My First Recipe: It Ain't Rocket Science

There is nothing I love more than some good, warm comfort food on a rainy day like today. And what better comfort food is there than mushroom steak with gravy and mashed potatoes?! Okay… fried chicken, but for the purposes of this post, it’s MUSHROOM STEAK! Go with it, y’all.

Anyway, this is my momma’s recipe (which means it probably came off of a Campbell’s soup can). I know traditionally this kind of thing is made with ground beef, but I’m not a super huge fan of meat that looks like brains, so we always make it with round steak instead.

For those of you who don’t know me personally, I am quite possibly the most particular eater you’ve ever met. I’m not picky per-say, because I will try everything once. However, if I don’t like it, I will never touch it again. I also won’t eat anything with <insert nasty food> in it. For example: you will never convince me that something made with mayonnaise is good, because mayonnaise in itself is vomit-inducing. Sorry to use the word vomit in a recipe post, but it had to happen.

The great thing about this recipe is that it’s a man favorite, because it’s literally just steak, potatoes and gravy. That’s all 3 of the main man food groups. It’s definitely a husband/boyfriend recipe. And for you women, it uses the three secret weapons of quick home cooking – onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup and a crock pot.

For those of you who want to add a vegetable, try adding some fresh mushrooms to the gravy mixture or make a side of steamed broccoli/carrots. Now on to the recipe…

It Ain’t Rocket Science Mushroom Steak and Taters

Ingredients:

1 packet of onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2-3 round steaks

¼ to ½ cup of water

If you’d like – half a package of fresh sliced mushrooms

5-6 red potatoes

For the potatoes – the norm: milk, butter, salt and pepper

You’re going to make this recipe in a crock pot, so make sure yours is clean and sprayed with a little Pam.

First, pull your round steaks out of the package and place in the bottom of the crock pot. It’s best if they aren’t touching, but they can be squeezed in there pretty tight if you’ve got a smaller crock pot.

Next, mix the cream of mushroom soup and the packet of onion soup mix into a bowl. If you’re adding fresh sliced mushrooms, mix those in too. After mixing thoroughly, pour the mixture over the top of the round steaks in the crock pot. Make sure to cover each steak. Pour the ¼ to ½ cup of water in the crock pot but not on top of the steaks. Depending on how long you plan to cook this or how hot your crock pot heats, you’ll want to adjust the water. For hotter crock pots, or if you’re leaving it in a little longer, use ½ cup. I just pour my water down the side so it gets in the bottom but doesn’t disturb my gravy mixture on top of the steaks. Put the lid on and cook it on high for 4 hours. You could do it on low for 6 hours if you choose, but make sure to add extra water so that it doesn’t dry out.

Also another note on making the gravy: if you are like my husband and LOVE gravy then you can double the amount of mushroom soup, mushrooms and onion soup mix. And make sure to add extra water!

After your meat is finished cooking or 30 minutes before it should be done (for those of you with a crock pot timer), start making your mashed potatoes. Southerners should already know how to do this, but for those of you who don’t…

Peel and cut up about 5-6 good sized potatoes (disclaimer: I make a LOT of mashed potatoes). When I cut up the potatoes, I try to cut them into about 1 inch chunks, but this is not an exact science. Once they’re cut up, place into a pot/pan that’s filled with water up to about 2 inches below the rim to avoid overflow, and add a few shakes of salt to the water. Place the potato chunks into the water and turn on the heat to about high to get the water boiling. Once the water is boiling, turn the temperature down to about medium (or to whatever temperature doesn’t foam up and overflow for you). I don’t know the exact time of how long you should cook your potatoes (I just let them go, checking periodically with a fork to see if they are soft), but my mom says around 20 minutes. You want them to be so soft that they fall apart whenever you stick a fork in them. Once they reach that consistency, drain the water off with a colander/strainer and then put the potatoes back in the pot/pan. Add about a ¼ cup of milk and 2-3 tablespoons of butter (this is taste specific, so add or remove as you like). You can also add salt and pepper to taste. To mash my potatoes, I use a hand mixer to beat them into a smooth consistency. It makes them ULTRA creamy. My grandmomma just puts the milk/butter/salt/pepper in there and then stirs it up real good with a spoon. If you get your potatoes good and cooked, this makes for a chunkier mashed potato. But they’re great either way.

After you finish making the mashed potatoes and your meat is done cooking, go over and break up the meat inside the crock pot. It should be pretty easy to do. Mix the chunks of meat and gravy together in the crock pot and then serve on top of the mashed potatoes. It’ll look a little like beef stroganoff over mashed potatoes. In fact, my husband wants to try it with egg noodles some time… but being Southern, I can’t give up my taters.

Finished Product - Tastes better than it looks. Promise.

Hope you enjoy it! And don’t forget to let me know what you think!