Was staring into my freezer tonight after work, tired as hell and hungry. Saw that lonely pack of ground beef way in the back, you know, the one pushed behind the mystery leftovers? Knew I needed something cheap and filling fast. Looked up online real quick “affordable ground beef dinners” – mashed potatoes kept popping up with it. Sounded good enough for this tired dude. Grabbed my stuff.
Gearing Up
What I scrounged up:
- That frozen 1-pound ground beef block (80/20 cause it’s cheaper)
- Bag of russet potatoes, couple started getting eyes but still firm
- Half an onion rolling around the bottom of the fridge drawer
- Stub of butter (maybe 4 tablespoons?)
- Little carton of milk, maybe 1/4 cup left
- Salt, pepper, random garlic powder from the cupboard
- Pathetic looking stalk of celery, chopped super fine
Getting My Hands Dirty
First thing, chucked the potatoes in a pot with cold water, salted it good, cranked the heat. While that bubbled away, tackled the beef. Got my biggest skillet hot, ripped open that beef pack – still half-frozen in the middle, figures. Plopped it in. Broke it up with my spatula. Man, that sizzle sounded good.
Chopped that sad onion and the wimpy celery stalk while the beef went from pink to brown. Dumped ’em right in once the beef wasn’t raw anymore. Stirred it all around, felt the kitchen warming up. Glugged in some water, maybe half a cup? Just enough to make a tiny bit of juice, not soup. Shook in salt, pepper, garlic powder like I was guessing amounts. Let that whole mess simmer on low, bubbling gently.
Poked a potato with a fork – yeah, soft enough. Drained ’em hard. Threw the hot potatoes back in the pot I cooked ’em in. Started mashing. Added the butter bit by bit, then splashed in that last bit of milk slowly. Just kept mashing, smashing lumps. Pepper in there, little salt. Went back to the beef mix, tasted it – needed more salt, maybe another shake of garlic powder. Stuck a lid on it and killed the heat.
The Ugly (But Tasty) Truth
Slapped a hefty pile of that lumpy mashed potato onto my plate. Dug a crater in the middle. Spooned that beef onion gravy mix right into the crater. Gravy kinda soaked into the spuds. Looked kinda like dog food honestly, brown mess on white pile.
Took the first bite? Pure comfort. Beef was savory, potatoes were creamy, that little celery added some crunch I didn’t expect. Filled my belly up good and proper. Cheap? Definitely, used stuff I basically forgot about. Hearty? You bet. Took maybe 45 minutes tops. Simple as mud. Done deal.
