Like most young married couples, David and I started our lives together with meager funds, used furniture and thread-bare attire. We worked hard and continuously strove to improve our condition. I remember our conversations when we made plans to purchase our first home. We discussed our ability to afford the mortgage payments and our willingness to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every night to save money.

When purchasing our second home, I believe we were willing to eat hamburger meat every night to save money. Obviously we had raised our standards by then. I recall really tasty dinners (that I still make) using ground meat.

Salisbury Steak
1.5 lb. lean ground meat
1 pkg. French onion soup mix
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 large onion, sliced
2 c. button mushrooms, sliced
1/3. c. flour
3-4 c. beef stock

Mix ground meat, French onion soup mix, pepper and garlic powder together. Form about six patties. In a cast-iron skillet at medium-high heat, sear both sides of the patties until nicely browned. Then remove the patties and reserve them for later.

In the same skillet, add olive oil and cook the mushrooms. I like a nice sear on mushrooms, so don’t stir until a brown sear is achieved. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onions. Cook until the onions have caramelized.

Add flour and stir until incorporated. Then add beef stock and stir until a gravy forms. Add the meat patties back to the skillet. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the meat is cooked.
Serve with boiled new potatoes and salad.

We eat a lot of chicken, but certainly are beefeaters too. We love a nice steak and occasionally filet mignon. I don’t always want to afford a filet mignon, so I came up with a faux version that David really enjoys.

Faux Mignon
6 strips of bacon
1.5 lbs. ground meat
1 tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 onion, finely chopped

Cook the bacon strips on a rack placed in a sheet pan at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Mix the ground meat, seasonings and onion together. Form six patties. Wrap the partially cooked bacon around the edge of each patty and secure with a toothpick.

To make the faux version special, grill the meat over medium heat until it is done. About 4 minutes on each side.

Serve with baked potatoes and salad.