The Secret to the Best Sausage Gravy……

So, Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I like everything about it. One of my favorites is sausage gravy. I can’t eat sausage gravy in the restaurant because it all tasted awful to me now that I figured out how to make it. Mine is way better (Sorry Bob Evans) I am not a measurer, because I like to make the amount that I need. But I will give you the best approximations. Sausage gravy is not exact. Some like more pepper, some like it thicker or thinner. It just depends what you like.

1 lb. breakfast sausage (if it is just my daughter and I, I use ½ lb.)
3 + cups of milk. Depends if you like thinner or thicker and how far you want to stretch your sausage
Pepper to taste – I use a lot of fresh cracked pepper
3 heaping Tablespoons of cornstarch
Beef Bullion to taste (at least one teaspoon to start with. It also depends on brand, some is stronger than others)

1.) Brown your sausage until there is no pink.
2.) Add milk – medium to high heat. Remember to stir, milk can scorch
3.) Add Pepper
4.) Add Beef bouillon. Use Beef. Using pork or ham flavor, tastes weird. I know it sounds weird to add beef flavor, but try it.
5.) As it heats, taste and add additional pepper and bullion to taste.
6.) Mix corn starch and about ¼ C milk in small bowl or cup. Stir til incorporated
7.) Once mixture begins to boil, add corn starch mixture and continue stirring. It should thicken quickly. You can add milk to thin or more cornstarch/milk mixture to thicken if need be. Up to you.

Dump over biscuits or hash browns… Enjoy

Happy Cooking.

Embroidered Baby Bibs for my future GrandKid?

So, While I was going through boxes of sewing supplies, fabric etc… I came across these baby bibs. I believe I made them over 20 years ago. I had no children and I was not even thinking about getting married.

Ever since my older sisters had kids and I became an Aunt, I loved making things for babies and kids. My sister Karen’s kids had the greatest Halloween costumes. I made my nephew a dinosaur once. The tail was so long and big he had to tie a roller-skate to it so he did not drag a hole in it. I made my niece Minnie mouse and a belly dancer costume. My daughter has also had a butterfly and a witch costume (with a fancy witch gown). I don’t do much costume making these days, but spend lots of time on quilts and other crafty things.

I remember making these bibs. I used Kona cotton and traced the design with a pencil while I had them taped to the sliding glass door of my single girl condo. Oh the memories. I will put these away for that Grandchild I hope to meet one day.

Happy Sewing.

Needlepoint: Young Girl Reading…A treasure

My mother was from Germany. She had some dear friends that owned a furniture store. They gave my mother several of these beautiful needlepoints.

If I remember correctly, they were made by women in the Black Forest. I can’t imagine the amount of time that it took to make such a piece. It is about 24” x 36”. The face and hands are done in petit point, which is so tiny. But, it shows such detail.

This beautiful piece hangs in my dining room. My research tells me that this is made from a painting titled “Young Girl Reading”. Originally it was done as an oil painting on canvas by Jean-Honore Gragonard. It currently hangs at the National Gallery of Art. It was believed to be painted in 1776. It is one of the many treasured items I have from my mother.

My mother brought back several of these needlepoints. I believe each of my three sisters have one or two. I have many beautiful items from Germany. I am sure you will get a chance to see them along the way.

Red and White with multiple Bindings…

Or at least I think that is what you would call it. I used the same binding on the inside that is on the outside edge. I saw a quilt like this in a magazine many many years ago. I originally made it to hang in my bedroom, but it is currently hanging in our Family Room. I love quilts that are red and white.

Yes, it has a signature mistake as every one of my quilts does. There is always something that I don’t notice until it is complete. This one has one of the inner bindings totally off. It towards the bottom right, but may be hard to see in the photo. It wouldn’t be my quilt unless it had something out of place or not quite right.

Happy Quilting!