Lazy Sunday mornings...

Ben and I used to always spend Sunday mornings lingering over the paper and perusing the ads, all accompanied by a pot of good coffee. As we have gotten older though, neither of us wants to leave the comfort of home to purchase a paper, and reading the news via the internet is so easy and convenient. But, despite the convenience, reading the pixels on my laptop screen lacks the tactile sensation of holding the paper in my hands, and the printed word is certainly easier on the vision. With Christmas approaching faster than we dare admit, and without many ideas this year for gifts, we decided the time has come to resume the Sunday paper routine (and all those holiday ads). I declared that if Ben would go for the paper I would make one of our favorite breakfasts - sausage gravy and biscuits. Ben readily agreed and the aforementioned breakfast even dissuaded Chris of his planned breakfast of cold pizza. With our biscuits and gravy I also made some ultra easy scrambled eggs in the microwave. With some cinnamon spice coffee (Dunkin' Donuts brand, yum), we were ready for that lazy Sunday morning.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

1 lb of your favorite bulk sausage
1 heaping half cup of flour
1 qt. of milk (skim, 2%, whole- whatever you have)
fresh ground black pepper
warm biscuits of choice, homemade or not

In a large saute pan, brown the sausage over med-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces. I used "hot" sausage to make this today, but have used all kinds of breakfast sausage, even turkey, with good results. Once brown, sprinkle over the heaping half cup of flour; stir to combine completely with the meat and drippings, cook for a minute or two to avoid a raw taste to the flour. Turn the heat down to medium and stir in about a cup of the milk to get everything wet and make sure there are no flour lumps. Slowly stir in the rest of the milk. As the gravy heats it will thicken, but do not let it boil. Once thickened, stir in a good grinding of black pepper and leave over low heat until needed. Be sure to stir well before serving
.
No-fuss Scrambled Eggs

6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Break the eggs into a large microwave safe bowl and whisk in the milk. Microwave on high for 3 minutes; remove from the oven and with your whisk, pull the cooked egg away from the sides of the bowl and break it up into large pieces. Microwave another 3 minutes on high and remove immediately so the eggs do not overcook. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Six eggs will serve 3 or 4 people. We often make egg sandwiches for a weekday breakfast by beating an egg in a small microwave safe bowl, no milk, and microwaving (nukerating as we call it) for one minute. The result is one perfect and round egg, just the right size for a bagel or English muffin.