Super Easy - Crockpot Salisbury Steak At Home My Way

RECIPES AT THE TOP - CHIT CHAT AT THE BOTTOM

How do you turn frozen hamburger patties into a cozy, meat & potatoes sit-down supper?  

Here's how I make EASY CROCKPOT SALISBURY STEAK at home my way:

Easy Crockpot Salisbury Steak

• Hand pattied, FROZEN hamburger patties (I just pat some decent (80/20) ground beef into patties, and store individually in my freezer in baggies.  You could also freeze them and stack with wax paper in between - you do need to be able to get them apart.)
• 1 package cheap brown gravy mix (mine came from Aldi)
• 2 cups water 
• Salt/pepper/onion powder
• Optional:  Sliced/peeled potatoes (lengthwise), carrots, whatever vegetables you like.  This would be great with some mushrooms as well!

Gravy Thickener (for after you get home, but before you eat):

• 3/4 cup COLD water
• 3 heaping Tablespoons flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place frozen hamburger patties in your crockpot (however many you want).   Salt & pepper a little.  

Top with any vegetables you are using, if any.  Sprinkle with seasonings like onion powder, salt, pepper.

In a measuring cup, measure the 2 cups of water, and add the gravy mix.  Stir until smooth.  

Pour over vegetables and frozen patties in the crockpot.

Cook on LOW all day!  (At least 8-10 hours).

BEFORE SERVING:

Measure 3/4 cups COLD water in a cup (it has to be COLD).  Add 3 heaping Tablespoons flour and stir until smooth (should be like a runny milkshake).  Pour into crockpot and stir gently.

Replace crockpot lid and let cook while you are getting the rest of your dinner ready.  I made some flat egg noodles for me, and mixed up some Homemade Biscuits.  (mmmm!)

Let the gravy in the crockpot cook (on high) 15 or 20 minutes until thick (while you change your clothes, let the dog out- stuff like that).

Now dive in and be so glad that you threw all of this in the crockpot!  YUM!

(Any leftovers will make a great vegetable soup base or even a pot pie!)

THE CHIT CHAT

My hubby is a real meat and potatoes man!

One of our go-to meals is round steak or cube steak cooked in the crockpot with cream of mushroom soup or brown gravy mix, which he prefers to eat over mashed potatoes (he even likes instant mashed potatoes (Hungry Jack are the best), so there ya go).  The problem is that cube steak and/or round steak is kind of pricey, definitely these days!

I had a brain storm and decided to try out making Doug's go-to meal, but with hamburger meat instead of steak. I was concerned that since we are gone from home for so long during the day (11 hours), that the long cook time would pretty much cook the hamburger patties down to nothing. 

The solution I came up with was to use frozen (hand formed) hamburger patties, which I normally keep in baggies in my freezer for days when we need a quick fix in the kitchen. I figured frozen hamburger patties would be small enough that they would have time to thaw and cook and not overcook throughout the day.  

Boy, was I right!  Doug peeled and sliced a few potatoes into the crockpot before we left for work since he likes potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes.  He only sliced two into the crockpot since I planned on having noodles with mine.

Hamburger is SOOOO much cheaper than steak and throwing frozen hamburger patties, adding a packet of gravy mix and some water in a crockpot can't get any easier for busy mornings.  This meal turned out completely over-the-top wonderful!  Definitely I will be making this often!

This meal was reminiscent for me of the TV dinners I ate at my granny's house when I was little.  Yummy little meat patties covered in thick brown gravy.

Enjoy!

Gina