Red Head, Yellow Dog

Radio Dish

 I love things that are passed down. I love the history behind it, the stories and the feelings that are always attached to it.

I love the ring my mom gave my for my 21st birthday – the first nice piece of jewelry she had ever received.

I love my red hair that I got from my grandpa

And I love recipes. I love the recipes that taste like home. The most infamous recipe in our family is radio dish. My great grandmother got this recipe during the depression. It’s called radio dish because, well, she heard it on the radio. It’s made of simple, inexpensive ingredients. It isn’t a glamorous meal, but to me it’s home.

When I e-mailed my mom for the recipe, this is what I got:

“Here’s the radio dish recipe:  Sliced raw potatoes
                                          Sliced onions
                                          Sliced green peppers
                                          l lb. ground beef
                                          Rice
                                         3 cans tomato soup (original recipe said 2 but 3 is better)
                                         1/4 cup water

                                         Repeat layers in 13 inch casserole dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 3 hours at 275-300 degrees.”

Not too specific! Here are the quantities I used: 3 potatoes, 2 green peppers, 1 medium onion, 2 cans of tomato soup, 1 package of soy crumbles and 1,25 cups of brown rice.

Apparently the Smart Ground was on sale, but any of the frozen crumbles work too!

Here’s it out of the package. For some reason I thought people might be interested to see what it looks like…

The soup:

In the casserole dish, pre soup:

Post soup and crumbles:

After being baked for 3 hours:

I really can’t even tell you how good this tasted. I’m feeling a little under the weather and this was JUST what I needed. It is just what I remembered it tasting like!! It’s just so warm and  full of comfort. I love it.

My salad had spinach, mushrooms, and yellow squash with balsamic vinegar and peanut sauce on top.

Thankfully, this makes a LOT of food which makes the 3 hours of waiting all worth it! And also means that I will be happy with leftovers for a long while!

I have a Physical Therapy appointment at 7:30 AM tomorrow. Blech! Can anyone tell me what to expect?? Will I need to shower again after it ? I hope not (have to go to work directly from PT!).  I’m going to get a foam roller from them. They said they will be able to tell me what density I need…plus the rollers there are waaaay less expensive then other places I’ve looked.

What’s a family tradition that always makes you feel the warmth of home??