Hamburger Steaks and Gravy

I guess if you wanted, you could call these Salisbury Steaks (without the mushrooms). 
But growing up, my Mom just called them Hamburger Steaks.
Sometimes folks refer to them as the poor man's steak.

Such a simple and satisfying meal (and easy on the wallet).
Whatever you call it, I loved them and still do.

I remember my Dad would groan whenever my Mom made this or meatloaf. Something about ground beef in any sort of loaf form just made my Dad cringe.
Obviously a meat patty did him wrong at some point in his life.

Now, my father-in-law is a different story. He's a simple kind of guy and he just adores this meal and he loves meatloaf. He can't get enough. He's the rare man that will actually order meatloaf at a restaurant. He's also the kinda guy you just love to feed because you never have to ask if he's enjoying a meal since he is always generous with his compliments.

I remember when my in-laws, Chris and Gene (my father-in-law is Big Gene and my husband is referred to as Little Gene, even though he ain't anywhere near little anymore), came to visit us when we were living in England. They had never come to visit us in our own place before. My husband and I had only been married a year and this was our first place together. And overseas of all places! I decided I would make us lasagna for dinner on their first night there.

I had no idea my in-laws did not care for lasagna. 

Who doesn't like lasagna? 

Apparently Chris and Big Gene.

Well, God bless them, they ate their slices of lasagna and never said a word.
Afterwards, my father-in-law said that the lasagna was really good and he was surprised. That's when Chris and Gene told me they had never enjoyed lasagna before. 

If looks could kill, my husband would have died a thousand deaths that day. How come he never told me they didn't eat lasagna? Apparently he didn't know this little fact about his parents. Men!

Well, they were converted after that. My father-in-law still asks for it to this day. And he never complains if I decide to make meatloaf or hamburger steaks for supper. In fact, he gets very happy. He just loves the stuff! 

You can customize these anyway you prefer. 
I like green peppers and onions in mine but Little Gene {giggles} likes his without. 

Ingredients:

For the patties:

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup crushed crackers (or bread crumbs)

1 egg

½ green pepper, diced

½ small yellow onion, diced

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

For the gravy:

1 package Brown Gravy

1 can French Onion Soup (low sodium)

1 can Cream of Chicken soup (low sodium)

¼ cup water

Directions:

In a bowl, combine ingredients for patties. It’s best to just get in there with your hands to make sure it is combined together well.  Heat sauté pan (or cast iron skillet) on medium-high heat.

Begin forming hamburger steaks into an oval shape (this recipe makes 4).  If you aren’t using a nonstick skillet, you may want to spray pan with nonstick spray. 

Place patties onto preheated pan.  Brown both sides. You aren’t going to cook them all the way through. Cook about 3-4 minutes on each side.

Take browned patties out of pan and set aside.  Add all the gravy ingredients to the pan and whisk together well to remove most of the lumps. 

(Brown Gravy Mix)

 (French Onion Soup)

(Cream of Chicken Soup)

 It will take a minute or two of whisking to get most of the lumps out.  

Add patties back to pan.

Spoon a bit of the gravy over the tops of the patties.

Cover and turn heat down to a lower setting.

Let cook for another 10 minutes or so until cooked all the way through.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe Here