Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy; Creamed Spinach

So one day a few years back I was watching 30 Minute Meals and the theme for the episode was making your own TV Dinner. She was making Salisbury Steak and I thought, "People make that on purpose?" I grew up thinking Salisbury Steak was a mushy, soggy piece of meat covered with not-so-good gravy and always came in frozen meals. As I watched the episode, it seemed like a dish that would be pretty tasty and couldn't hurt to try it. I adapt the meal slightly for my family but it's still delicious. It's a great comforting "home-cooked" meal and is super quick and easy. My entire family loves it!

I serve the Salisbury Steak with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The creamed spinach I now make off the top of my head but I got the original idea from my son's Emeril Kids' Cookbook.

Recipe (Serves 4) (You can double the first 4 ingredients for more meat)

Salisbury Steak

1 - 1 1/4 lb ground beef
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 T Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 onion, finely chopped or grated
olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped or sliced
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 c beef stock

Spinach

2 boxes frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1/2 t thyme
1 t Essence (I use Emeril's Original or Bayou Blast)
1/2 t salt
2 T butter
2 T flour
1-2 c heavy cream (I eyeball this based on how rich I want it that day)

For Salisbury Steak:
Combine meat, Worcestershire, steak seasoning, and onion. Form in to 4 1-inch thick oval patties. Heat a skillet over med-high heat and add 1 T olive oil. Add meat patties and cook about 6 minutes on each side until outside in browned and caramelized. (for a double meat recipe you'll want to do this in batches). Remove patties to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Add an additional T of olive oil to the pan along with the butter. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook stirring with a whisk for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in stock and cook another minute or so to thicken. Pour gravy over patties and enjoy.

For Spinach:
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, essence and salt and saute a couple minutes more. Add thawed, drained spinach and stir to combine. Sprinkle in flour and cook a couple more minutes. Add the cream, bring to a bubble, and then reduce heat to low. Cook 15-20 minutes (I usually prepare the Salisbury steak at this time), stirring occasionally.