I've shared before that I had nine siblings growing up, though being the 2nd youngest, don't recall all of us being at home at the same time. I don't think w actually were as my oldest brother was in the army when my last sibling was born, and by the time he came home I think the oldest sister had moved out on her own. I recall hearing a few sisters also lived briefly with my grandma as well after they graduated high school. Regardless, there were a lot of mouths to feed and while we were not technically poor (or maybe we were but didn't kow0, there were lean times and melas to be stretched. The basic rice hotdish recipe was sort of a real hamburger stretcher, and a family favorite still made for potluck gatherings. It's more a ratio recipe that my mom scaled up or down. I'm sure I shred before but thinking about all the odds and ends vegetables in my refrigerator made me think of sharing again.
2 Cups Long Grain Rice
6 Cups Water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 yellow onion
1 pound hamburger
The beef was usually cooked with the onion, the fat drained, and into this huge yellow pyrex bowl it went. The rice, the water, and the soy sauce added. It was then baked in a 350 degree oven, covered, miraculously her cast iron dutch oven cover fit the bowl perfectly. Then every 20 minutes it was stirred, for an hour, then baked another 20-30 minutes with the cover off. It was steamy and salty and oniony, and made a mountain of the stuff. She often made it if there was going to be a school release day as the leftovers were heated in a big frying pan, or the dutch oven, on the stove for lunch the next day, literally serving us for pennies a meal. We liked it leftover as well as it had what I now would call a fried rice taste. It's funny, most of my siblings kids love this hotdish as well, but not so much our spouses. DH eats it, but just would never request it.
When I make it now, I usually cut in half, and use even less soy sauce. I load mine with diced celery and carrots, and if I have other odd vegetables, will throw them in as well. If my older daughter ill be eating, I leave out the hamburger, and add even more vegetables. I'll top mine with th fried chow mein noodles as well, also wehn DD2 is not with us as I think they have egg in them. It is about as no fuss as you can get and another good way to load up an inexpensive dish with vegetables that need using up. I did not claim the yellow pyrex bowl-my sister has it, but it was supposed to go to her son, who really wanted grandmas bowl.
I bake mine in a white corningware casserole dish with a lid. Note this does not work in a crock pot. The rice just become complete mush. Because of the long oven time, my mom, and I now as well, try and double up baking items. A cake might be baked at the same time, or loaves of bread-usually frozen dough risen earlier. It's a good kitchen warmer meal. What about you? Do you have any childhood favorites that have moved with you to adulthood? Is it a generational ting like in mine where children love, but spouses are not fans? Did you modify them for more modern taste or for health reasons?
My mom was not a very good cook and I started cooking (at least partially) our meals often by the time I was 11. There are very few things I make that Mom made, though she did make a killer meatloaf and I do mine the same way she did hers.
ReplyDeleteMy mom worked full time for as long as I could remember so we all had to help with meal prep. She wasn't a bad cook, just a bland cook.
DeleteYou've got me beat- I'm the oldest of 6. The last 2 were born when I was a sophomore and junior in college. Dad was never without work but Mom stayed home until the last 2 were in middle school. Mom was a great baker- a cook not so much. We had hamburgers,meat loaf, fried chicken, pork chops, and beef roasts every Sunday that Dad cooked while we were at Sunday school and then he joined us at church and we had a nice meal with carrots, potatoes, etc later. He didn't care much for casseroles so we rarely had any that I can remember. When I was in junior high we started having homemade pizza every Saturday night- Mom mde 2 big ones with ground beef and few veggies LOL. In the summer, one of us would walk to the corner store, buy a variety of deli cold cuts, a 6 pack of Pepsi, and a big bag of chips- that was lunch 5 days a week. We always had plenty of good food. Rice was never on the menu though- we were a potato family. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeletePS forgot a loaf of Wonder bread for our deli meat LOL. In the later years, Mom shopped at Aldi and bought generics.
DeleteMy mom too was a much bette baker than cook-her eals were good, but bland. Salt an dpepper were her only spices. We at a lot of PB and J, and bologni and summer sausage, but not somuch deli quality meat. No wonder bread, but the store brand cheap white bread-perfect for PB and J.
DeleteI so relate to this post! My mom is no longer with us for me to ask, but I believe she must have gotten a Campbell’s recipe book when she was first married because so many of her recipes are soup based. Tuna noodle casserole, meatloaf, stuffed peppers, and a ground meat and gravy “hot dish” (a term we don’t use around here but I like to borrow). It’s all pure comfort food to me and while my kids love it all, my husband isn’t a huge fan. His mom worked and went through nursing school when he was growing up so his dad often cooked vats of tasteless spaghetti and other things that he feels no nostalgia towards. His dad was really ahead of his time though, as far as equality and doing his part around the house. I really think he only had decent food at his grandma’s house. I also think that’s why he does his rouge shops because as a kid there weren’t too many treats and he’s making up for it now. I find our personal relationship to food fascinating. JoAnn
ReplyDeleteWe had a lotof hotsishes with sous as well-tuna htdish the main one, whihc again, if it wasn't for the soup would have been so bland. My dad was the Sunday brunch man-our avorite meal of the week.
DeleteWe had the same meal multiple times growing up. My husband and I make it about twice a month.
ReplyDeleteYoy grew up wirh rice htdish too! I don't know anyone else who had this-certianly none of our spuses.
DeleteMy mom cooked for the first 10 years or so of my childhood. Then my dad stopped coaching high school football (he was also a high school teacher) & they traded & he picked up all of the cooking. He was terrible at first. Truly terrible. He became a really great cook & is now the primary cook in the family - she does the baking.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lot of tacos, french bread pizza, spaghetti, etc. Nothing fancy but all tasty. We still make lots of tacos at my house, because it's one of the rare foods that everyone can/will eat.
Like anything, cooking shouldn't have gender roles. Myhusband thinks he's a good cook, but not somuch. My son though is so good. I love when he visits as he'll take over a few meals.
DeleteThis seems lovely, thanks for sharing. We have a lot of rice in our house.
ReplyDeleteLaila
www.lailanblog.blogspot.co.uk
Ihave always loved rice. It is such a nice additiona to a meal.
DeleteI like the sound of your family recipe. Right up my alley! In our house it was potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes. Sunday roast with - guess what! We also ate a lot of lamb (neck - scrag end) stew with dumplings and more potatoes. Didn't do me any harm and my kids used to love eating at nannie's - although they didn't get to do it very often not living in the same country. And I swear the would murder for a Yorkshire pudding - which I just can't make!
ReplyDeleteOh yes-potatoes as well. I like her mashed, but she would make homemade scalloped potatoes and they were so bland, and starchy, and just awful! I'd love to try and make a yorkshire pudding-smothered in gravy it sounds so good.
DeleteBoy am I going to try this one. I love rice in any form.
ReplyDeleteIt's an easy on e that can't go wrong.
DeleteI don't remember having rice except in rice pudding. We ate nothing that Daddy did not like. And, we never, ever had a casserole. I do cook things from my childhood--spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, potato salad, fried chicken, salmon croquettes--all using her recipes. My mother was a great cook.
ReplyDeleteWE didn't really have spaghetti until I was a bit older-I think my parent shad it somewhere, and realized how tasty and inexpensive it was and it got added.
DeleteWhen we had family get togethers, my moms cousin always made what they called a tin can hotdish. It was hamburger and onion and rice, like yours, but then there were cans of cream of whatever soups and cans of vegetables and mushrooms and seasoned with soy sauce and the crunchy chow mein noodles on top. She would cook it in one of those old style electric roasting pans. It was expected and everyone loved it. The thought of all those canned foods doesn't appeal to me today, personally.
ReplyDeleteI make a different version using the hamburger but with only a cup of rice (I put in extra), onion, handful of slivered almonds, cream of chicken soup, soy sauce and topped with the chow mein noodles. I started adding water chestnuts and I really like the added crunch. There must be hundreds of hotdish recipes that call for hamburger, onion and rice. Just in Minnesota. (I think I know what's for supper tomorrow) Ranee
There as another name for the rice hotdish with soup, but darn if I can remember what it was called. Maybe one was called Rice hotdish, the version I mentioned, and the other Chow mein hotdish. We Minnesotans know how to make a darn good hotdish, Rae.
DeleteSounds good to me. I'm bored with cooking these days. Need new recipes to try.
ReplyDeleteI am too! I keep looking through old books and my card file to see what looks good.
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