Guest Post with Kim from The Farmers Wife

Kim and her Little Man.

Hey y'all! I'm absolutely thrilled to cook with you today! First things first, let me introduce myself. I'm Kimberly aka The Farmers Wife. I'm a coffeeholic, stay at home Mom and Wife, and yes I am actually married to a Farmer. Being a Farmers Wife makes life all the more interesting, but I love every moment of it. I've never had better produce to cook with in my life, and my Hubby is a wonderful inspiration for me. My little Sous Chef (my son) is also a big part of my life and blog. He is definitely my most challenging little future foodie, he is constantly coming up with ideas for treats he thinks sound good, and he says he "Wants to cook like Mommy someday!". When I first started The Farmers Wife, a couple of years ago, it was because I love to cook, and inventing my own recipes even more, but I was always forgetting to write them down. What started as a hobby, and a resource for myself and family, then turned into something SO much more! I enjoy my "Job" so much, and I love sharing all these goodies with all my friends.

When Lark asked me to guest post, I felt honored. She is possibly the dearest friend you could have. She will always tell you how it is, and make you laugh. And I happen to know that her Hubby LOVES biscuits and gravy so this is the perfect post for her! Now I don't claim to be southern, I was born in Tennessee, and have spent some time there over the years visiting family and what not. But I still remember my favorite part of going to visit them was getting good southern Biscuits and Gravy. Yes I know, my memories involve food, see I was always a foodie at heart! ;-) I haven't had good biscuits and gravy in several years, and awhile ago my Sister In Law challenged me to make my own. Sadly I've put this off for far too long thinking it would be incredibly difficult... I was so wrong... *Kick's self in the rear* Both the biscuits and the gravy were far easier than I ever imagined they would be, and the only thing I regret is not making these before. I now feel as if my life has been seriously deprived... hehe! If you like your traditional Biscuits and Gravy without the sausage, than you can just leave it out. But if you ask me the sausage is totally what makes this so yummy. You can totally use refrigerated biscuits, I honestly just wanted to try making them myself. hehe! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Biscuits: recipe from joyofbaking.com
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Cold Butter or Margarine, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup Milk (I used 1%)
1 Egg, slightly beaten
Egg wash topping:
1 Egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon Milk

Gravy: Farmers Wife Original Recipe
1 lbs. Mild or Hot Pork Sausage
2 teaspoons Olive Oil (only if not enough fat from sausage)
2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
2/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 cups Milk
1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Dash of Ground Nutmeg
Dash of Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. To make the biscuits first combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the cold (must be COLD) butter until resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and egg and using a spatula mix until just combined (you want it to be sticky and moist and lumpy). Turn out onto floured surface and knead gently til it all comes together (do not over knead or your biscuits will be tough and not flakey). Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness and using a biscuit or cookie cutter cut out your biscuits. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, and brush the tops with the egg wash. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

While they are cooling start your gravy by heating a large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook the sausage first, breaking up into pieces and brown. Once cooked, using a slotted spoon, scoop out the sausage onto a paper towel lined plate, leaving as much grease as possible in the pan. Add the flour to the pan and whisk to create a roux. (Note: if your sausage does not leave enough grease, add in a small amount of olive oil.) Once your roux forms, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the cream and milk. Whisk to combine, and then cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Once thick, add in spices and sausage. Taste, and add in more spices as desired. Serve warm over biscuits.

Review:
I always do a review at the end of my recipes, and I have to say this one get 4.5 stars. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars as it is a very heavy meal therefore it won't make it into our monthly rotations (which is what my 5 star rating means), but we all loved it. Including my little Sous Chef, who devoured his portion in about 30 minutes flat!

*please go visit Kim @The Farmer's Wife  say "Hi", Tell her Lark sent ya!