Sausage Gravy with Biscuits

I'm pretty sure that gravy and biscuits are in their own separate food category of awesomeness. Nothing screams down home cooking like waking up to some gravy and biscuits, whether it has sausage or not.

Making sausage gravy and biscuits is easy. You will find a million different recipes to try, but I think the best, by far, is the kind that has milk gravy. You can buy the gravy in a can or in those packets that you mix with something and it becomes gravy. While I'm sure its good, its not as good as homemade gravy. So, let me teach you!

If you are going to make sausage gravy, you clearly start off by browning your sausage. If you are just making the gravy, I suggest using some kind of animal grease - bacon grease, sausage grease, because it gives it that special gravy flavor, but using butter, lard, or shortening works as well.

Once you brown your sausage or melt whatever you're going to use, you need to make a roux. All you need to do is add a heaping tablespoon or two or three until no more flour can be mixed in thoroughly. This basically makes the grease thick. Its how your milk is going to thicken.
This is what it will start to look like but this clearly has no sausage in it. I just wanted to give you an idea of what to look for. You want to let it brown for a few moments.
Then comes the milk! When making sausage gravy, I just pour enough milk to cover all of the sausage, usually amounting to about 4 cups, but if you are just making the gravy, then 2-3 cups should be good depending on the amount you are cooking for!

So, you add in your milk. Add some seasoning. For just gravy, I use a heavy hand and super season it, but my normal seasons are garlic powder, onion powder, lots and lots of pepper, and maybe some seasoned salt. For just gravy, I add some Worcestershire sauce.

Bring it to a boil, stirring to make sure it doesn't stick, then turn it down and let it thicken up to your likening!

Make your biscuits however you make them, whether its from a can, a frozen bag, or homemade! Buttermilk biscuits are the best though.

So, is sausage gravy and biscuits thrifty? Lets find out...
I buy sausage from my local meat market and I usually buy the packets of loose sausage for $1.90 for a lb.
3 tablespoons of flour... maybe $.10 since I buy the 25lb of flour.
3-4 cups of milk... the price of milk is ridiculous but I will say that it is about $.80-$1 depending on the current price of milk.
Seasons.. well we will say the total for the seasonings are $.50 - if you buy the large containers of seasoning its even cheaper!
Then biscuits.. a can is $1.50 here for 10 biscuits. The price would clearly be cheaper to make the biscuits, but we will go with this price..

Total price ends up being $4.80 - thrifty? I think so! And it makes a large amount and feeds all of us plus usually some for leftovers or for Buddy!

Just milk gravy and sausage would be cheaper.
A tablespoon or two of butter would probably be about $.56 and you don't use sausage so... the total price would be $3.46.