaking up the sausage chunks into smaller bits with the tip of your spatula.  When the sausage is about pea-sized and browned, scrape it and the garlic over to one side of the pan.  In the other side of the pan, melt the margarine.  When the margarine is melted, add the flour and whisk with the margarine.  When they've become a thick paste, slowly pour in the soy milk, whisking constantly, keeping out of the sausage bits as much as possible.  It's okay if they blend together after the flour paste has been whisked into the milk.  Once all the milk has been added, go ahead and blend the liquid and the sausage mix together with the whisk.  Add the salt and pepper.  Stir slowly and constantly with the whisk until the gravy bubbles.  Let it boil for one minute, while constantly stirring, then turn the heat off. Serve over biscuits for a hearty breakfast.  Feeds five hungry vegans with enough left over for lunch or another breakfast...and more! 

Peppery-Garlicky Gravy

G was hankering for some gravy the other morning, so I looked around in the pantry and fridge for some ingredients to rustle something together.  Since the Blessings had spent the night with Gramma and Poppy, I knew I could make it as spicy and un-kid-friendly as I wanted.  I really liked what turned out.  Even though I normally serve a white gravy over biscuits, the end dish tasted very good.  But, this won't be my "official" biscuits and gravy recipe; you can serve this gravy over biscuits, mashed potatoes, seitan cutlets, and more.  G would have preferred I left the shitakes out of the pot, so consider those optional. Also, the garlic I used in this recipe I had just purchased from the Farmer's Market, so they're not you're regular supermarket version.  They were more like one large clove each, very much arranged like small onions, and they were delicious.  But, I love garlic enough, that I would still use the same amount from the store.  Enjoy!

Peppery-Garlicky Gravy.

Peppery-Garlicky Gravy over biscuits.

Peppery-Garlicky Gravy

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. canola oil

1 red bell pepper, diced small

5 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 - 6oz. can of sliced shitake mushrooms, drained (optional ingredient)

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

4 Tbs. vegan margarine

6 Tbs. flour

3 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  When oil is hot, add the red bell pepper, garlic, and shitakes.  Saute for five minutes.  Add the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and continue cooking for another minute or so, stirring frequently.  With a spatula, move all the ingredients to one side of the pot.  Add the margarine to the cleared sign of pot, and melt it.  Add the flour to the margarine, and whisk together.  Slowly pour the broth into the roux (flour mixture) while whisking.  Try to whisk any clumped up flour bits, so you have a smooth gravy.  Eventually the other ingredients will get mixed in, and that's okay.  Continue whisking until everything has been mixed together well.  Whisk continually at this point until gravy boils and thickens, anywhere from three to ten minutes.  Serve over biscuits, mashed potatoes, seitan cutlets and more.  Nice kick to the flavor.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Mushroom Gravy, G's Birthday and a Contest

G's birthday was a few days ago, and once again, I made it through that sketchy period, where for two weeks I'm too old for him.  Whew!  As usual, he asked for a very simple birthday dinner - no fuss, no muss.  Everything he requested, I made for him.  I wasn't thinking in terms of posting any recipes, so I didn't take a clear shot of the gravy.  I wish I had taken a picture of it in a ladle or in a gravy boat, but eh, I didn't think about it.  But, looking at the roasted potatoes, you kind of get the idea.  It's an easy, yummy gravy, chock full of mushrooms, really!

G's birthday dinner (my) plate: Roasted potatoes with Mushroom Gravy, Boca Chik patties, green, purple and orange cauliflower.  (He asked for a vegetable medley, and I thought this looked colorful.)  On G's plate, his gravy was on his patties, too.  The boy wanted gravy!  The lighting isn't too great in this picture to show off everything as good as it was.

G's birthday lunch was at our usual go-to place for either his or my birthday.  Queen Sheba's has an all-you-can-eat vegan buffet during the week, so it's really cost-effective with five hungry mouths.  Since he works from home on Friday's, we took his lunch a day early.  Their information is: 1704 Broadway, Sacramento, ph: 916-446-1223, www.queenshebas.com .

G's birthday cake.  He told me he wanted it in Captain America colors, JK's favorite superhero of the minute, so it's a white cake with cherry and blueberry filling.  This was a hit with everyone, even my mom, who isn't crazy about sweets.

Slice of same cake.  The true color of the cake is actually reflected in the picture of the whole cake.  Again, the lighting wasn't the greatest on my table.

 
 

Also, someone nominated me to be one of the top 25 veggie mom bloggers at Circle of Moms.  I'm not one normally for self-promotion, and I'm a bit shy, but G goaded me on to accept this.  So, if you want to vote for me, you can do so once a day until February 14th.  I don't have Facebook or Twitter or MySpace to my advantage, just you, my wonderful, kind, insightful readers.  This blog is my only venture into the cyber world beyond my e-mail.  Thank you in advance!  And thank you to whomever nominated me.  :-)

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced small
8 to 10 button mushrooms, chopped small
6 Tbs. vegan margarine
4 Tbs. flour
3 cups of vegetable broth
2 Tbs. soy sauce
5 to 7 drops of liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat oil on medium heat.  When hot, add the onion and cook for ten minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook for five minutes more, stirring frequently.  Move the onions and mushrooms to one side of the pan, and add the margarine on the other side.  Let it melt.  Add the flour to the margarine, and either whisk the two together or use a fork to blend them into a kind of paste.  Add the broth to the paste while continue to whisk.  It's okay if some of the onions and mushrooms sneak on over and blend in.  When all the broth is added, the whole pot of ingredients will be mixed together.  Add the remaining ingredients, and continue to stir gently with whisk until gravy comes to a boil.  It will thicken very rapidly at this point.  If it's too thick, you can add a touch more broth.  Serve hot over roasted potatoes, or anything else you like.  If the leftover gravy congeals overnight in the refrigerator, simply warm up with a little extra water, and it's good as new.  Feeds five hungry vegans and a couple of guests.

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

SOMETHING HAS GONE HAYWIRE WITH THIS POST. NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I TRY TO FORMAT IT CORRECTLY, IT GOES BACK TO PARAGRAPHICAL FORM. IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO FIX IT, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT! I'VE WORKED IN BOTH THE HTML AND COMPOSE AND CAN'T GET IT TO COOPERATE FOR ME. I WILL KEEP TRYING.

I've been feeling more and more comfortable experimenting with my own seitan. It's actually been fun trying to see how versatile it is and how far I can push the flavors. I decided to try my hand at stuffing it; I added a long name, and voila! - I have another tasty dish. My husband especially seems to like hearty meals like this after a long day at work. Now that I'm trying my hand at seitan on a regular basis, the Blessings never know what's going to show up at dinner! This turned out very well, and the gravy was just the right complement to the meal. The crumbles were a fun addition. There seems to be a lot of steps, but things come together really easily. Hope you like it.

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

Seitan before steaming

Stuffed seitan before baking

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

Ingredients:

Seitan:

1 cup of slow-cooked Great Northern Beans

2 cups of water

1 and 1/2 tsp. of ground thyme

1 and 1/2 tsp. of rubbed sage

2 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. garlic powder

1 Tbs. onion powder

2 and 1/4 cups of gluten flour

Stuffing:

(I realized as I was writing up this recipe, that the cornbread here is the only part I didn't measure. I cut a wedge from the cornbread I made, and it looks to be just less that 1/4 of a pan, which is probably close to 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups ground.)

Unsweetened cornbread - you can use my Ozark Cornbread recipe - a large wedge

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

Gravy:

1/2 cup of slow-cooked Great Northern Beans

1 and 1/2 cup of water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 Tbs. vegan margarine

2 Tbs. flour

Crumbles:

1 cup of ground cornbread (in food processor)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

For the seitan: In a blender, add all the seitan ingredients, except the gluten flour. Blend well. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the gluten flour. Stir well, and knead for a minute or two until the dough has no wet or dry spots. Divide into five mounds and shape into rough ovals. Wrap in enough foil to cover the seitan at least three times. Place in a large pot with a lid with water and a steamer basket. Steam on medium heat for 45 minutes. Remove and unwrap each seitan oval. (I make the cornbread, while the seitan is steaming, to keep things moving along.)

For the stuffing: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Break up the cornbread and put chunks into a food processor. Add the seasonings and process until crumbly. Along the side of each seitan oval, use a sharp knife to cut a deep slice. Don't go all the way to the edges or all the way to the back. Divide the cornbread mix evenly, and fill each seitan cavity with it. Put the seitan in a large baking pan, and pour 3/4 cup of water on the bottom of it. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully flip the seitan over, and pour another 3/4 of water on the bottom of the pan. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

For the gravy: In a blender, combine all the gravy ingredients except for the flour and margarine. Blend until smooth. In a medium pot on medium heat, melt the margarine. Add the flour and whisk well. Add the blended gravy ingredients and continue stirring constantly on medium heat, until it bubbles, about five minutes. Turn the heat to low and continue stirring for one minute. Remove from heat.

For the crumbles: Turn oven heat up to 400 degrees. In a food processor, put in enough cornbread to get about one cup's worth. Add the seasonings and continue to process until mixed. Place crumbles in small baking pan and bake for five minutes.

To assemble: Plate each stuffed seitan with gravy spooned over the top. Sprinkle the cornbread crumbles over the gravy. Serve with the rest of the cornbread and a simple vegetable. Fancy, yet satisfying! Feeds five hungry vegans.

Pintos with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

So, this dish is a little different because there's several things for which to include recipes. The reason is because I have a large list of menu ideas taped to the inside of my kitchen cupboard that I refer to constantly. These are dishes that I've created or modified, and instead of wondering what to make every night, I make a weekly menu from it, along with a new recipe or two. Well, this dish is one of our basics that we have frequently. My husband introduced me to dried beans; I had no idea they existed before him. And for years he put up with my canned beans. Not only that, but I would drain whatever liquid was in the pot before serving them to him. So, for two or three years he ate dry canned beans without complaint. Then one day, he asked in frustration, "Why do you drain the beans?" I was surprised and thought about it and said, "Because my mom did." That's when he took me under his Southern tutelage, showed me, to my astonishment, bags of beans and instructed me to not drain them. Instead, a natural gravy would form from the long, slow process of cooking the beans. The longer the better because then he doesn't have to bother to chew, which he finds overrated and unnecessary if the food is cooked properly. Have I mentioned he's high maintenance? There's so much I could tell! Anyhow, he says this natural bean gravy hits a spot in his tummy so sweetly that reminds him of his childhood where his family, with nine other siblings, ate beans every night of the week. So, now we have beans all the time, and I throw along mashed potatoes and gravy. The only other acceptable potato subsitution would be fried, and then he likes it cut a certain way, and then...oh well, you get the idea. After that, we add any steamed veggie we have handy. So, let me show you our easy, basic way to make our staple meal. Hope you like it!

Pintos with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Ingredients:

Beans:

1 pound of dried pinto beans
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 box of vegetable broth
Water to cover

Mashed Potatoes:

10 russet potatoes
1 stick of vegan margarine
1 cup of soy milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbs. garlic powder

Gravy:

1/4 cup vegan margarine
3 Tbs. flour
3 cups of vegetable broth
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast flakes
A few shakes of liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

For the beans: Our family eats beans so frequently that we are not bothered by gas issues. If you are, I would suggest soaking them overnight first, then draining them. For us, I put them in a medium pot and sort them for grit. Pour water to cover about one inch over the beans and bring to a boil. Let boil for five minutes, then drain and rinse thoroughly. Pour the beans back in the pot along with the box of broth and water to cover again. Cook on medium heat for two hours, stirring and adding water as necessary. Lower the heat to medium low, add the spices and cook for another hour. Your beans should be nice and tender, with water about a half an inch above the beans when done.

For the mashed potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Put in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and let boil for fifteen minutes. Drain (you can save the potato water for soup, if you wish) and put the potatoes back in the pot off the burner. Add the margarine and mash with a potato masher. Add the milk, and more if necessary, to get a creamy mixture. Add the spices and mash again until there are no chunks. No extra margarine is added at the table, just a few shakes of salt and pepper. My oldest blessing shuns the gravy and just adds white vinegar - yuck!

For the gravy: Heat the margarine over medium heat in a small pot. When melted, add the flour and whisk. Slowly add the broth while whisking. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to whisk over medium high heat. When it begins to boil, turn down heat to low and whisk for one more minute. This will thicken up even more the next day.

Add whatever vegetable or salad you like and enjoy this simple, budget-friendly meal that feeds a large family with enough for leftovers. Feeds five hungry vegans for a couple of days.