Hamburgers and Gravy

One of Pierce's favorite foods is Hamburger.  I guess that just comes from being a 21 year old fella!  While he was home over Thanksgiving break I planned to make hamburgers for dinner one evening.  You know what they say about the best laid plans?  Yep, something came up and I had to leave the house knowing I wouldn't be back in time to get dinner on the table at a reasonable hour.

My solution was to patty out the hamburgers, sear them in a skillet and place them in the crockpot.  I then blended together one cup of cold water and 1/2 cup of  homemade "instant gravy mix" and poured it over the hamburgers.  Set the crockpot to low and left the house. 

The Photographer and Pierce opened a jar of home canned green beans and helped themselves to the last of the bread I made yesterday.  I do not have a photo to post because there were no leftovers for me when I got home.  Bad boys!  They say, in their defense, that they were the best "hamburgers" ever.

Homemade Instant Gravy Mix

1 1/3 cups instant nonfat milk powder
3/4 cup instant flour
3 tablespoons instant beef bouillon granules
1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 teaspoons brown sauce for gravy 

Combine milk powder, instant flour, bouillon granules, thyme, onion powder and sage. Stir with a wire whisk to blend. Cut in butter or margarine until evenly distributed. Drizzle brown sauce for gravy over mixture. Stir with wire whisk until blended. Spoon into a 3-cup container with a tight-fitting lid. Label with date and contents; store in the refrigerator. Use with 4-6 weeks. -- Makes about 2 2/3 cups

To make Beef Gravy, combine 1 cup of cold water and 1/2 cup gravy mix in small saucepan.  Whisk constantly over medium heat until smooth and slightly thickened.  ** I didn't cook the gravy first, just mixed it up and dumped it in the crockpot.