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Hamburger & Gravy

Hamburger & Gravy

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aka Gravy Train

Yield: 3-4 Servings
Scott Nowell

1994: A throwback to school days in the 60’s. This was officially called Hamburg & Gravy in high school, the students called it Gravy Train, after the dog-food brand. 

For mushrooms:

  • 4oz mushrooms, sliced
  • 1TBS butter

For meat:

  • 1lb 10% ground beef
  • ½medium onion, diced medium fine
  • 1cup of beef broth
  • butter, divided
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • Kitchen Bouquet, optional


Mushrooms & Onions:

Add 1 TBS of butter to a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When foaming stops add mushrooms onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook until onions are translucent, for about 5 minutes. Remove to medium bowl.

Meat:

Brown the beef over medium high heat. Drain the fat from the beef and return the mushrooms and onions to the pan with the beef.

Sauce:

Add the beef stock and stir. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. If too thin, simmer until reduced by half, a light sauce consistency. To darken, add a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet. To finish, remove from heat and stir in 1-2 TBS of butter into the sauce.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

 

Serve with:

Vegetable Starch
Green Beans Mashed Potato (Gravy Train)
Broccoli Baked Potato
Corn French Fried Potatoes
Green Salad  

Gayle’s Chicken with Carrots & Wine Sauce

Gayle’s Chicken with Carrots & Wine Sauce

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Yield: about 4 servings
Originally adapted from Pillsbury Kitchens’ Family Cookbook

I updated this to use cream and mushrooms instead of cream of mushroom soup.

  • 1-1½lb boneless chicken breast halves
  • 8oz carrots or baby carrots, peeled and cut to 2 in pieces
  • 8oz mushrooms, sliced
  • 8oz heavy cream
  • 2oz white wine
  • 1heaping tsp Better than Bouillon, chicken
  • 4TBS butter, divided
  • 1TBS oil

Trim breasts of any fat or cartilage. If breasts are large, halve diagonally (can do this anyway). Season breasts with salt and pepper.

If the carrots are fresh, microwave in a covered dish with 1 TBS water for 2 minutes.

Heat frying pan over medium high heat. Add butter. When butter stops sizzling, add mushrooms and saute for 6 to 8 minutes until browned. Remove to dish and set aside.

Add 1 TBS oil to pan and heat for 30 seconds. Add chicken to pan. Move pieces around to coat bottom with oil. Fry on first side until light to medium brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and continue to fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add heavy cream, wine and Better than Bouillon. Stir in center of pan, between chicken pieces to mix in Better than Bouillon. Season well with black pepper.

Return the mushrooms and carrots to the pan and mix everything to evenly distribute. Carrots should be in sauce, but not under chicken. As sauce starts to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cover, cook for 8 to 10 minutes.  Should be bubbling, but not boiling hard.

Check thickest piece of chicken with instant read thermometer for > 152°F. (Or pull one of the breasts from the pan, cut almost in half and check for doneness. Should not be any pink in center.)

Remove breasts to a serving dish and set aside.

If necessary, increase heat and reduce cream sauce to desired thickness. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour over breasts.

Serve with rice.

Nowell Spaghetti Sauce

Nowell Spaghetti Sauce

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Yield: 4-6 servings
Loosely based on a recipe in the Seven Seas Nantucket Cookbook.

This is a moving target recipe if there ever was one. This is a quick cooking sauce and does not need long simmering.  Once the sauce is mixed and simmering, the sauce will be done in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

Meat:

  • 4-6Italian sausages, sweet, mild, hot or combination (optional)
  • 1lb ground beef
  • 8oz ground pork or ground sausage (optional)

Veg:

  • 2TBS Olive oil
  • 1small or medium onion chopped fine
  • 1green bell pepper, small dice (optional)
  • 2cloves garlic minced
  • 1green bell pepper, diced
  • 8oz mushrooms, sliced or quartered (optional)

For sauce:

  • 114-oz can tomato sauce
  • 114-oz can diced tomatoes
  • 16-oz can tomato paste (optional)
  • 16-oz can water (paste can) (optional)

Seasonings:

  • 1tsp basil
  • 1tsp oregano
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1tsp sugar
  • ¼ to ½tsp fresh ground black pepper


For sausage: If adding the optional sausage, place them in a sauté pan over medium high heat with a cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Turn sausage over after 6 minutes, cover and cook for another 6 minutes. Pour water into a glass measuring cup. Return to stove, and sauté sausage until browned on all sides 4-8 minutes. Set aside.

For mushrooms: If adding the optional mushrooms, place them and a TBS of olive oil to the sauté pan over medium heat. Cook for 4-8 minutes, until water evaporates and mushrooms brown. Set aside.

Sweat vegetables: In a 2-qt sauce pan, heat 1 TBS olive oil and sweat (see Terms) onion and optional green pepper over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add garlic, sauté 30 seconds more. Remove to a small bowl.

For ground beef: Carefully remove any left over garlic, otherwise it will burn and get bitter. Turn heat up to medium-high. Add ground beef and brown until mostly cooked through. Reduce heat to medium.

For sauce: Return onion and garlic to pan. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and optional tomato paste. Fill paste can with tap or sausage water and add. Add all seasonings and 1 TBS olive oil. Stir carefully. If using, add sausage to pan. Cover, bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer while pasta cooks.

Options:

Go meatless with no beef or sausage. Ha ha ha.
Replace onion with 1 TBS Minced onion flakes.
Replace garlic with ½ tsp garlic powder (only if desperate).
Adjust seasonings. I always uses a heaping tsp of basil and oregano based on an eye-ball guess.