Birthday Dinner, No Birthday Boy

In three weeks my husband has been home for 39 hours.  This is the longest we have ever been apart.  He was even gone for his birthday last week and we make big deals about birthdays for each other.  (Let’s be honest, at this age if we don’t do it for each other it might as well be just another Tuesday.)  Today we were to pick him up at the airport at 5:50pm.  My daughters and I woke up early and cleaned the house.  We thought about all his favorite foods and made a grocery list.  We bought cards and wrapping paper for his gift.  We got out the streamer and balloons.  I put the Onion Hamburger Steak in the crockpot and made a chocolate chip cookie cake for the girls to decorate.  We were just beginning to make a “Welcome Home / Happy Birthday” sign to really embarrass him at our rather small and understated airport when he called.  The flight was canceled and he was stuck in Montreal.  There would be no getting home for dinner.  There was a chance he may get home before midnight, but no certainty.  I hung up the phone, devastated.  Not just because I was now far enough into his favorite dinner that there was no turning back. Telling my daughters would be awful.  I knew they would be as disappointed as I was.  They were.  We cried.  But we decorated the cake anyway.  And I served Green Bean Casserole, Cornbread Dressing, Onion Hamburger Steak with sauteed mushrooms and mushroom gravy.  We did catch him on the phone during dinner between flights to tell him his birthday dinner was delicious.   There is now a covered plate in the refrigerator for him.  I have been very strong…and not eaten any of the cookie cake.

This is a super easy recipe for Onion Hamburger Steak.  I always make gravy and sauteed mushrooms to go on top.  Hamburger steak does need gravy of some kind.  You can go fancy jar, packet or homemade.  Just make the gravy.  Peppers can be added as well as fresh garlic to vary the flavor. 

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• dash black pepper
• 2 lbs beef cube steak
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 beef bouillon, crushed

Putting It All Together:

1. In a small bowl combine flour, pepper and garlic salt.
2. Dredge cube steaks through flour mixture until well coated on each side.
3. In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook steaks for 7 minutes on each side, just until browned.
4. Place sliced onion in bottom of slow cooker. 
5. Place steaks on top.
6. Sprinkle bouillon on top.
7. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5. 

Enjoy! 

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