Good Gravy!

Black coffee

Fry ham slices in a skillet and cook thoroughly, turning often and rendering as much fat as possible. Remove ham to a warm place. Add 1 cup of strong, black coffee to hot skillet and heat to simmer, scraping loose any ham "leavings". Makes 1 cup.

Tomato Gravy This is a new one for me, but it is absolutely yummy. Serve it over biscuits, a plain chuck steak or an omelet for a treat.

Ingredients:

¼ cup of chopped onion

3 Tbsp of oil, butter, or bacon grease

2 Tbsp flour

1 16 oz. can of stewed tomatoes

Sauté onion in the oil then add flour, cooking both together until lightly browned. Add tomatoes and stir until thickened. If gravy seems a bit thick, add a little water as desired. Salt to taste.

Beer Biscuits

This is my all time favorite biscuit recipe, and seriously folks, I've tried many! These biscuits are wonderful and many years ago I had to do a little horse-trading to get a hold of this one. It does make use of commercially prepared biscuit mix. Use whatever you like, but choose a good quality brand.

Ingredients:

6 cups of biscuit mix

1 cup sugar

Less than 1 bottle of beer, room temperature but NOT flat

Butter flavored shortening, melted

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix together biscuit mix and sugar. Add beer, starting with ½ cup and adding more as needed to make a wet, tacky dough. Spoon dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat out by hand to make a uniform thickness of about ½ inch. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter or a wide-mouth canning jar cut out biscuits. Lightly grease a flat cooking sheet with the melted shortening and baste the tops of biscuits with shortening as well. Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes until golden. Makes 1 dozen large biscuits.

I hope you all enjoy trying these gravies and be sure and drop us a line if you've got some family favorites of your own to share.