Meals make Memories

Today I am taking part in a carnival, hosted by Megan at Fried Okra. She has challenged us to write down our memories about a food story, a memorable meal... I have been thinking about what I could write about since she posted that this was coming up. I started thinking about the meals I had as a child and it made me remember sitting around a table that had aluminum legs and a fake marble top. (I was born in 1960 and I'm sure it was "in" at the time!) I remember the many chips that were in one end of the table top because my sister Terri decided it would be fun to take a table knife and pound it on the table. I remember the whole family always sat around the table and talked. We always opened with prayer and when the meal was done my Dad would read from the Bible (us kids thought he read too long) and then closed with prayer. My Dad was a farmer and our meals were usually meat and potatoes meals, with vegetables and fruits my Mom had canned or frozen. I did think of one meal that was a favorite at our house, that was not the standard meat and potatoes. It was a casserole and Mom served it with applesauce and bread on the side. Here is the recipe for it:
Casserole Delicious
1 onion chopped
1 # hamburg
4 stalks celery
1/2 cup white rice
1 1/2 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Brown hamburg and onion, season to taste. Simmer with rice, celery, and water 10-15 minutes; add soups. Place all ingredients in casserole. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
This must have been a popular recipe in our area during the 60's and 70's because when Bob and I got married, his Mom gave me the same recipe and said it was one of his favorites. It is something I still make at times; however 2 of my kids don't like it because of the celery, so they were never happy to see it on the table when they were home. As a matter of fact, the recipe card I just copied this from has been altered by one of them, to read "Happy Casserole". Believe me - she (Laura) was being sarcastic when she wrote happy!
I do have one other memorable meal to tell you about. When Bob and I were first dating I decided to make a nice lunch for him. I had a day off, and his work was near my home, so I told him to come over for his lunch break. I was a pretty good cook, but for some reason I decided to grill for him. Now - I had never grilled anything before. You can see where this is going right? Yes - the meat was burned. He was a good sport and laughed about it. I don't remember what else I served him. It must have been okay, because he kept dating me and we have now been married for almost 26 years. This did work out alright in the end. I have been teased about this for years, but when it is time to grill anything - he does it!
Thanks Megan for hosting this. It's been fun to bring back those memories. To read some other memories go to FriedOkra.