SAUSAGE GRAVY

Ingredients
1 lb Pork Sausage ground
1 can (12 oz) Evaporated milk or 1 c milk
1 c all-purpose flour
1 tb Freshly ground pepper ground black pepper
1 ts Salt, to taste
hot sauce


Preparation
Selecting the right sausage
Part of the secret of good sausage gravy is the FAT. Sorry folks, but the lean “good for you” kind of pork sausage just won’t make good sausage gravy. If you are worried about the fat and cholesterol . . . eat something else!! Select a good brand, just the same. My favorite for making gravy is “Aberdeen” brand, but any brand with a good balance of meat and fat will do. If you have a good meat market in your area where they grind their own sausage, tell the butcher to grind you some with plenty of fat left in.

Pre-measure your milk and flour and have it ready next to the stove, as well as about a liter of water. Heat a deep skillet to medium high heat. Fry up the sausage with about half a teaspoon of hot sauce, until it is well browned and has rendered all of the fat. Break up the sausage into small bit as it fries, so that it is the size of small peas. Lower the heat just a bit, then add the flour to the pan. Mix into the sausage until the flour is totally coated with the rendered grease. You should not be able to see any more bright white flour. If there is not enough grease to coat all of the flour, add vegetable oil or lard until there is. You should now have little brownish sausage/flour nodules. Add salt, to taste, and the black pepper. Add the milk and about a cup of water. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up the nodules that have formed. Keep stirring and breaking up the nodules until it begins to smooth out. It will get very thick; add water until you get a nice, smooth, creamy consistency. The only lumps in the gravy should be the sausage! If the flour was well coated with grease, it will not be lumpy. Keep heating and stirring until it stops getting thicker and you have the consistency you want.
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Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup half & half - fat free
4 ounces cheddar cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon onion
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 cups broccoli florets - bite-size


Preparation
Combine chicken broth, water, half & half, cheese, flour, onion and pepper in a large saucepan. Whisk to break up any lumps of flour; turn heat to medium/high. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat to low.

Add broccoli and simmer for 15-20 minutes until broccoli is tender, but not soft.

For each serving spoon one cup of soup into a bowl and garnish with a Tbsp. of shredded cheese and a pinch of parsley.

Note: Garnish with 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 2 tsp. minced fresh parsley if desired.