Mock Chow Mein

In all the editions of our family cookbook, I'm amazed that Mock Chow Mein never made it yet! It's been a family staple that Mary Sue made for me right from the get-go in Mrs. Murphy's little upstairs apartment in Highland Park. It may have been the first meal she made me? I loved it. It's one of her favorites, too. She got it from her Grandma Pearl, so if you prepare it, that goes back 4 generations. Anyway, I go to make it this morning, so we'll have lunches this week and look in our family cookbook and it's not there! YIKES! So here it is:

1 pound of hamburger crumble and fried (cook on medium heat and be careful not to burn it)
1/2 cup chopped celery (2 stalks is fine)
1/2 cup onions chopped (Crap. This is optional I suppose.)
1 can mushroom soup
1 mushroom soup can full of uncooked regular rice (Instant or regular. Instant takes 5 minutes and is your mother's preference cuz it's quick. Regular rice takes 20 minutes and is my preference because to me it tastes fuller. If you use instant rice use 1/2 the water.)
2 1/2 mushroom cans of water (with regular rice)
1/4 cup soy sauce (lite is fine)
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
While your hamburger is frying up, chop up the onions and celery. When the hamburger is half done, push the hamburger aside in the pan and add the celery and onions and continue to fry them til they are tender, a few minutes. Mix all the above ingredients together and lower the heat and simmer until the rice is done. If it gets too dry as the rice cooks, add more water.

Serve:
With chow mein noodles (Sticks, to the uninitiated!) and soy sauce so each person can add enough to their taste preference.

Variation:
You can use cream of celery soup instead of mushroom soup if you prefer. Today I used cream of celery soup cuz I was out of cream of mushroom.

When eating this meal, remember your mother.

Let me know if you try this staple of the Wall Clan.