NOW CAN I HAVE THEM MORE OFTEN THAN JUST BIRTHDAY AND FATHERS' DAY?:

Healthier recipes for biscuits and gravy: A few key substitutions let you lose the fat but keep the flavor (KATHY MANWEILER, 9/04/07, McClatchy Newspapers)

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon chilled butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Lightly spoon the flours into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir just until dry ingredients are moist.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead four or five times. Roll dough to a ½ -inch thickness and use a 2 ½ -inch biscuit cutter to make each biscuit.

Bake biscuits on a baking sheet at 450 F for 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden.

KATHY'S SAUSAGE GRAVY

8 ounces light sausage

2 tablespoons light butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon white whole-wheat flour

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cups fat-free milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown and crumble the sausage in a skillet that doesn't have a nonstick surface. Remove the sausage crumbles to a paper towel-lined plate. Keeping the skillet hot, add the light butter to the skillet and use a spatula to scrape loose the tidbits of meat sticking to the skillet. Add the flours and cornstarch and whisk the mixture until it's well combined and smooth. Stirring constantly, add the milk. Simmer, whisking, for five minutes or until thickened. Fold in the sausage crumbles. Season with salt and pepper.