School has started back ’round here. That usually means that I need to put a little more effort into my meal planning game. During the day, our boys often ask what we are having for dinner. We homeschool, and I believe that their inquisitive nature may be directly linked to their desire for a break from school work. Their questions often remind me that oh yeah, I do need to get something prepped for dinner. Smart kids. Like most people, nutritious meals served at a decent hour do greatly improve quality of life.

Hamburger steak is always a good addition to the meal plan. My crew considers it comfort food. And hamburger steak is just so versatile. After you learn how to season it well, the sky is the limit with customization. Everyone likes to add their own flair to things, right? We love hamburger steak with a big pile of onions and peppers on top. Or some melted cheese. Gravy is always a welcome sight in our kitchen, too. Those fried onions that come in a can would be great, too. Or mushrooms. See? Many, many options to make it yours.

Here’s how we get hamburger steak going:

Start with one lb of ground beef:

Add your seasonings: 1/2t garlic powder, 1 t. dried minced onion, 1 t. onion powder, 1/4 t. black pepper (I prefer coarse pepper), 1 t. salt and 1 heaping teaspoon dry mustard.

Mix gently into the ground beef:

Then form your hamburger steak patties. I usually make them a 1/3 lb size, so I end up with 3 hamburger steaks from this recipe. You can easily double or triple the recipe, depending on how many hungry people are at your table. I almost always double it.

Next, put a skillet over high heat on your stovetop. You want the hamburger steaks to sear a bit when you put them on to cook. Grilling hamburger steaks is also an option, but nothing wrong with cooking these indoors. After you get a nice sear on the patties, you can reduce the heat a bit.

Cook until no longer pink in the middle and top with your favorite toppings.

Enjoy!