Smothered hamburger steaks make for a simple and nice meal that my entire family always loves. Strangely enough, every time I hear of smothered steaks or smothered chicken I think of the poor steaks or chickens having a pillow pressed forcefully onto their faces… But, I digress.

This time I paired it with homemade macaroni and cheese and some frozen peas. I was also still playing with my “new” Wagner cornstick pans so I used them to make some brownies.

Smothered Hamburger Steaks

Ingredients:

• 1 Stalk of celery minced
• 2 cloves of garlic mashed with sea salt
• 1 medium bell pepper about 1/4th minced and the remainder sliced
• 2 eggs
• 2 to 2.25 lbs lean ground beef (Depends on where you buy it which size you can get if pre-packaged)
• 2-3 large onions 1/4th of one minced and the remainder sliced
• 2 cups beef broth or 2 cups of water and beef bouillon
• Fresh cracked Black pepper to taste
• Red Pepper Flakes to taste
• 1 TBSP Mesquite Liquid Smoke

Method:

• Mix the ground beef, eggs, celery, garlic, black pepper, red pepper and liquid smoke and form into patties, I usually go for 5-6 patties from 2 lbs or about .4 lbs each or just under a half pound each.
• Cook the patties on the stovetop with the onions until the patties are browned on both sides but not cooked through yet
• Add beef broth to the pan and bring to a simmer adding black pepper if desired (I always do, my family loves pepper)
• Remove from stove-top and place in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the beef patties reaches 155 degrees or so (don’t worry, the carry-over heat from the pan will easily bring them to 165 degrees which is a safe temperature for store-bought ground beef)

 

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz. box elbow macaroni
• Chicken Bouillon (I use Knorr Granulated Chicken Bouillon that I purchase in the Hispanic section of the supermarket or online from Amazon)
• Approximately 1 1/4th lbs Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 Stick Real Butter (Kerrygold is the best!)

Method:

• Bring some water and chicken bouillon to a boil in a Dutch Oven
• Grate cheddar cheese
• Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to directions for al dente
• Drain the water from the pasta and add cream and butter over low heat and stir in
• Add cheese in small batches stirring as it melts
• Add more cream if needed
• Remove from heat, plate and serve

 

 

Cornstick Pan Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 large eggs
• Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• Shortening or Lard

Method:

• Put a small amount of ghee (Clarified Butter) and a dab of shortening or lard into each “ear” of the pans
• Place the pans in the oven and set to 350 degrees, letting them come up to temperature with the oven (the ghee won’t burn like regular butter)
• Mix the brownie mix according to the directions on the box
• Pour the batter into a Ziploc bag and remove as much air as possible
• Remove the hot pans from the oven
• Cut off a corner of the baggie and pipe into the ears being careful to not overfill them since the batter will rise while you are doing this. It should sizzle and expand, this is good, it means they won’t stick and everyone will essentially get an edge piece!
• Place pans back in the oven for 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (Don’t attempt to follow the directions on the box, they were written for a cold pan and you would incinerate the brownies in the 25 minutes it suggests!)
• Remove the brownies from the oven and let cool in the pans for approximately 10 minutes and then turn them out onto a cutting board or something similar

 

 

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