White Pan Gravy

The other day Andy and I were discussing having a good ol' Southern meal with Fried Chicken and white gravy being the centerpiece. Next thing  you know, I'm making biscuits and he's pulling collard greens and pinto beans out of the freezer that we had prepared in a large amount and vacuum sealed. Keep in mind, we don't eat this way every day but we were ready for a hearty meal.

Now that we are living a life none of us imagined, thanks to COVID-19, I'm so ready to be over it. I don't know about y'all, but I miss my grandchildren, my family and friends. I'm not a shopper but with nearly two months of social distancing I will probably buy every damned thing I see when I finally get to shop. Now is the time to refer to my pantry organization post from January 2012 if you haven't already. While you have time on your hands, if you are working reduced hours like me or are "non-essential" (who isn't truly essential?) get your go-to menu together, go through your pantry and make a list of what you need to be prepared for the next quarantine. I promise you, it'll make life easier.

We are trying to support our local restaurants as much as possible, utilizing their curbside service. Many of our retail shops have stepped up their online presence and have made already amazing customer service even better. As a small business employee, I pray every day that we all come out on the other side okay and still have jobs.

Having said that, I also hope we come through this well and have gained a profound sense of what is valuable in life and what we truly need to be happy. I have five grandchildren whom I can't wait to hug and take fishing or boating. Hopefully this year several of them will want to stay the weekend at the river cabin. I'm sure their parents will gladly send them our way. :-)

Back to the recipe. After I fried up some bone-in chicken thighs, I used the remaining oil (about 1/4") and whipped up some white gravy.

Fill a Corelle soup bowl up with milk and set to the side.

Add three heaping spoonfuls of flour to the hot oil. I didn't strain anything out of it. You can see bits of fried chicken bits in the picture.  Whisk until the flour smooths out

Slowly add the milk and whisk continually until the flour and milk is smooth. Since the chicken and flour were seasoned well, I didn't add any salt or pepper additionally.

Scrape the sides of the skillet and continue to whisk until you see the gravy start to bubble and thicken.

Carefully pour the gravy back into the bowl. Pour liberally over hot biscuits and fried chicken.