S.O.S. ~ Marine Corps "cream chipped beef on toast"

My husband's father was a United States Marine. He insisted on polished boots, trimmed hairlines, and squared away bedding. He has gone on to be with the Lord, but in his prime, he made a "killer" cream chipped beef on toast affectionately called, S.O.S.

We had an occassion to prepare this manly dish for our Sunday School class a few weeks ago but, alas, none of the family members had "daddy's" recipe written down. After a quick search on the internet, my husband discovered several versions of the recipe from which he adapted a reasonable resemblance of the one he remembered his father preparing.

This recipe will feed two dozen easily. We find that preparing the white sauce as described twice will work better than trying to deal with that much liquid at one time.

Ingredients:

2 large onions minced

1 bulb garlic minced

1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 lbs. ground meat (we have access to grain fed, very lean hamburger) If you use 85% lean meat, be sure to drain the grease off.

1/4 C butter x 2

2-3 heaping tablespoons x 2 GOLD MEDAL: organic all-purpose unbleached-enriched-presifted flour

2 Cups x 2 whole milk, set out long enough to take the chill off

2 dozen biscuits or rolls, or 2 loaves of bread (toasted or not)

Directions:

Saute' the onions and garlic in a skillet which has just enough EVOO to thinly coat the bottom.

Brown the ground meat in a skillet. Drain grease if necessary. Add the cooked onions and garlic. Salt and pepper if you so desire. (use sea salt!)

Prepare the white sauce by melting 1/4 cup real butter in saucepan. Once melted, add 2-3 heaping tablespoons of flour. Stir continuously until the flour is absorbed by the butter and cook just long enough to eliminate the "raw flour" taste. This is the cook's judgment more than a technical term.

Add a little of the milk at a time, constantly stirring. As the sauce begins to thicken, add a little more milk, and continue to stir until all 2 cups of the milk are added. To adjust the consistency of the sauce, add more or less milk. Continue to stir and cook on low heat until the sauce is smooth and creamy. (some lumps are o.k. as they will diminish as cooking continues and become absorbed when added to the meat)

Combine sauce mixture and meat mixture in a serving bowl.

Serve open faced on toast, biscuits, or rolls...

bon appetit M

Using all fresh ingredients will make this a delicious and more healthful meal.