Dear Mom

Today I made chicken gravy and biscuits for lunch. Pretty sure I will never make some foods without thinking of you, Mom. I don't think my biscuits ever turn out quite as good as yours but today they were pretty decent. I remember the day you tried to figure out some measurements so I could try to make "your" biscuits at my own house. It was one of those 'add milk to the right consistency' type of deals. Our favorite way to have chicken and biscuits was to put the gravy in the bottom of a casserole dish, drop the biscuits on top, then bake it all together. That is still one of the best comfort foods to me. 

I still can't imagine how anyone could not like chicken and biscuits but some people at this house aren't fans. Maybe it's partly that I don't very often use cooked chicken in dishes. We grew up butchering our own chickens and eating lots of chicken every which way. You almost always had cooked chicken and broth in the freezer, Mom; I rarely do, if ever. I have learned that most of mine like it best with the gravy and biscuits served separately. I can compromise like that! 

I think I inherited my dislike of cooking from you, Mom. Although I think I have a worse case of it than you did. Still, there are certain foods that were your specialties and they will always make me think of you. I don't mind that at all. 

Love, Bethany

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In case you'd like to try chicken gravy and biscuits, I'll give the recipes.... if you can call them that; they're not very specific. Are those the best kind?

BISCUITS

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a couple blobs of shortening in a pan and place in oven. 

- In a mixing bowl, place 3 parts self-rising flour and 1 part shortening (so for lunch I used 3 cups of self-rising flour and 1 cup of shortening and that made 15 biscuits)

- Cut shortening into flour with fork (or however you like to do it)

- Add milk to the right consistency 🙂

(You can make your dough stiff, roll it out and cut your biscuits but mom usually made a sticky dough and dropped her biscuits by spoonfuls. Today I added maybe a cup and a half of milk? Maybe more, I didn't measure.)

- Drop biscuits into pan with melted shortening (Or place cut biscuits in pan.) The melted shortening gives them the nice, brown, crunchy bottoms. 

- Bake until slighty brown (about 20 minutes)

CHICKEN GRAVY

- Place chicken broth in kettle (I used about 4 cups of broth and added maybe a cup of water to it plus a teaspoon or so of salt)

- Bring to a boil

- In a gravy shaker, place 1 1/2 to 2 cups milk and maybe 3/4 cup flour. Shake well. 

- While stirring, add flour paste to boiling broth until it reaches desired consistency. 

- Cut up cooked chicken into gravy. 

- Serve over biscuits. 

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Is there a food that makes you think of your mom?