Simple brown gravy

Every once in a while you prepare a meal and you just wish you had a little gravy to go with it. But without any pan drippings to build from, you resort to packaged or jar gravy.

Meatloaf is a perfect example.

I have been working on this gravy recipe since August 2012 when I made my very first meatloaf for my friends in blue.  And every time I made it, I tweaked the recipe just a little trying to get it just right and I think I finally have it where it is not only tasty - or at least as good as you can get it without pan drippings - and easy to make.

I really goofed it up one time and followed a famous Food Network chef's suggestion and added ketchup. Don't do that!

I wish I had a picture of how good this gravy came out today.  I made meatloaf for my friends in the South Division, complete with mash potatoes, those delicious green bean bundles, rolls, and sweet tea.

Not everyone cares for gravy on their potatoes, but for me it is a must.  No question!  And since I took 'To-Go' meals down to the station, everybody got gravy whether they wanted it or not.  This brown gravy is so much better than store-bought and super quick and easy to make.  Nothing can compare to a gravy made with pan drippings, but this is a close second.

I doubled the recipe that I followed, because if you think about it, 2 cups is really not all that much and then you'll have the extra 2 cups for leftovers or freezing.  I NEVER have any left over.

If you make this simple brown gravy, I would love to hear from you.

~ ~ ~ 

Simple Brown Gravy
Adapted from this recipe

2 cups water
1 'extra large' Knorr beef bouillon cube
2 cups of beef stock
1/4 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder *
1/8 tsp onion powder *
1/4 tsp black pepper *
Salt as needed
 
Thickener
4 tablespoons cold water
4 tablespoons corn starch

• Dissolve bouillon cube in 2 cups of boiling water.  Add the beef stock, butter, and all of other ingredients - everything EXCEPT the thickener.
• Once the mixture boils, mix the cold water and cornstarch in a coffee cup.  You may need to add a tiny bit more water, but it should be the consistency of runny glue.  
• Slowly pour in thickener, while stirring. Continue boiling for 2-3 more minutes, still stirring. Remove from heat and let cool to thicken more. 
• I added 1 extra tablespoon of cornstarch, plus 1 tablespoon water  
• Add more Kitchen Bouquet if you like your gravy darker, but I didn't think it needed it.  

* NOTE:  The garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper measure was based on the original recipe I followed for a 2-cup yield, so if you're making 4 cups of gravy (like I did) you might want to add more garlic and onion powder.  Start out though with the measure as shown, then taste and add more if needed.

Sweet dreams, Miss Isabelle.....

I have always tried to preserve this blog to only AHOP-related stories and recipes, telling my readers that "it's not about me."

But sometimes it is about me.  I said goodbye to my sweet Miss Isabelle on Thursday and I am heartbroken. I held her sweet little face in my hands just like I always did at home and told her how much I loved her, and then she drifted away. 

When the AHOP light was on in the window for breakfast or dinner, Isabelle always enjoyed making an appearance in the dining room to say hello to the 1st and 2nd shift officers.  She would weave her little black and white body in-between their legs at the table or just sit there long enough so Officer Tom would pet the top of her little head.  She also knew if she bothered them 'just long enough', I would stop and feed her (again).  

Officer Tom always looked for Miss Isabelle before he left so he could say good-bye.  He would pass through the den where she was usually on the ottoman or in her big comfy chair and he would give her a pat on the head and say...."Bye Izzie".

The quiet in my house now is almost unbearable.  I would give anything to flip a pancake or two, or make a meatloaf right now -- just to keep me busy.  I have never missed my friends more.   

Sweet dreams, Miss Isabelle.....  ♥

"What we have once enjoyed 

we can never lose. All that we love 

deeply becomes a part of us."

~ Helen Keller

   "The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is
grief. But the pain of grief is only a
 shadow when compared to the pain of 
never risking love.”
– Hilary Stanton Zunin