Carrot Gravy--Don't Be Scared!

Foreword by me: Prepare yourself for some pretty awful photos. They suck.

After much bullying by my bestie, the Unkept Cook, I am finally getting around to posting my famous Carrot Gravy!

Don't be scared by the name. It's sort of, well...a pet name, I guess! It's more of a Salisbury steakish dish, from what I've been told.

Okay...first, grab a big ol' hunk of meat. (Ahem...I'm talkin' beef here, ladies) I used round steak for this...which is fine, since you cook the heck out of it...but, I prefer sirloin.


So, if I prefer Sirloin, why didn't I use it? Well...it was just too stinkin' cold in our garage to rummage around in the freezer. So, I grabbed what I saw first.
I just lied. If I had grabbed what I saw first, it would've been a frozen pizza. And, I don't recommend using frozen pizza for your Carrot Gravy. Just sayin'.
Okay...so, cut up your big ol' hunk of meat into smaller sections. "Personal servings", if you will. And season with salt and pepper.

Heat a little oil in a pan (I used my new Dutch oven...I *heart* my new Dutch oven...), and quickly brown the meat on both sides, and remove from pan.


Leaving all the yumminess in the pan, throw in a sliced onion to brown. Oh, and some garlic, too!

(Pssst...hey self! Dude...your flashless photos are worse than the flash ones!)

Onion haters: do NOT be afraid of the onions! They cook down to (kinda) nothing, and leave you with all the flavor! Worst case, just pick out whatever hasn't disappeared when you are done!

While the onions are browning, recruit two young household members to peel the carrots (heck...who am I kidding...they were begging to peel! Honest! I had to choose just two of them!! Oh, and please disregard the pile of dishes in the background! Hey...at least they're clean!):


After the onions are browned deliciousness, add 2-3 cans Tomato soup (your own, or store bought. I'm lazy...I use the store's.) and 1/2 can of water, stir to combine, being sure to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan:

(It's a sad, sad day in food blogland, when you get a photo of a can of soup, 'cuz the flakey cook forgot to take a photo of the real thing in the pot...)

Add some oregano, pepper, (notice I don't say salt...the soup has enough!) ,a beef bullion and a bit of sugar (my grandma claims it's the key to everything...something about bringing the flavors together or something. I dunno, I just do it 'cuz everything my Gram makes is heavenly...so, she must be doin' something right!):

Add back in the beef:


Chop the carrots into cute little pieces (note by me: the "baby carrots" just don't cut it! It's gotta be the real thing...sorry.) and add them to the pan:


Now, place the cover on "loosely"...and cook away. The longer the better (I only cooked this for a little over an hour...it coulda used more time)...the gravy will start to cook down and thicken into unbelievable yumminess!

About 45 minutes before you want to eat peel enough potatoes for your family. My family are potato freaks...so, I peeled one for each of us...then added five pounds of potatoes.

Serious.

Peel them, boil them until fork tender...and call on Marlboro Man (or your handy masher, whichever you prefer. I prefer to use Marlboro Man as often as I can. Makes me feel like I got my money's worth!):


Drain the potatoes, while they are draining, add this much butter to the dish in which they will be mashed:


Embrace the butter...just give it a little hug. You will thank me later.

Add back in the potatoes, add some salt and a bit of sugar (again, something about enhancing the flavor)...if you don't mind black flecks in your creamy white potatoes, add some pepper at this point.

I, however, mind black flecks in my potatoes...so this is the only time I opt to leave out the pepper.

Turn Marlboro Man on...ah...whoops. That came out alllllll wrong! *Blushing*

What I mean is, begin mashing the potatoes with your preferred appliance. *Phew*
Ahem...okay...carrying on...

While the potatoes are beginning to be mashed, warm about a cup of milk in the microwave. Add warm milk slowly, about a 1/4 cup at a time, until you achieve perfection.


Ahhhh...wonderfully fluffy mashed potatoes!


Now, serve to your starving family...along with the "Epic Fail" bread that you tried to make earlier! (Thanks Heather, for the awesome phrase!)


For the record...dense bread still tastes good. In case you were wondering. Oh...and Corelle isn't very photogenic. (Next up: New Dishes!)

Carrot Gravy:

1 big round steak
1medium onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
oil for browning2-3 cans of tomato soup
1/2 can water
2lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1 beef bullion cube
1/2-1 tsp sugar
1 tsp pepper

Cut steak into "personal sized" pieces (think: a deck of cards-ish), season with s&p, place into heated oil and brown briefly on both sides. Remove steak from pan, add onions and garlic to pan and brown (may need to add more oil). Add soups and water, stir to deglaze pan. Add seasonings. Add back in meat. Add carrots. Cover loosely and simmer for more than an hour. Taste, adjust seasonings as needed!

Mashed Potatoes:

12-15 red potatoes
1/2-1 stick of butter (the more the better)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2-1 c. milk--warmed (that's the key!)
Pepper optional

Peel and cube potatoes, boil for approx 20 min, or until fork tender. Drain, place in mixer or large bowl for mashing. Add butter, salt, sugar and pepper if you wish your taters to be black spotted (guess I could use white pepper!). Begin mashing, slowly add milk 1/4 c. at a time, until your desired fluffiness is achieved!

Serve immediately...and be prepared to get stuffed!