FRENCH ONION SALISBURY STEAK WITH NOODLES

Good morning.
We are to have sunshine today which makes my heart happy.
But at the moment the skies are slate gray and the air is chilly and damp.

I made this dish last night. I am passing it on as it is tasty, but truthfully hubby and I agreed we like meal loaf better. After all it is a dish with burger as the main ingredient. I do make a juicy flavorful meatloaf topped with a red sweet and sour sauce.
This Salisbury steak recipe however can be served over noodles as we did or mashed potatoes, orzo, rice. Well you get the idea. So it is versatile which is good. Also the caramelized onions were yummy.
FRENCH ONION SALISBURY STEAK
1 1/4 ground chuck
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
2 T. scallions
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. pepper
4 T. flour
1 T. olive oil
2 cups onions, sliced
1 t. sugar
1 T. garlic minced
1 T. tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 t. dried thyme leaves

Combine chuck, parsley, scallions, salt and pepper. Divide evenly into four portions and shape each into a one inch patty. Place 4 T flour in a shallow dish and dredge each patty in flour. Reserve the left over flour in the dish.
Heat the oil in a skillet over med/high heat. Add the patties and saute three minutes on each side or until browned and remove from pan. Add the sliced onions and sugar to the pan, saute five minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, saute until the paste turns brown. Sprinkle the onions with the reserved flour cook one minute then stir in the broth and wine, scrapping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme. Return the meat to the pan and cover and simmer on low for ten minutes.
Serve over whatever you prefer I think mashed potatoes would be grand. The recipe also suggests cheese toasts.
Garnish with extra scallion pieces. That is all there is to it!

My two children have their birthday's coming soon this month. My son Mike's is on Friday the 11th and his sister Gina's is the 14th. My valentines baby. How fun is that for Mom and daughter both? A Valentine baby girl! Gina has always loved her birthday date. At school she got a lot of attention as there were always Valentines day parties, and her birthday got celebrated right along with that special day of candy, cakes and cards.

I had a plan and it actually worked. When I was newly married, I told family and friends that I wanted two children, a boy and a girl in that order. That I wanted them exactly two years apart. Well actually they are two years and three days apart but hey pretty close don't you agree? They were perfect everything I had hoped for. I was so proud of them both(most times).
When I would take them shopping when they were so very young people would stop me and say, what adorable children. They were so beautiful and well behaved for the most part. Mike with his husky little body and dark hair and green smiley eyes. Gina with her doll like face peeking out under a head full of curls. For the most part I kept Gina in frilly little dresses with cute little leggings. They grew up in the cold of central Oregon winters and were accustomed to snowsuits, stocking caps and mittens.
It is funny the things you tend to remember about your children years later. I remember exactly how the backs of Mike's hands looked. There were these little dimples where his knuckles were and his chubby little fingers were so pointed at the end. He was always pointing at things with his index finger. I remember Gina's little chin always had a small rash on it as she must have drooled a lot and her hair was always so damp and curled tightly on her check when she woke. Their bath times were quite the play time actually for us all. I would fill the double kitchen sink with their bubble bath, there they would sit side by side. Mike fit his side quite snugly as I remember. When I scrubbed them I would play little piggy went to market on their little toes till they just squealed in delight. After they were squeaky clean I would bring the out the Silly Soap. I would squirt them and they would splash and laugh. Oh it was so much fun.
After their afternoon bath, it was nap time. While they slept, I would polish their little white high top shoes and re-string their laces with little silver bells. Then the ironing board would go up and I would iron their clothes. That was probably the only peace I had all day! When they woke from their naps it was snack time and then back to play time for them. Seems I went all day without stopping and certainly no me time at that point. Oh it was so good though.
At the time I am sure I thought it all quite hard and that there were not enough hours in the day. Being a very young Mother like I was certainly was extra challenging also.
There are times now I wish I could turn the clock back just for a few hours and hold their little bodies and kiss their soft cheeks, smell their hair and feel their small arms around my neck.
Times goes by so quickly and those sweet things are never to return so we are just left with our memories.

Well back to the here and now. I must get to my daily chores. Also it is office day for me. Once again someone has come into the office and set off a bomb. I get so tired of that seems to happen about every two weeks.

Enjoy your Salisbury Steak or if lazy just make meatloaf!
Till later