Salisbury Steak Meatballs and Gravy

This gravy is perfect for mashed potatoes, so I made 64 ounces of it. 

Meal-Planning Tip: I like to make this recipe, along with a separate recipe for Mashed Potatoes (at the bottom of this post) and Roasted Green Bell Peppers, which are a surprisingly good side in the vegetables category. Make sure to see the separate ingredients list for the mashed potatoes, when planning your shopping list. 

When it's time to serve dinner, I reheat the Salisbury steak meatballs, gravy, and mashed potatoes in the oven, along with the fresh peppers @ 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. 

Serves 8 as 2 people for 4 nights. 

Ingredients for the meatballs and gravy:

• 1 pound button mushrooms (optional). 
• 64 ounces of filtered water. 
• 1/2 cup soy sauce. 
• 1/2 cup Vermouth. 
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce. 
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar. 
• 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard. 
• 1/4 cup corn starch + 1/2 cup water to make slurry. 
• 2 tsp black pepper. 
• 2 Tbsp. garlic powder. 
• 2 Tbsp. onion powder. 
• 3 pounds hamburger. 
• 2 whole onions (white, yellow, or red). 
• 2 Tbsp. butter + 4 Tbsp. honey (for reheating meatballs). 
• 8 green bell peppers (if using these as your vegetable side). These are addressed in the "Serving or Reheating" section of this post. 

Utensils:

• Two 13x9 inch casserole dishes for making the Salisbury steak and gravy. 
• cheap aluminum foil (cheap = not nonstick) for covering. 
• nonstick aluminum foil, for serving and reheating.* 
• 1 large baking sheet, for serving and reheating.*  
• Two 2.5 cup (microwave and oven-safe) bowls, for serving and reheating.*
• cutting board, for prepping onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and bell peppers.  
• serrated knife, for the same purpose as the cutting board. 
• measuring cups and spoons. 
• oven. 
• Two 2.5 quart storage containers with lids. 1 for the finished meatballs, and 1 for the finished gravy. 
• Two 2.5 quart microwave safe glass bowls for microwaving the potatoes. 
• a 4 quart storage container with lid for the finished mashed potatoes. 
• a slotted spoon or tongs for separating meatballs from the gravy.
• a hand mixer for mixing the mashed potatoes.  
• a large mixing bowl for mixing the mashed potatoes. 
• a whisk (optional) would be nice in place of a fork. 
• A medium-sized bowl, or plate, to place the onions in after you have cut them. 
• 2 medium-sized bowls for separating mushroom caps and stems.

Directions for the meatballs and gravy:

1. Open the hamburger packages and place 1.5 pounds of hamburger in each casserole dish. 
2. Use your hands to form the hamburger in each dish into 1 to 2 inch meatballs. 
3. Top each casserole with 32 ounces of filtered water. 
4. Cover each casserole with cheap foil, and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours. 
5. Meanwhile, peel and trim the onions. Slice them in half, lengthwise. And then slice each half into quarter-inch half moons. Transfer them to a bowl, and set aside. 
6. Rinse the mushrooms, one at a time, under the tap, and toss them into a medium-sized bowl. Pop the stem off of each mushroom, and put the stems and caps in separate medium bowls. 
7. Using a cutting board, and a serrated knife, cut each stem into halves or thirds (cross-wise), depending on how long it is. Transfer these back to their bowl. Set each cap stem-side down, and slice them into fourths or fifths, depending on how big they are. Add these to the stems. 
8. This is also a good time to make the mashed potato recipe, since you have 3 hours of waiting for the meatballs, and you won't need the oven. That recipe is at the bottom of this one (just below the collision symbols 💥). Then come back up here for step 8. 
9. After the hamburger has finished baking, remove it from the oven. Remove the foil, being careful not to burn yourself with the steam that escapes, and add half the mushrooms, as well as half the onions to each of the casseroles. 
10. Top each casserole with 1 tsp black pepper, 1 Tbsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. onion powder, 1/4 cup of Vermouth, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard, and half of the corn starch slurry mixture. 
11. Stir as well as you can. 
12. Return to oven, uncovered, and continue baking at the same temperature for 1 hour 15 minutes. 
13. Separate meatballs from gravy with a slotted spoon, or tongs, and store separately in the 2.5 quart storage containers with lids until ready to serve. 

*Serving or Reheating: 

1. In a 2.5 cup (microwave and oven-safe) bowl, melt half a tablespoon of butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. 
2. Add 1 tablespoon of honey and whisk well. 
3. Add 6 meatballs for the person with the larger appetite (Kyle), and 3 meatballs for the person with the smaller appetite (Andrea), and toss into the honey-butter mixture. 
4. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick foil, and place this bowl in 1 corner of it (as shown in the 2nd picture of this post).
5. Use the second 2.5 cup (oven-safe) bowl, and add 2 cups of gravy to it. Place this in another corner of the baking sheet. 
6. Add 2 cups of prepared mashed potatoes to the 3rd corner of the baking sheet. 
7. Cut 2 green bell peppers into bite-sized pieces, and add that to the last remaining corner of the baking sheet. 
8. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. 
9. Get out 2 large serving plates and divide all 4 of these sides evenly among both plates, making sure to create a shallow well inside each mashed potato pile and filling them both with gravy.  

Meal-Planning Tips: This will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. If freezing, portion it into individual servings first, to make for quick reheating in a pinch. 

Meatballs can be pre-frozen on a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil. Make sure the meatballs aren't touching each other though, so they don't freeze together. Once they are frozen (in about 1 - 2 hours), transfer them to a gallon-sized freezer bag. 

Freeze the gravy by pouring it into silicon ice cube trays, and then transferring the gravy cubes into a gallon-sized freezer bag. 

Don't forget to always label and date the freezer bags. You will forget what you froze, and when you froze it. 😄

Mashed potatoes can be portioned out and frozen as well, but not the bell peppers. Always roast them fresh and serve the same night. 

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The beauty of these mashed potatoes is that they can be cooked in the microwave. They have to be cooked in 2 batches though, because you need 5 pounds of potatoes for this recipe, and you can only cook 2.5 pounds at a time in the microwave. 

Ingredients for the mashed potatoes:

• 5 pounds of yellow potatoes. 
• 1 stick of butter. 
• 3 cups of milk. 
• 4 tsp salt. 
• 2 tsp black pepper. 

Directions for the mashed potatoes: 

1. In a 2.5 quart glass bowl, add 1/2 the potatoes that have been peeled and diced. Add enough tap water to cover them by 1/2 inch. 
2. Microwave for 5 minutes at a time, stirring after every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. 
3. Remove from microwave and drain water away. 
4. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl. 
5. Cut 4 Tbsp. butter into 1/2 Tbsp. sized pieces and add it to potatoes. 
6. Add 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper to potatoes. 
7. Then, use a hand mixer to blend potatoes.
8. Add 1.5 cups of milk and blend them again. 
9. Repeat steps 1 through 8 for the second half of the potatoes, but use a different glass bowl so it doesn't overheat from too much microwaving. 
10. once all 5 pounds of your mashed potatoes are done, transfer them to a 4 quart storage container with lid and refrigerate until ready to serve.