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Homemade gravy, almost every time.

Posted By: sm on 2007-03-26
In Reply to: What's the one cooking thing you've never been able to - master?

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Breakfast - homemade biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs,
bacon, fried bologna and potato pancakes.  It was scrumptious!!!!
Fried chicken drummettes, mashed potatoes wiht homemade gravy, corn on cob and rolls
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I used gravy for cats...sm
My cat had to go on vet-prescribed cat food for recurrent urinary tract blockage.  He refused to eat the stuff until I added some gravy bought at the pet store.  It has vitamins and minerals for cats.  It is pricey, though.  I weaned the cat from it gradually and now only give it to him once in a while as a treat.  Good luck!
Biscuits and gravy, of course. It's the law.
x
good gravy

last time i watched it was when the tornado hit.  It was just getting a little too out there for me.  thanks for the update though.  bet this goes down as the season for DH that is equated to the dream season in Dallas.  sorry if that doesn't make sense, I'm a little tired. 


thanks again.


Biscuits, pie crust, and gravy...
absolutely awful at these!
Nope..no gravy boat.
Mine did not come with one either. Below are a few on ebay that might work. I like the last one too because it is round and could be used with one of your larger saucers. Hmm. I did not have S&P shakers either. Believe it or not I use these as my every day dishes. They are very, very durable, but then again I do not have children either. My mother always said, what good is china if you can only use it once a year! They do look lovely at christmas time on a gold charger plate. I also used candles shaped like pine cones and/or pine cones in the center piece. I paint also so I will probably end up feeling sorry for you and paint you one!

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Salty gravy remedy, please? sm
Lid fell off salt shaker and the salt went into the gravy pan.  I scooped out as much as I could, but it is still very salty.  Can I salvage this?  Please say yes! 
My gravy is so good but you need a knife to spread it!
What I have never been able to master was meatloaf and I love it. Mine always with anyway I make it comes out tasting just like cooked hamburger, no difference, might as well fix me a burger!
I make egg gravy with biscuits, sausage, and bacon.
is white country gravy with diced up hard boiled eggs.  We love it over freshly baked biscuits with sausage or bacon on the side.  It's an every Christmas morning thing with us.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Definitely the homemade goodies!
Homemade chocolate chip cookies, pecan and/or almond butter balls, sugar cookies, fudge! mmmmm
My mother fed us homemade
formula made from Karo syrup and canned milk.  I'm only 36.  She also made the nipple holes bigger to get serial in those bottles once we started waking her up too often.  Plus, let my husband get up once in a while, darn...., and no I'm not milking myself like a cow so he can feed the baby through a bottle.  Another thing, these mothers wind up feeding these babies from their breast until they start school.  Ooohhhh ahhhh...  duh!  Oh the stories! 
Homemade Bread

I'd like to start making my own bread. I can only tolerate easy recipes and not too time consuming. Is making your own bread easy, moderate or difficult? if it's easy, do you have any tried and true recipes?


Should I buy a bread machine? What can you tell me about bread machines and their ability to pop out good tasting bread, also, with bread machines, do you have to use a pre bought packet or can you stick your own ingredients in there and bake?


Homemade bread
Well, I'm old-fashioned. I've never used a bread machine in my life. But I do make four loaves of bread at least every week and my family can't live without it (I say in all modesty). I've won blue ribbons at the County Fair for it. This is how I do it - This may seem very long and involved, but it's because I'm trying to describe it really thoroughly. Don't let the length of the instructions put you off. Do try it!

The initial makinag and kneading of the dough only takes about twenty minutes - the rest is waiting time, mostly.

I start with dry yeast, one package in a half a cup of hot tap water, stir it up and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. While it's sitting, I put three cups of hot water in a big mixing bowl with two teaspoons of salt, two tablespoons of sugar, and a quarter stick of margarine (or butter if you prefer). I heat that in the microwave for three minutes.

Then I add two cups of flour to the ater/salt/sugar/ butter and stir it up. You'll need a strong spoon because it'll get pretty thick later on. I have a favorite wooden spoon that I use. Once that's mixed in (it doesn't have to be completely smooth) add the yeast, then add another half cup of hot water to rinse the rest of the yeast out of the cup and into the dough. Stir that up, and then start adding your flour. I start with a total of ten cups, usually get close to twelve. You can do that all at once or two cups at a time. After it gets too hard to stir, it's time to put some of the last two cups of flour on the table and dump the dough mixture out onto the table. Then comes the fun, especially if you're stressed. Start kneading the dough, adding more flour when it gets sticky. Depending on how humid it is, you may need another cup or two cups. I usually add about half a cup at a time gradually each time it gets sticky. If you put in too much all at once, it may turn out too heavy. At eleven or twelve cups, you will hit the point when your hands don't stick to the dough anymore. Then just knead it for another several minutes until it's smooth "as a baby's bottom" was how I was taught.

Then I wash out the bowl and dry it with a clean dish towel, spray the inside with cooking spray, put the dough in, then thoroughly wet the towel (not dripping, but don't wring it out all the way either), and cover the bowel. That'll keep the dough from drying out while it's rising. Set in in a warm place to rise. In the summer I set it on my stove with the light on over it. In the winter, I'll put a pan of warm water in the oven on the bottom shelf and put the bowl on the top shelf.

Let it rise to double its original size, about an hour. Can be more. Dough is very forgiving if you let it rise too much. Then fold it in on itself, recover it and let it rise again. I usually let it rise at least two or three times. The more often you let it rise, the lighter it will be.

After the last rising, I spray my four loaf pans with cooking spray, then take the dough out, put in on the table and divide it into four parts with a large knife. Then, fold it in and under to form a loaf and put it in the loaf pan. Set that to rise to double. At about 45 minutes, start preheating the oven to 375 degrees. When the dough is the height you want (it will rise a little more in the oven), stick it in the oven for 30 minutes. It should be golden brown on top when it's done. Take the loaves out of the pans immediately and put them on a cooling rack so moisture doesn't accumulate under them.

The family will attack the first loaf of bread immediately, be forewarned! The other three, when they are almost cool, put them in regular bread bags you have saved from store-bought bread. I freeze mine, because this has no preservatives and does get stale quickly. It's best eaten within a day or two of making it or thawing it. That's never a problem in my house.

I hope you try it. It's a great feeling, getting all the accolades from your family and friends. PS - if you're lactose intolerant, like me, there are no milk products in it. I never eat store-bought bread anymore. It also makes the best toast in the world, and French toast?!? Wonderful!
homemade bread
She's absoloutely correct! I love making my own bread. My kids are gone now, so I don't make as much, but give it away. It doesn't last long if it sticks around here and there is such a good feeling when you've done it yourself. No preservatives and junk included. That being said, I do have a bread machine as well, have rarely used it, but when I do, it does a gresat job and I can make more types of bread because I can just throw everything in and let the machine do the rest. It really does turn out good and I am freed up to do other stuff, like work!!
homemade bread
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I lost my bread book in a flood here in Florida when there was 8 inches of water in my house and my recipes were on the bottom shelf of my cabinet (among other recipes) and have not made any bread since. My mother bought me an "earthenware bowl" that she paid a lot for to rise the dough which retains the temperature. I only have 3 loaf pans but will buy another. I bought a breadmaker machine but did not use it much. I used it for rye bread which is hard to knead because it is more coarse. My family loved my bread and I pretty much loved to have my hands in that dough. I know it is somewhat exhausting, but I find it almost therapeutic and stress reducing. I am going to try your recipe.
What's the best cut of meat for homemade philly...
steak subs?  Our family loves them and we usually buy the frozen philly cheese steak meat...but I just can't stomach the smell of it even cooking anymore because it is sooooo greasy.  I want to try to make some homemade from a fresh cut of meat.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!!
homemade chicken soup here
Teenage son just walked in and said, Oh, good. We get to eat tonight. LOL. Guess he is tired of take-out.
I'm in CA and I love homemade mac & cheese -
.
Homemade Pizza Dough

Does anybody have a recipe for a good pizza dough recipe that does not take a long time to make?


Also what do you put on your homemade pizza?


homemade heath bar- sorta

Not a dinner idea- but a cheap way to make a bag-full of toffee: 


1 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 12 oz. bag chocolate chips, 3/4-1 cup chopped nuts (i use salted peanuts chopped up) saltine crackers:


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Fill pan side-by-side with crackers. Heat butter and brown sugar. Boil for 3 minutes.  Pour on top of crackers. Put pan in oven for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top to melt- after a couple minutes, easy to spread around with a spatula. Sprinkle the nuts on top- kinda push them into the chocloate so they don't fall off when done.  Chill in fridge and break into pieces. 


Keeps well in a zip-lock baggie in fridge.  Not the real deal, but sure it good and a lot cheaper than candy bars! 


Thanks for the other ideas ladies, always looking for a new meal that is fast, easy and yummy! 


last year homemade carmel corn,
this year pumpkin mini-muffins with candy corn on top...
Popcorn, homemade, with butter and a little salt
nm
I've heard they are good for homemade..
pizza because pizza has to cook in a 500+ oven. The stone helps when domestic ovens only go that high.

I'm no cook, that's the 'gist' of it, stones.

You can Google the info tho.

Ever watch Sam the Cooking Guy? He cracks me up.
I found a recipe for homemade latte that I will try.
You liked Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper?  I thought it tasted like dirt.  But I feel your pain, also, on losing something you love.  Most people didn't like Straight Up latte, too, but I loved it. 
Thanks for checking. I did try making my homemade version.
Not too bad.  Needs a little recipe tweaking, but not too bad.  I just made sure not to buy Folger's instant coffee for the recipe
Super easy homemade pizza
Very yummy and under $10 Serves 3-4
1 lb ground hamburger or 1 bag of pepperoni
1 box jiffy pizza crust mix
1 bag shredded pizza cheese
1 jar pizza sauce

Brown hamburger, drain; set aside. Make crust mix as per directions. Put into pizza pan - bake 3 minutes. Layer sauce, a little cheese, meat, then more cheese. Bake on 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. You won't believe how delicious this is!
My grandmother made homemade mac and cheese sm
She died at the age of 93 and I was 27 and I am ashamed to say that I never learned how to make it. She didn't have a receipe. She would also put fried chicken on the stove before church and it would be cooked to perfection by dinnertime. Ask my brother or me what our last meal would be and we both say Mamaw's fried chicken and mac and cheese.
Halfway homemade NE clam chowder sm

I say half-way because I use cream of potato soup as kind of a base. This is enough for my family of 5 to have plenty with a little leftover if there is nothing else to go with it (we sometimes have grilled cheese with it).


6-8 slices of bacon


1/2-1 stick of butter


1/2 medium-large onion, chopped


1-2 Tbsp minced garlic


4 cans Campbell's cream of potato soup


3 cans minced or chopped clams (keep the juice)


Half and half, maybe a quart


Cook the bacon, butter, onion, and garlic in a large pot until the bacon is done. Do not drain. Add soup and clams, including the juice, and gradually stir in half and half, stirring constantly to keep it from curdling or burning, until heated through.


Great idea! How about homemade marshmellows!?
I do cookies and candies every year for all of our neighbors, friends, and family. This year we have to cut back for financial reasons so I am only giving to those who we see often and I know appreciate it.

Last year we did homemade marshmellows and they were a big hit. There were green striped mint ones and red striped cherry. This year I am going to do cocoa mix and the marshmellows and just a few cookies. I may just use your recipe. Sounds wonderful!

Andes mints now have a big of pieces in the baking aisle. That might be a nice twist or maybe butterscotch chips. Yum!

If you like to bake you should check out the marshmellow recipe of Alton Brown's. Martha Stewart also has a good one. They are cheap and easy to make if you have a good mixer like a kitchen aid. The mixer really does most of the work, about 15 minutes to get the fluff. The most difficult part is the cleanup. It can be messy but well worth it!
How many of you are making the homemade laundry soap?
I just did this week and I love it. Its going to save so much on laundry detergent. I'm very happy with the results.

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT


Ingredients:
3.1 oz bar Ivory soap or 2 regular bar sizes(Ivory is chosen because it's all natural. You may use a soap of your choice)
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax


½ cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda or Baking Soda (I used baking soda since I couldn't find the washing soda)
Water


Tools:


5 Gallon container
Knife
Pot large enough to hold 5 cups of water
Long stirring stick/spoon (for 5 gallon container)


Instructions:


Shave the soap into small strips or grate it up finely with a grater and place in the pot with 5 cups of water. Bring the water just shy of a boil and stir until the soap is completely melted. When the soap is just about melted, pour 3 gallons of hot water into the 5-gallon container and let it sit until the soap in the pot is totally melted. Once all of the soap shavings are melted, pour the mixture into the 5-gallon container and stir.


Once the soap and water are thoroughly stirred, add the ½ cup pf washing soda and stir until dissolved. Once the washing soda is dissolved, pour in the cup of borax and stir again until dissolved.


***You can add essential oil flavors for the smell but I prefer without.


Frito pie made with homemade chili and cole slaw.
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A blanket in his favorite color, a homemade afghan or quilt maybe? NM
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Homemade lollipops? Blonde & chocolate brownies? Rice Krispie treats? Critter cupcakes? nm
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No! That sounds too desperate. TIME. Just give it TIME. If it is real, then sm
something will definitely evolve. If you like him, flirt back! Don't act desperate because if he DOES like you, then the suspense will just make him want to get to know you more. Trust me on this.

I worked in the medical records department of a hospital when I was single and dated a few co-workers in my early 30s. It was fun. Nothing serious came about any of the relationships.

This sounds like fun - the beginning of maybe something to come....Keep us informed.
Totally agree, get these from time to time since teens...sm
It's a neuro condition, it does not mean there is anything at all wrong with you, it is actually related to narcolepsy, hypnagogic (sp? I just got up!) hallucinations, etc. And I HATE when I get these, it is always freaky, my siblings get this too, at times. I can "go away" for years and years before you get another episodes, so don't worry! I heard that when you are under a lot of stress or are very busy with things that this happens more??? Take care!!
It's time to stop when you or the kid(s) feel it is time, and no sooner. sm
My grandmother (who passed away at the young age of 107 back in the mid 1990s) was STILL celebrating every little holiday for all of her many kids and grandkids, and she would STILL give me a chocolate bunny every Easter, as she had since I was a toddler and even though I was 40ish at the time (and I still delighted in biting its head off in front of her, as I had also done since I was a toddler, which always met with mock disapproval from her).

Don't let anyone dampen your joy in celebrating your traditions.
The very 1st time he talked about killing you, was the time
The guy sounds like a psycho.
Rachael Ray has a segment from time to time
on using the bottom of the bottle receipes (i.e. bar-be-q sauce, peanut butter, maple syrup) and I have used many of her ideas and been amazed at how far you can stretch a dollar that way. Go to her website, it will give you many ideas.
Oh Amy, surely there was a man who "kept" you from time to time..
or you were at least married and had access to money!
It was a great time - I just hate the time we are in now
I liked your post. Thanks for replying It's nice to know other people were raised like me. We seem to appreciate the things we have. Oh I should've also said we didn't have A/C growing up. My parents idea of A/C was having my sister and I wave a piece of cardboard in front of them. HA HA HA.

I just couldn't stand the 90s and 2000s are even worse. I hate all the politics going on today, the world events, the bleak future. The degenerates running around, listening to kids talk back to their parents, girls gone wild, etc, etc. I'm grateful my grandparents and mom are not alive anymore to have to go through this with us.

I love watching old movies and the music of the 40s/50s. If I was alive back then I would've been doing the jitterbug and all those other fun dances. Life seemed simpler and cleaner (even though I've got a mouth like a sailer - guess I got that from my Army days).

I wouldn't mind the turn of the century either. I love the clothing and the simple life. Those are the times when the husband took care of the wife. If I could be transported back to the 1800s I surely would in a second.
Time out and then spanking if time out
If we are out in public however, we do not go home. Spanking right there and then and the kids learn REAL QUICK mom means business. I do not mess around and I have a 17-year-old now that has enlisted in the military and THANKS me for his tough upgrowing. It helped him through basic training.
Well, I have questioned myself from time to time.
I figured this was typical.  DD has lots of friends but two real close friends.  I guess this is all part of building social skills.  I am glad I did okay then. 
Same thing happens to me from time to time - sm
if I roll over too quickly. I have positional vertigo. There is not too much you can do about it except try not to move or get up too quickly from a supine position. I have never had an earache in my life either so that has nothing to do with it. I don't ever feel sick from it though, just more of a nuisance for me every now and then. If it keeps happening obviously get checked out, you may have a more severe case, though again there really not much you can do about it, all it is is some particles in your ear breaking loose and that causes the dizziness, etc.
If I had not asked time and time again
for the daughter to ask me are you upset- are you angry- are you in a bad mood- People can think what they want- She is a very intelligent person and my asking to please should be enough. Gest of the posting. Selfish, OMG, that is really a laugh. I have and do take care of others well before my needs- I have given of myself, my time, my finances, the whole thing until, now this will sound selfish- it is my time now. I take care of me now- this is selfish but this is the truth. I raised my family, did all I could (still do for the daughter if she needs assistance which she never asks for but I offer)and now in golden years, me time.
Yes. Next time put a time limit on it., but is there any way you
nm
I keep it in the office part time and on the patio part time
I've got the self-cleaning electric litter box (and boy is it worth the $100), and have a huge throw rug under it with a smaller rug by the litter pan that has a bumpy mat on top of it to catch the excess. I keep it in the office from April to October but on the patio from October to March as it is too hot in FL to leave the patio door open for them during the summer months. I also put out a spare box when we go out of town for the weekend.

Try a box that has deeper sides maybe, or not as much litter in it?
time time time
when I divorced my husband, I felt the same way.  some mornings I would wake up crying and missing him, but I really knew that if I was still with him, things would have been the same.  chin up, chest out!!!  and forward march.  it's just hard.  you should read the Sweet Potato Queens books.  reading them in order is best, but the newest one is the Sweet Potato Queens Wedding Planner/Divorce Guide.  I say read them in order because she refers back to things in the other books that you will be in the dark about, but your situation sounds critical so maybe just jump right into the Divorce Guide.  go to sweetpotatoqueens.com.  I have read them all over and over and they are fabulous!!!!  need some humor at this time in your life.  good luck to you!!
First time I saw it
I really like Jen. Didn't care too much for Sadie.
I think maybe for the first time or maybe just the first time
in a long time - your well is a little more dry - it needs replenishing.... you give and you give and you give and even the most charitable of people need to get something back... I think you just had a dry year and I hope this year people give back to you - if so little as a smile, a hug, a bit of encouragement in whatever way - to help to lift your spirit. You will get it back! :))
Yes. Happens all the time.
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