Al Called This One A “Diet Wrecker”

I hope your week is off to a good start.

It's been a busy couple of days around here. We've been packing boxes, making a list, checking it twice, and getting beef and pork headed down the road.

Yesterday was one of those days when I looked at everything going into Cory's UPS truck and thought about just how different every family's order is.

And that reminded me of the question I asked you last week: What disappears from your freezer first?

I've been getting some answers.

And the more families I talk to, the more obvious something becomes: Your freezer ought to fit the way your family actually eats.

They were headed to families in Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, California, and all the way to Maine.

But here's the interesting part. Those 22 boxes didn't look alike.

There was a 1/4 beef for one family. A half pork share for another. Two Taste the Difference bundles. A Steak Box. Beef sticks. Four Ground Beef Samplers. And even 10 pounds of cottage bacon headed to my cousin in Maine.

Because families don't all cook alike.

And I don't think you should have to buy beef you won't use just to get plenty of the beef you do.

One of the families I talked with this week is a good example.

They originally bought a half beef from us. Since then, they've come back for more ground beef, and last week we sent them a whole pig.

This week they needed beef again.

When we talked, they told me what they really use: Mostly ground beef. But they like a good roast now and then.

Easy enough.

So today two Ground Beef Samplers are leaving the ranch for them, with a roast tucked into each.

That's one of my favorite parts of doing this.

I want you to open your freezer and be glad about what's in there.

Whether your family goes through hamburger first, loves steaks, uses a lot of roasts—or likes a little of everything—I'd rather help you find what fits the way you actually cook.

Which brings me to last night's supper.

If ground beef is one of the things that disappears first at your house, I've got a good one for you today.

Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy

Ground beef gets called ordinary.

I don't think last night's supper got the message.

I browned hamburger steaks in my cast-iron skillet, made onion gravy right in all those browned bits, and served the whole thing with mashed potatoes and green beans.

I was really making it because I wanted to try the recipe myself before I gave it to you.

A few bites into supper, Al announced: “This is a diet wrecker.”

Apparently that's five stars at our house. 😊

Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy serves 4

For the hamburger steaks:

• 1½ lbs ground beef
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter or oil, if needed

For the onion gravy:

•1 large yellow or sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste

Here's how I made it:

Mix the ground beef with the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Don't overwork it. Divide it into four portions and shape them into oval hamburger steaks.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the hamburger steaks for about 3–4 minutes on the first side and about 3 minutes on the second.

Remove them from the skillet and set aside.

Add the butter and sliced onion to the same skillet. Cook for 6–8 minutes, until the onions are tender and beginning to brown.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook for about a minute.

Slowly stir in the beef broth, scraping all those good browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the Worcestershire sauce and black pepper.

Return the hamburger steaks to the skillet.

Spoon some gravy and onions over the top, reduce the heat, and simmer until the hamburger steaks reach 160°F.

Serve with mashed potatoes and plenty of that onion gravy.

Green beans rounded out supper at our house.

There you go.

One package of ground beef turned into the kind of supper where you start wondering whether there's enough gravy left for another spoonful of potatoes.

What could 15 pounds of ground beef become at your house?

Think about what 15 pounds of good ground beef sitting in your freezer really means.

Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy.

Tacos on the night everybody gets home late.

Spaghetti when the grandkids are coming.

Burgers.

Chili when Montana decides it's winter again.

Meatballs, casseroles, sloppy joes—and a whole lot fewer nights standing in front of the refrigerator wondering: “What am I going to make for supper?”

That's why I like having ground beef in the freezer.

It isn't really 15 pounds of hamburger.

It's 15 suppers waiting for you.