Sausage Gravy and Drop Biscuits

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
for the gravy:
1 pound breakfast sausage, hot or mild
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk (I was fine with my trusty 1%)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 teaspoons black pepper, more to taste (I know this is supposed to be quite a peppery dish, but we just don't like pepper that much and cut this way down - I think I only added 1/2-1 teaspoon and it was plenty peppery for our liking)

for the biscuits:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 stick (3/4 cup) cold butter, cut into pieces
1-1/4 cup butermilk (I did the lemon-juice + milk trick and it was great)

Directions:
for the gravy:
With your finger, tear small pieces of sausage and add them in a single layer to a large heavy skillet. (Or don't - you can just break up the sausage with a spoon in the pan if that floats your boat better.) 

Brown the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle on half the flour and stir so that the sausage soaks it all up, then add a little more until just before the sausage looks too dry. (I must have had really fatty sausage and I had to add quite a bit more flour than 1/3 cup (more like double that) to "soak it all up".  Next time I'll drain some of the grease first.)  Stir it around and cook it for another minute or so, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly.

Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens. (This may take a good 10-12 minutes.) Sprinkle in the seasoned salt and pepper and continue cooking until very thick and luscious. If it gets too thick too soon, just splash in 1/2 cup of milk or more if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings.

for the biscuits:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor (or a large bowl). Add butter pieces and pulse until butter is completely cut into the flour mixture (or use a pastry cutter or two knives or a fork if using a bowl). While pulsing (or stirring) drizzle in the buttermilk until dough just comes together and is no longer crumbly.

Drop in clumps on two baking sheets, then bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. (Optional: brush with melted butter when biscuits first come out of the oven.)

Spoon sausage gravy over warm biscuits and serve immediately!

Notes:
Another one of those recipes that I've never tried making before in my life, but for some reason thought sounded good this month.  Once again, Pioneer Woman made something that seemed pretty intimidating to me (the gravy, not so much the biscuits, though this drop version was kind of fun and different) easy as pie (which actually intimidates me, too).  We had leftovers for days, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Unless you're trying to lose weight.  Then, leftover sausage gravy and biscuits probably isn't something you want hanging around your house.  Yummy stuff.