Mara's Beef and Rutabaga Stew

*2 lbs beef chuck, cubed
*2 rutabagas, peeled and cubed
*4 parsnips, peeled and cut into one-inch disks
*1 small yellow onion, chopped

Create a rub for meat by combining salt, pepper, mustard powder, thyme and sage (I prefer to use fresh herbs)

Sprinkle mixture on cubed meat and brown in a very hot pan-just a minute on each side.

Toss meat in crock-pot with parsnips and rutabagas.

In the pan the meat was browned in, add a splash of oil and sauté onions until brown (about 5 min.)

Add sautéed onions, to crock-pot and toss in a bay leaf or two.

Cover mixture with beef stock or water.

Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.

Hamburger Gravy

* a pound of ground meat
* one onion, chopped
* a jar or three of brown gravy
* some mashed potatoes, rice, bread, or egg noodles
* some peas, canned, frozen, or fresh
* salt and pepper to taste

Brown your meat with your onions

Stir in your gravy and peas

Pour it over your starchy goodness

Salt and pepper until you are happy

Wonder why you never thought of this.

You can get fancy and use cube steak (tube steak?!?!), beef tips, vegetarian "meat" stuff, or pour the gravy, peas, and onions over a nice steak that isn't fancy and expensive enough to eat without gravy.

Burgers

*really good ground beef, like sirloin, but make sure it has some fat in it
*chopped onion (dehydrated will work too)
*Worcestershire sauce
*A1 sauce
*McCormack Montreal Steak Seasoning

Mix all this stuff together and make the patties as big as baseballs, then press down just a little so it doesn't roll around on the grill

Put it on the grill and let it cook for awhile. DO NOT press down on this. EVER. Why would you press on a burger? Do you think it cooks faster? No, it just drains the juice, and you want that. All over your chin and shirt.

Flip it once or twice.

You can also stuff some Brie, Blue, or Roquefort cheese in the middle or mix shredded cheese in with the burger before you cook it.

If you buy lean ground beef, stick a little pat of butter in the middle. Hell, if you buy fatty ground beef stick a little pat of butter in the middle. It will only make it better.

I've made these with venison too, and substituted rosemary and thyme for the Steak Seasoning. Just be sure to add some salt in there, and top with Lorraine Swiss Cheese.

One last thing. Some people put egg in their ground meat to make meatballs, burger, meatloaf, whatever. Don't. That is why those people's burgers are dry and cakey and you have to chew them. I don't know why people put egg in there. Meat binds itself together. I promise these burgers will not fall apart, but they will melt in your mouth.