Spring Break is over.  Sigh.  It always takes a few days for us to get back into the routine of school, classes and work.  It seems so easy to get out of the routine but so hard to restart it.  Even knowing that the first day back will be rough the actual reality always seems so much more difficult.  Kids don’t want to get up for school and come home exhausted.  Same for me.  Pulling the covers over my head and making the world go away seems like a good option for about five minutes.

But, there is work to do.  It is almost the end of tax season so things are coming down to the wire.  I have a few more returns sitting on my desk still to prepare.  Nothing overly difficult but the last few returns always seem to be the worst.  I have to keep repeating to myself, “Your lack of planning is not my emergency.”

I am also getting ready for my parents to visit for a month.  It is a bit stressful because I will be gone for a week in the middle of their stay but I think it will be good for everyone to have a bit of space where I am not hovering trying to make sure everything is okay.  My kids are so excited for their grandparents to be here.  They will actually be here for both kids birthdays and they haven’t been with the kids on their birthdays in about 10 years.  My father’s health has been in slow decline but while he can still move and get around we are going to get him out as much as possible to see the kids.  I never knew my grandfathers as both died before I was born.  My fraternal grandmother died when I was only 9 but my maternal grandmother was around for a long time.  We had a great deal of fun together and I have great memories of her.  I want that for my children.  I can still tell stories about her to them.  My daughter remembers a bit of her great-grandmother but my son was an infant when she died.  Grandma got to hold him shortly before she died.  That is one of the greatest memories I have of her sitting at my parents house holding him in her arms and just talking to him.  Makes me tear up just thinking about it.

So dinner needed to be simple and comforting.  We all needed a big hug after surviving the first day back from Spring Break.  This recipe for Hamburgers and Gravy seemed to be just what we needed and it was on the table in about 30 minutes!

Verdict:

We all loved this dish.  Gravy over french fries is a big thing in Western New York.  We don’t see it much here in Southwest Michigan.  This gravy had tons of flavor and would be even better over homemade french fries.  I went simple and used frozen fries but homemade would take this dish to another level.  I even went out and bought a potato slicer to make french fries with after making this dish.

I served the dish with green beans and a hearty green salad with spinach and strawberries.

Ingredients:

• 1 (32 oz) bag of frozen french fries or homemade french fries
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 tsp minced garlic (we like garlic!)
• 2 tsp Morton’s Natures Seasonings
• 4 TBSP Butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 2-3 TBSP Morton’s Natures Seasonings (your preference)

Directions:

1. Begin by baking the french fries according to package directions.
2. About 15-20 minutes before the fries will be done begin mixing the ground beef, garlic and 2 tsp of Morton’s Natures Seasonings together.  Form into 6 patties of fairly equal size.
3. Cook burgers in a skillet over medium heat with 1 TBSP butter.  Once burgers are cooked through remove them to a plate to keep warm.
4. In the same skillet add the rest of the butter to melt.  Scrape up the browned burger bits on the bottom of the pan for flavoring.
5. Once the butter has melted sprinkle the flour over the butter and stir constantly for about 4-5 minutes until a paste forms and begins to turn a deep golden brown.
6. Slowly pour the beef stock into the pan continually stirring until the flour mixture is fully incorporated.
7. Allow to boil slowly until the desired gravy consistency is reaches.  Taste and season with Morton’s Natures Seasonings as desired.
8. Serve with french fries topped with hamburger and gravy over the entire dish.