Recipe (The way my family ate it) Cut up 1 small potato into large thumb size dices. Boil on med. boil for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water. Add teaspoon salt, teaspoon of pepper. Add 2 large tablespoon of butter then turn heat to medium. While stirring, add 2 tablespoons of flour in a little at a time. Keep stirring softly until all the flour is all dissolved and it makes thick gravy. Turn heat on low. Add 1 can of lima beans. Do not drain. Gruel will thin down a bit. Place lid on pot and let sit on low heat for 10 more minutes until thick.

By now the potatoes will just be starting to loose their square shape and start to look more rounded, but still firm in the middle. This is exactly what you want because the outer edges of the potatoes that mix with the flour water, is actually what makes the flavor of the gruel so good. The dish will turn out to be 1/3 gravy and 1/3 potatoes and 1/3 Lima beans.

To ad even more flavor, drain the lima beans and replace the bean juice with chicken stock.

Serving Suggestions:

You serve each person a full bowl of their very own. A cottage style bowl that is thick made of ceramic or pottery. These bowls keep the heat in best and keep the gravy from cooling to quick.

Serve with a huge wedge of warm crusted homemade bread. No fork needed for this meal! You just sop up the gravy, beans and chunks of potatoes with the bread and your fingers! Wash it down with a cold glass of milk. You just cannot eat this without the bread!