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