Truck Stop Biscuit Gravy

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 8 ounces lean ground beef
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt, to taste (amount will vary greatly depending upon how salty your sausage seasoning is)
• 1 teaspoon sausage seasoning (a spice blend containing fennel and other spices)
• 2 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, cut into small chunks, at room temperature (neufchatel)
• 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce, to taste
• 2 -3 drops hot sauce (such as tabasco) (optional)

Recipe

• 1 note: if desired, use 8 ounces of lean turkey bulk breakfast sausage (such as jimmy dean), and omit the beef, sausage seasoning, salt, and pepper.
• 2 whisk together flour and milk and leave near the stove (you may need to re-whisk right before adding it later).
• 3 in a large skillet, brown & crumble meat until no longer pink; push cooked meat to on side of the pan, tilt to allow fat to drip to the opposite side; remove from heat and drain fat (i drop in a slice of bread to sop up the fat, then remove and discard).
• 4 if you chose to use ground beef, sprinkle meat with pepper and the sausage seasoning, and some salt to taste (only add half now); if you used the turkey sausage, do not add any seasonings at this point.
• 5 add the milk mixture to meat and return pan to the burner, over medium heat.
• 6 add cheese and stir, breaking up with your spoon, cooking and stirring until cheese completely melts into the sauce (it will look very curdled at first- this will disappear once it fully melts), lowering heat to medium low if needed to keep from boiling; this will take about 10 minutes or so- stir often.
• 7 once cheese is fully melted and sauce is slightly thickened, add worcestershire sauce and, if desired, a few drops of tabasco sauce.
• 8 taste and add more of any seasoning (including the rest of the salt, if needed) until it tastes savory.
• 9 continue cooking over low heat until sauce is as thick as you prefer (it will also thicken up more as it cools)- i usually only leave it another 5 minutes.
• 10 serve over warm fresh cooked biscuits that have been split open.