Salisbury Steak ala Schamelot

Made this one up myself after I couldn't find a recipe on line that already sounded like what I had in mind. I do that a lot...

4 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1-2 Tbs soy sauct
1-2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Mix this up and let the flavors marinate a bit while you make the gravy in a cast iron skillet:

2 Tbs bacon grease, chicken fat from stock, or some other fat
1 large chopped onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 large finely diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup corn starch
4 cups chicken stock/broth
2 Tbs Maggi seasoning, or soy or Worchestershire or salt and pepper to taste

Saute the veggies in the fat. Mix the corn starch, Maggi or other seasoning and cold chicken stock. Add to skillet after veggies are soft and have finished yielding their juices. Allow to thicken, adding more corn starch in water if too thin and more stock if too thick. Lower temp just to a bubble.

Meanwhile, form ground beef mixture into oval, hand-sized patties and cook on a griddle, pressing down the patties with a spatula so that the edges of the patties "fray." Brown each side of the patties and then slip them into the skillet of gravy. You can keep them moist and warm in the gravy over a low temp for some time until you're ready to eat. Serve over mashed, skin-on red potatoes and be very generous with the gravy!

My family loved this way more than any meatloaf I've ever made, and said it was a great gluten-free alternative to our usual Wednesday night favorite--hamburgers.

Schamelot Cornbread

This is our favorite cornbread! Sweet, moist--sort of like cake. We always make enough for breakfast the next morning. Mmmm, cornbread, milk and honey!

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.