Chicken Gravy

I think I liked this better than my family did.  Ok, I *know* I liked this better than my daughter, because her definition of "gravy" is the pepper gravy that comes in the little yellow packets - you know, the powder you mix with water?  She loves that stuff, adds a ton more pepper to it, and would eat the whole batch out of a bowl like soup if I'd let her.  What can I say...she likes what she likes. 

Anyway, I read a couple of Amish blogs and I ran across this post last week.  I was intrigued by the recipe for "Dixie Chicken Shortcake."  Looking at it, I knew I would have to make a few changes to suit my tastes.  I'm glad I did - it was delicious!

I did serve it over cornbread.  I used some cornbread mix that I had in the pantry, and it was way too sweet to handle the gravy.  I was thinking it would be fantastic over homemade noodles (the thick kind), or biscuits.  If I was going to do cornbread again I'd make my own and leave out the sugar.  My family ate their cornbread on the side, so they didn't have the same experience with it that I did. 

Here is my revised recipe:

Chicken Gravy

2 T. fat (chicken fat, butter, oil - it all works)
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. flour
1 t. ground black pepper
2 c. chicken stock (I used homemade, and half my fat was the chicken fat I pulled out of the stock as it thawed)
4 c. cooked, shredded chicken
cornbread, biscuits, or cooked noodles for serving

Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and mushrooms, and cook until the onions are soft, about five minutes.  Add garlic, pepper, and flour and cook for two more minutes.  Add stock, bring to a boil, and cook until slightly thickened.  Add chicken and continue to cook until heated through.  Add salt to taste and serve over hot cornbread, biscuits, or noodles.

Enjoy!