Mom's Country Gravy

I have mentioned before how much I love biscuits and gravy; however the sausage gravy sometimes gives me indigestion.  Here is a country gravy recipe with no sausage...and a biscuit recipe to follow.

1/2 C. vegetable oil
2/4 C. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
4 C. milk

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth.  Cook and stir over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes.  Gradually stir in the milk so that no lumps form, and continue cooking and stirring until thickened.  If gravy becomes too thick, you may thin it with a little more milk.

Biscuits

2 C. all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/3 C. shortening
1 C. milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Graduall stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 minutes.  Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick.  CUt biscuits with a large cutter or a juice glass dipped in flour.  Repeat until all dough is used.  Brush off excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven until the edges begin to brown.