Comfort food, thy name is Biscuits and Gravy. This is usually my first stop on the menu at a new breakfast or brunch joint, and there’s no way I want it to be anything other than a soft, fluffy biscuit nestled in a wave of rich gravy and crumbled breakfast sausage. Woe to the trendy places that try to gussy it up.

But this hearty meal is also incredibly easy to make at home. So maybe it’s really woe to me for not doing so every damn weekend.

First up, the biscuits. These ones are super easy and super fast. The ingredients are pretty basic, and I keep most of them on hand on a regular basis. No raising, very little kneading, and just a few passes with a rolling pin and we’re on our way to biscuit magic.

Next, the gravy. Which honestly, is even easier than the biscuits. All it takes is a pound of sausage, some flour and milk, and a little seasoning. I love my gravy a little herb-y, so I like adding rosemary or sage, too.

With two recipes so easy to put together, there’s really no reason you can’t start a brunch place in your very own kitchen. I guarantee you it will be a shorter wait.

Buttermilk Biscuits
Adapted just a bit from my Grandma’s recipe

Makes 5-6 medium-sized biscuits

2 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder (2 tsp at high altitude)
1 tsp baking soda (1/2 tsp at high altitude)
1/2 tsp salt
4 T salted butter, cold
about 1 c buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl or food processor and mix with a fork. Chop butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or by pulsing in a food processor until the mixture is crumbly. Slowly add the buttermilk and mix until slightly sticky. You made need slightly more or less than 1 c of buttermilk.

Place the sticky dough on a floured surface and knead lightly for about 5 minutes. Roll out until about 3/4″ thick. Cut into biscuits using a round cutter, or use a knife if you prefer square biscuits.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 12-18 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.

If desired, add a small pat of butter to the top of each biscuit as soon as they are removed from the oven. Serve with gravy, butter and jam, or just by themselves. Store in an airtight bag for up to 4 days.

Rosemary Sausage Gravy
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Enough for 5-6 medium-sized biscuits

1 pound ground breakfast sausage
3/8 c flour
4 c milk
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 1/2 tsp ground rosemary

Cook sausage in a large frying pan until browned. Add flour and mix thoroughly so it can soak up any grease. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add milk and set at medium-high. Stirring fairly constantly, cook until the gravy has thickened to the desired consistency. When it’s ready, it should slide off a spoon rather than drip. Add the pepper, salt, and rosemary and adjust seasoning as needed.

Spoon over biscuits and serve.

Magic Pasta.

Having stumbled across this delightful combination of ingredients by pure accident, I accidentally discovered a meal that Brad and I both find so perfect, so delicious, that I have to work really really hard to make anything else for dinner. Originally hatched as a way to use up the previous year’s supply of home-canned marinara sauce, this dish now holds permanent quarters at the top of our favorites list. I know that “Magic Pasta” doesn’t really indicate the components of the meal particularly well, but it’s all we call it. If you prefer, you can call it Pasta with Amazing Tomato Cream Sauce and Italian Sausage.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to go back in time to can your own pasta sauce to make this dish at home. A store-bought marinara would work just fine, or you can make your own version fairly quickly by spicing up a pint of plain tomato sauce. The sweet Italian sausage, on the other hand, is non-negotiable. We’ve tried it with chicken and with ground beef, and while both are good, neither one achieves the magic of the sausage.

With a little cream, sugar, salt, and pepper, the sauce is simple and cooks quickly while the pasta boils nearby. It takes almost no time at all.

I urge you, nay, I beg you to make this pasta. I’m looking out for you, and I’m telling you, you NEED this in your life this week. I know it’s summer and everyone’s all into salads and smoothies and juice, but please lay those ideas aside and make yourself a big pot of tomato-y, sausage-y pasta.

Then invite me over so I can eat some, too.

Magic Pasta

Serves 3-4

10 oz rigatoni or penne
2 links sweet Italian sausage
1 pint marinara sauce (see note below)
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 T granulated sugar

Note: If you don’t already have a marinara sauce you like, combine 1 pint of plain tomato sauce with 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp dried basil as a substitute.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat while you prepare the sauce below. Cook pasta to al denté.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Slice the end of each sausage and squeeze the sausage out of the casing and into the frying pan. (If you prefer, you can slice the sausage into coins, instead.) Cook sausage until it is cooked through and starting to brown.

Without draining the pan, pour the marinara sauce into a large frying pan with the sausage. Add heavy cream, salt, pepper, and sugar and stir well until sauce is a uniform color. Allow sauce to bubble, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, to allow the sauce to thicken. Stir frequently.

Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add sauce to the pasta and mix thoroughly.

Serve immediately. Good luck keeping leftovers for more than two hours.