a favorite breakfast for decades

We call this S.O.S. - probably short for "Stuff" on a Shingle that Dad brought back from his days in the Marines.  I've been eating it about once a month for as long as I remember.
To serve 2-3:  melt 4 Tbs. butter in a medium saucepan, saute in it a couple Tbs. of chopped onion (white, yellow, green, red - whatever) and a clove of chopped garlic for a few minutes.  Add in 4 Tbs. flour and cook on medium for a few minutes.  Whisk in 2 c. milk, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened.  Cut up 2 oz. of dried beef (this is made by Hormel and comes in a glass jar, find it in the canned meats section of the grocery store) and stir in.  Season to taste.  The beef is fairly salty - I usually add ground white pepper, maybe some garlic and onion powder - or salt.  Serve over toasted bread.

I like mine 'plain' like this, some members of my family get fancy and add sliced mushrooms.