Mama's Hamburger Steak and Gravy

Hamburger steak, whipped potatoes, and gravy. The very mention of this meal brings me memories of my mama standing at the stove over a sizzling skillet while I hug the wall next to her soaking up every single moment of her cooking. She never used recipes unless she baked. Boxed dinners didn't happen either, everything was home cooked and mouth watering. That's where I learned to love cooking, propped on the wall beside my mama watching every move she made. She always made our plates, too. I've always thought there was something so endearing about her plating our food for us. It's just one of those mama things that makes your heart feel warm. That's also the reason I make my husband's and son's plates every night. Because that's the way my mama did it.

I don't use recipes either, I don't like the feeling of having to follow the plan. I am forgetful by nature, and I would constantly forget to buy ingredients when shopping if I was supposed to follow an ingredients list for every meal. I usually just buy a variety of meats, some carb-y sides like potatoes or rice, and some random veggies when I shop; my meal plan for the week is mostly just a list of random ingredients that I pull from each day until the ingredients are gone. I made a crazy good lasagna one night for a bible study, and my friend since kindergarten said, "I need this recipe, but you didn't follow one, did you?" I sheepishly offered to jot down what I did, hopefully I could remember! 

Now I just blog about my meals, so they're all written down. Tonight's plate was full of the hamburger steak, whipped potatoes, and gravy that had me reminiscing about my mama's cooking. I still don't think I have her whipped potatoes mastered, but the hamburger steak is definitely delicious.

Ingredients:

Hamburger Steak

1 lb ground chuck

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2-1 tsp ground garlic (or garlic powder)

Gravy

reserved pan drippings

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups beef broth (or beef bouillon cubes dissolved in water)

Whipped Potatoes

3lbs red skin potatoes

1/4 cup milk 

1/2 stick butter 

2 Tbsp sour cream (optional but oh, I love the creaminess it gives!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash and cube potatoes. Boil in a large pot while you prepare the steaks. 

Crumble the ground chuck into a large bowl. Add the seasonings and loosely work them into the meat. Be careful not to work the meat too much as that will cause the steaks to be tough. Section the meat into four equal parts and pat out your steaks. Add the steaks to the cast iron skillet over medium heat for about 6 minutes per side. 

Check your potatoes to see if they are "fork tender", but mine really weren't ready until after I made the gravy. 

When the juices run clear, remove your steaks from the pan to rest. Reduce heat to medium low and add the flour to the pan drippings from your hamburger steaks. Whisk the flour into the drippings for about 2 minutes for the flour to cook down, then slowly add the beef broth while whisking briskly. As the gravy comes together, reduce heat to low and add the steaks back into the pan to heat through. 

By now, the potatoes are ready to whip. Drain and return to pot. Add salt, pepper, butter, milk, and sour cream. Whip with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. So easy and so good! 

Of course, you'll want to add a veggie of some kind on the side. We ended up with whole kernel sweet corn tonight since my boys don't love anything green, but I would have loved some steamed broccoli to balance out the heaviness of the gravy and potatoes. 

I hope you try this cast iron skillet meal one night soon. Maybe your husband will do the dishes like mine did! 

Eat up, 

Emily

Lemon Pepper Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops

Everyone on my news feed is talking about their Instant Pot recipes, but I'm still over here cooking every meal in my cast iron skillet. My newest creation are these Lemon Pepper Pork Chops. I love to bake most of my meals because it ends up being like a set it and forget it sort of process, and the cast iron skillet has become my best friend when it comes to roasted meats. Plus, every home probably already has an oven and cook-top, so no new fancy gadgets needed to cook this meal. 

Tonight will be the coldest night of the year in south Alabama (or at least I hope it doesn't get any colder than this), and I needed some good comfort food to make me feel better about all the ice and possible snow coming our way in the morning. Our inability to handle this kind of weather is so bad, the schools are closed all day tomorrow. The rest of the country is probably laughing at Alabamians right now, but we're ill-equipped to handle icy or even snowy roads. We only see snow about once every decade and we're excited...or scared depending on who you ask. Give us a break. I know one little boy who has prayed for snow since Christmas, and I am excited to see his reaction to the white stuff. J actually thought that it was supposed to snow on Christmas morning; I don't really know where he got that idea. He ran outside to check the ground before he ran to the Christmas tree to check his presents. His sweet little face was so confused when all he saw was brown grass. I am hoping we get a light dusting to make up for that moment of disappointment. 

We've also been battling colds all weekend in this house. Heading out for supper just wasn't an option, but an easy meal was necessary. So baked pork chops and rice it is! 

Ingredients:

4 center cut pork chops

1 lemon

2-3 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper

3 tbsps of butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°  and place your cast iron skillet in the over to heat. Do not put a cold skillet into a hot oven. 

Salt and pepper your pork chops. Prepare the garlic cloves and slice the lemon in half. It helps to loosen the juices if you'll press and roll the lemon across the counter before you slice it. 

When your oven preheats, remove the skillet and place your seasoned pork chops evenly spaced around the skillet. Be sure not to crowd the meat; this way each chop will cook evenly. Squeeze each half of the lemon over the chops and then throw the lemon half in the pan, too. Slide your skillet back into the oven for 30-45 minutes depending on the thickness of your porkchops. I have the thick sliced, and it took closer to 45 minutes for mine. About ten minutes before the pork chops are done, toss a few tablespoons of butter into the skillet to melt and spoon it over the chops as they finish. 

Remove your skillet and place chops on a platter to rest for at least ten minutes before serving.

I served these with rice, gravy, and a quick tossed salad. 

I cooked the rice in our rice cooker...so easy! We use our rice cooker at least once a week. And the gravy was quick and easy in the same pan the pork chops were cooked in. Use the juices from the pork chops, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Place over medium-high heat and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Whisk until all of the lumps of flour are gone and the roux simmers and "separates" in the bottom of the pan when stirred (picture below). When your roux is smooth and the flour has had a chance to cook down, about three minutes, lower the heat to medium-low and pour about 2 cups of chicken stock while whisking the mixture briskly. If the gravy seems too thick, add chicken stock until you reach the consistency you want.

Cast iron skillet cleaning used to be a scary task for me. I knew enough to know that doing it incorrectly would end up causing your skillet to stick, but I didn't actually know what the correct way to wash it was. I am also terrible at admitting that I don't know something that I should know, so rather than ask someone I just avoided my skillet at all costs. I didn't actually start using it until this year, and that is because I finally just asked my Memaw how to wash it. We were washing her dishes after our annual, obligatory, and very Southern New Year's Day meal. I got to the skillet and realized I had no idea how to clean it, so I asked her. Easy breezy.

All you need is a scrub cloth and hot water, if the food is too stuck for just a scrub cloth you can make a paste of salt and hot water. Don't use soap or steel wool as it will remove the pan's seasoning. I'll post about seasoning your pan later, but for now I am going to enjoy some after supper puzzle time with my J. 

'

  

After supper, we treated ourselves with the ice cream we made this past Sunday night. You can see that recipe here. I know y'all might think we're crazy to begin the coldest night of the year with ice cream, but this precious baby I am pregnant with has caused me to crave ice cream for weeks. And what baby wants, baby gets! 

I hope you enjoy the pork chops, but mostly I hope you enjoy the time eating it together around the table with your family. There is something so special about that time for us, and I hope to help make that time special for you guys too! 

Eat up, 

Emily 

Triple Berry Sweet Cream Homemade Ice Cream

Does anyone else get a hankering for ice cream during cold weather or is that just us? Oh, it is just us? Ok. Well, whatever. We love it. We love it so much that I requested my sister get us an ice cream maker for Christmas, and she delivered big time!

She got us a Nostalgia ICMP400WD 4-Quart Electric Wood Bucket Ice Cream Maker with a beautiful wood bucket that makes some incredible ice cream. We've gone through our fair share of ice cream makers since we got married, and each of them are pretty simple to use. When you pick out an ice cream maker, you're really looking for durability since they all operate about the same. We've bought cheapos that broke after one use and some crazy expensive ones that broke after maybe two uses. This one has only been used twice, so I can't talk about its durability yet but we do love it so far! It has the old-time feel with the wooden bucket with the ease of use of an electric. The noise isn't an issue and clean up is a breeze. 

Tonight, on what might be the coldest night of the year, we decided to make a Sweet Cream ice cream. I'm pregnant with our newest little miracle and he or she has a liking for berries of all sorts, so we added strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Oh, what a brilliant idea that was! If you like Coldstone, this rivals, and may be even better than, their Berry Berry Good Ice Cream. I'm calling it Triple Berry Sweet Cream, and the ridiculously easy  "recipe" is below. 

Ingredients:

16 oz container of Cool Whip™ 

1/2 Gallon of Whole Milk

1 can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Toppings:

Strawberries

Blueberries 

Raspberries

(optional) Almond Slices

For Ice Cream Maker:

10 lbs of Ice

Rock Salt/Ice Cream Salt

Directions:

In inner canister of ice cream maker, mix milk, sweetened condensed milk, whipped topping, and vanilla extract until smooth. Insert the canister into the machine and fill the reservoir around it with ice and rock salt. Be sure to keep the ice salt mixture level below the top of the canister. Turn on the ice cream maker and let it do its job! Check back periodically and add ice and/or rock salt if needed. When the machine slows and gets louder, the ice cream is finished and ready for toppings. 

Mix your toppings into your Sweet Cream ice cream, and you will have a treat that will transport you to a warm summer day even if it is below freezing outside. We also added almond slices for an added crunch. 

Our berries went on top of the ice cream after it was finished, but I think a delicious alternative would be to add the berries into the ice cream maker itself. I also think Nutella would have made for an awesome addition, but you do you! 

in her shoes

 

Her hair was still damp from the shower she rushed through earlier in the day. I caught the faint scent of shampoo as I hugged her tight. The nutrition staff brings a tray in because she's a breastfeeding mama. She gives the tray a once over and decides she's just not that hungry. No surprise. Most mamas aren't very hungry when they wear her shoes. 

Today is a Tuesday. Oh, these precious Tuesdays. Her baby is exactly two weeks younger than Luke; she was also born on a Tuesday. 

The ride there had been a long one, longer for her than for me; I know because I'd been in her shoes not too very long ago. The heavy shoes of a mama desperately wanting answers and traveling to the one place we were told we may get them.

I took her a basket of things four days into their stay. The day after her baby's brain surgery. None of the stuff really mattered, but that's what southern women do, isn't it? We give folks stuff. Food, mostly. There's a purpose for the stuff though, it gives us a reason to make ourselves present. I always felt better when people showed up and even better than that when they brought Jesus. 

We couldn't take the basket to the baby's room because you can't take food into the PICU. There are some strict rules to follow back there. I left it in the waiting room with my moral support and braved the same hallway I traveled the night I walked to the room where nurses worked desperately to save the little life of My Sweet Luke.

My shoes were impossibly heavy that night. 

She's wearing the heavy shoes now. 

This isn't easy for me by any stretch of the word. But the Holy Spirit nudged me on, reminding me that what she's going through at this moment is much, much more difficult. 

The real point of my visit was to hug her and to remind her that others have worn the shoes she's been wearing. Others are wearing them right now; just take a quick little walk down the hallway to see. The basket of stuff I bring is just stuff; the Love, the Hope is the real purpose.

I couldn't bear to let her walk this path under her own strength. I had to let her know that others have taken those impossible steps. And, above all, that the only way this mama gets through it is with Jesus. I know she knows, but the presence of others helped me. So I go to help her. 

When I saw her eyes and heard her voice, I knew immediately that she isn't carrying it alone. She's got the strength of God in her, just like her beautiful baby girl. And a husband beside her who, I could tell immediately, has enough love for his two ladies to send them to the moon and back. If only a daddy's love could shrink a brain tumor...

What a beautiful family...

Then I start talking. I feel like I need to say something but oftentimes words are useless,  so I call on the only words that actually brought real comfort when my deepest pain was new. 

First I tell her what one of my role models in high school said on Facebook when I wrote about Luke's last day, "God handpicks the people who will make the biggest impact on His Kingdom." 

God, I hope that's true. I meant to think that, but it comes out of my mouth before I can catch it. 

Her eyes tear up, and I hope it's not more heartbreak. That's the opposite of my goal here. 

Then I tell her what Luke 2:19 and and 2:51 say about Mary's heart. "She treasured up all these things..." I tell her the same thing a wonderful woman that used to teach with me wrote in a letter about those verses. Mary was a real woman, a real mother, and God did not take that lightly. He let those verses into His Word twice to let us know that He cares deeply for a Mother's Heart. He has a higher purpose for all of this, and He would never let any of this heartache touch a mother's heart unless it was for His higher purpose. He allows it. And when he allows this type of heartache, you have a choice. He's either good or He's not. You trust Him or you don't. 

I can already see what her choice is. 

This mama is strong. Those heavy shoes are no match for her God; you can tell by looking at her that Jesus is carrying her.

And that sweet baby? She looks just like her mama. 

I'll bet she's just as strong, too. 

the center of His Word

 

I Choose Jesus

The afternoon sun was hot on my face in the Target parking lot as she talked about the "real Christian" girl she knows. I know my face must've contorted when she said it or she wouldn't have felt the need to explain herself. 

She said, "You know. A 'real' Christian, like you. You know how you read your bible every day and witness to people and stuff?" 

My heart broke. 

It doesn't work that way. We don't live on a scale. 

Thank Jesus. 

No really, thank Jesus. 

That thought, the one that made her feel 'less than' when she compared herself to me or the girl she works with, that was nothing but conviction telling her what she already knows. She should read her bible more. She should pray more. She should go to church more. But not because it'll push her up a few notches on this fictitious Christian scale. She should want to do those things to draw near to her Savior. Trust me, that relationship is a beautiful thing when you can no longer trust your own strength to carry you. 

I know why we don't do those things sometimes. I'm guilty of it, too. We don't like feeling convicted, and conviction has a way of slapping you in the face when you open The Good Book or hit your knees in prayer. 

I had just finished explaining to this beautiful soul why I started Luke's Legacy, essentially witnessing to her, and she wanted to share another woman's story. As she started, the devil whispered a little lie into her ear that she isn't a "real" Christian because her works don't measure up to mine.

I wish I could tell you that I said, "Not today, Satan!" and straightened her thinking out right then and there. I'll be honest though, I was surprised (and okay-fine, a little flattered) so much by her statement that I missed an opportunity to tell her that my works don't make me the follower of Christ that I am. And they certainly won't get me to heaven. If I said otherwise, it would make me no better than the Pharisees that crucified Jesus. 

What she sees are fruits of the Spirit that resides in me, but they are certainly not the way to get to Heaven. Nope, there's only one Way. 

That's Jesus. 

Thank You, Jesus. 

What she sees are the products of my walk with The Lord. Evidence. Nothing more.

Now, is there evidence in your life? If not, maybe you should ask yourself if you're really saved. That's not up to me to decide, or anyone else for that matter. 

That's between you and Jesus. 

I can tell you this though. There isn't a scale that ranks Christians in order of their authenticity. There's either Salvation or not. 

Grace or not. 

Hope or not. 

Victory or not. 

Jesus or not. 

I choose Jesus.   

John 14:6-7 NIV

[6] Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” …

come Lord Jesus...