This is one of those comfort foods that can fix just about anything that ails the heart. It's quick to make and guaranteed to disappear even faster.
INGREDIENTS:
Sauce:
1-2 Lbs. ground beef (buy the best you can afford, i use 80%)
2 Tblsp. - 1/3 cup of flour (reason for range explained later)
Beef and/or chicken bouillon cubes or powdered (1-2 cubes; 1-3 tsps.)
1-3 cups water
Just a dash of browning sauce (Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master, or soy sauce works in a pinch)
Dash of Worcestershire
Salt & White Pepper to taste
Allspice or nutmeg (optional)
Mashed Potatoes:
Potatoes - as many as you need to feed everyone
Milk - eyeball it according to the amount of potatoes, 1/2 cup - 1 cup usually
Butter - 2-4 Tblsps.
1-2 cloves of garlic (peeled)
Salt to taste
Sides:
Sliced tomatoes and/or cucumbers
Steamed bag of veggies of choice
First peel the potatoes, rinse them and cut them up into smallish chunks (the larger they are the longer they take to cook). Put them in a large pot, fill with cold water until it just covers the potatoes, set on stove to high, add a generous amount of salt into the water, and the peeled garlic. Cover & bring to boil; then turn heat down so water doesn't boil over and make the sauce while the potatoes bubble away until soft (fork goes through easily).
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. (If you are using super lean meat, you may need to add a little butter to the pan). Turn the heat down a bit and drain excess fat leaving just about 2-3 tablespoons of liquid in the pan. Push all the meat around to the sides of the pan so there is a little puddle of liquid (fat) in the middle of the pan. (If you accidentally drained too much off, you can melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in the middle of the pan). To this liquid, add your flour.[Depending on how much gravy you want to make determines how much liquid and flour you will need. If you have very little meat but want to stretch it out, then make more gravy by starting out with more liquid and adding a generous amount of flour (1/4 - 1/3 cup). If you just want to make a little gravy with the ground beef, then only add a tablespoon or two of flour into less liquid.]
Stir the flour in until it is completely incorporated with the fat, mix it all into the meat. Now begin adding water and mixing it with the meat until you have the consistency of gravy you want. Be careful not to add too much water because it may end up being too runny and you can't walk it back once you've made soup of it all.Add your bouillon and the browning sauce (sparingly - a little of this goes a long way!) until you have it the color you like. Check for salt and add according to taste along with white pepper. A little nutmeg or allspice add nice warmth to the gravy but don't add too much.
Your potatoes should be well cooked by now - check them to make sure and then drain the water out of the pot. Heat the milk along with the butter in the microwave for about 1min. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or ricer - the garlic will add a nice flavor and will mash along with the potatoes. Add the heated milk & butter. Check for salt and add as needed.
[You don't have to mash the potatoes, just serve them boiled with butter and a little parsley. You can also serve this over macaroni or spaghetti if you don't have potatoes handy.]
