I just made basically this same recipe last night. I have found that Jimmy Dean's sausage has just the right amount of seasonings. We like it made with one pound of Regular and one pound of Hot mixed together. I make the gravy in the same pan that I cooked the sausage in so I make sure I get all the little flavor bits in the bottom of the pan...lol. Sorry-I meant to reply with the quote from bearisgray's recipe, as that is the one I am referring to.