School Hamburger Gravy

Remember school hamburger gravy? Now you can make it at home ladled over mashed potatoes, just like the classic school house gravy dish the lunch lady used to serve you.

Hands down was one of my favorite lunch days at school. School hamburger gravy made by the lunch ladies is a classic. Whenever you have a hankering for it, you can make it at home yourself… old school style.

The Lunch Lady is an institution. They fed us all when we were hungry. They made the long school day so much easier to get through. Lunch ladies didn't get nearly the credit they deserved. They are just as much an integral part of the school system as the teachers are. The one thing you didn't do was mess with the lunch ladies. Amiright?

Well, a few weeks ago while sitting at work I had a strange craving.  It was a lunch I had remembered from elementary school. Hamburger gravy with mashed potatoes.  I decided right then and there I had to have it for dinner. I looked up a recipe and found what I thought was a decent recipe.

Needless to say, it was an epic fail. Not quite how I remembered it tasting back in the day. All I could envision was a hair netted lunch lady dancin' round the school cafeteria singing into her wooden spoon MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This."

It tasted horrible. I was so let down. Maybe it was just operator error? I'm leaning more towards operator error. I mean Mr. Kitchen Prescription and his brother dubbed me "Double batch" at one point. Especially when it comes to making recipes that might be a bit trickier to make. Like caramel for example.

Tonight I thought I'd give it another go. I tweaked it to my liking and it turned out and tasted just how I remembered it.  It's a savory hearty, but more importantly, easy meal after a long day at work. Whips up quickly and you can take short cuts thanks to the miracle of pre-made mashed potatoes and Pillsbury biscuits.

Try this homemade mac and cheese recipe.

Or this Lunch Lady Pizza Recipe.

School Hamburger Gravy Recipe:

School Hamburger Gravy Ingredients: (Feeds 3-4)

1 lb of beef 80/20 fat content

1 10 oz. container Swanson's beef stock

1 container Simply Potatoes Traditional mashed potatoes

1 small can Pillsbury Biscuits

Pillsbury All Purpose Flour 3-4 Tablespoons

1/4 Cup 2% milk

Salt, Pepper, Onion Salt

School Hamburger Gravy Directions:

Brown hamburger in skillet. Salt and pepper to taste. Add Onion salt to your liking. Do not drain fat. Add 3-4 tablespoons flour until all juices are absorbed. Then add milk and beef stock. You can add stock to your liking until you get the consistency of gravy you want. Don't add too much because you don't want it watery. Then turn on low and let simmer for half hour.

Bake biscuits according to package directions and right before they are brown microwave mashed potatoes according to directions.  Dish up and serve.  The family will love this quick hearty meal. It's a great comfort food. I think I gave the Lunch Lady a run for her money today.

School Hamburger Gravy

This isn't a meal for everyone. My boyfriend doesn't really enjoy it, so I'll make it when he's not around. More for me! I often wonder what went wrong in his life that he doens't like hamburger gravy. This dish can also be served with rice. You can even serve it over toast which give it that S.O.S (sh*t on a shingle) vibe.

***** Update: I also no longer use packaged or processed foods, (no judgement if you do) so I'll take the extra time to make homemade mashed poatatoes and biscuits. Sometimes, I'll just ladle it over some mashed potatoes.

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