This is definitely comfort food for me. My Grandmother Inez would make a meal just like this one and I loved every bit of it. I had this recipe memorized by the time I was 10 years old. I told it to the Lewis Gale Hospital cafeteria staff when I was in the hospital when I was 10 years old. Grandma’s original recipe called for a can of Campbell’s Old fashioned tomato rice soup, but that is hard to find now days so I just use plain tomato soup and add about 1/2 cup of cooked rice to it.
This is a fried hamburger patty (local hamburger from Frontier meats in Dayton) with a Creole sauce made from tomato soup with rice, onion, green pepper and a little bit of thyme. The butter beans and corn shown with it were also delicious and were local from Massanutten Produce in Penn Laird. These hamburgers are good with any side of your choice.
1 pound hamburger, formed into patties
1 medium onion, sliced or chopped
1/2 medium green pepper, sliced or chopped
2 Tbs shortening, or oil
1 can Campbell’s old fashioned tomato soup, or 1 can tomato soup with 1/2 cup cooked rice added
1/3-1/2 water
1/8 tsp thyme
Fry hamburger patties to desired doneness,
Cook onion and pepper in shortening or oil until tender. Add soup, water and thyme to make a sauce.
Cook over low heat about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve over sizzling hamburgers.
Makes about 1 2/3 cup.