Necessities:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 2 T lard¹, mixed through the flour thoroughly
• 1 cup milk

Knead quite briskly for a few minutes before cutting. Bake at 375 degrees until they're done or you get so hungry that you can't stand it anymore.

1. Yes, that's lard: this is an old-fashioned recipe!

Necessities:

• 1 pound of sausage
• 1/2 cup flour
• milk

Directions:

1. Cook the sausage.
2. Pour off the grease.
3. Blend the flour into the sausage until it disappears
4. Cover the sausage with milk, turn the heat up high, and start stirring! Don't stop. (Make sure to use the bathroom, if you're going to need to, before you start.)
5. When the milk starts to boil, turn down the heat and keep stirring.
6. As the gravy gets too thick, add a little more milk until you achieve the consistency you want (all the while STIRRING LIKE CRAZY!).

Mom made the following additional recommendations:

RE: biscuits

You might suggest in making the biscuits that you can substitute margarine or butter...or even experiment with oil!

RE: gravy

I probably add more than 1/2 c. of flour for making gravy with that much sausage. I keep adding flour til it's no longer being absorbed with the cooked sausage. DO add it before starting to put in the milk! Turn the heat off the sausage when you're adding the flour. I add milk according to the desired thickness you like for gravy...and if it sits for awhile & you're refilling, you may need to turn the heat up again & add a little more milk til it's the desired thickness.