Salisbury Steak isn't the boogeyman anymore.

My first husband, who will remain nameless, loved Salisbury Steak; to the point that I had to make it every week. Now this first husband was an abusive thing; he doesn't even deserve to be called a man. Why I stayed with him so long? That's a long boring story, so won't bother to tell it.  However, he did pass away in 2008, so I never have to worry about him interfering with my life ever again.

Anyway, it got to the point that I actually developed, I don't know what to really call it; a phobia, allergy, aversion to...Salisbury Steak. The sight or smell of it made me gag, so I stopped making it altogether. I did attempt to make it a few times over the past few years, since my divorce from him, but always the same physical reaction.

Well, I tried it one more time, and only because Roy (my beloved 2nd husband) asked me to. He knew how I felt about this particular recipe, but knew I had to get over it; and I had to agree. It was absolutely silly to be afraid of a simple meal.  And who are we kidding anyway?  Roy really wanted it, and I wasn't going to deny him the pleasure.  So, I made it, even ate some of it; and while I still wasn't too keen on it, no violent physical reaction to it.

So while I'm sticking to just the buttered noodles; Roy is left to enjoy the rest of the Salisbury Steaks, and that's ok with both of us.

Salisbury Steak

Ingredients:

5 lbs. lean ground beef

1 cup each diced mushrooms and onions

1 cup beef broth

1 ½ cups plain dried bread crumbs

2 tsp each salt and ground black pepper

1 Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp butter

2 large onions, slivered

Gravy:

3 Tbsp flour

2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup

2 cups milk

1 cup beef broth

1 (3/4 oz) packet brown gravy mix

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Spray a large jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together beef, mushrooms, onions, broth, bread crumbs and seasonings thoroughly.  Use a 1 cup measuring cup to scoop out mixture and make oval shaped “steaks”; flatten down to 1” thick; place on spray pan.  Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients listed under “Gravy”.

In a large skillet, melt butter on medium-high heat; sauté onions until softened.  Pour gravy over onions; mix and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.  Remove steaks, dabbing on paper towels to remove excess grease, and immerse into gravy-onion mixture.  Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over buttered noodles, rice or potatoes.

Makes 10 servings.

Mary Cokenour