Woman Connected to Recipe: Mildred Phillips
Submitted by Nina Sharma (Mildred’s granddaughter)
About Mildred:
Mildred Phillips, my maternal grandmother, was a terrible cook. She burned everything. I remember her making us hamburgers one summer afternoon in Des Moines, and they were so terrible that she threw them out and we drove to Hardee's.
Mildred was born in 1912 in upstate NY, and became a nurse in St. Louis where she met my grandfather circa 1934 -- just as the Great Depression was getting under way. Grandma would laugh with her whole body, and you knew she was in stitches when she stopped making sound and only her shoulders shook.
Mildred had 3 children who bore her 7 grandchildren who bore her 10 posthumous great-grandchildren.
About Mildred’s Casserole:
Grandma's Casserole is the only thing she could consistently cook (aside from gingersnap cookies). It's a wildly simple, cheap, and hearty meal with a stick-to-your-bones quality and a tangy taste that powered her kids through the lean years of WWII, and powered my generation through late nights in college dorms. Thankfully, her kids were much better cooks than she, but they all passed down Grandma's casserole -- as an homage to her, to her thriftiness, and to her zest for life.
Mildred's Casserole
INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion - chopped
1 can Campbell's cream of celery soup
1 cup grated cheddar
8 oz noodles (spaghetti or egg work best)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the ground beef with the chopped onion. Drain fat (or don't!). Mix in soup and cheddar.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain well. Mix with meat & cheese mixture. Pour into a casserole dish. Sprinkle more cheese on top.
Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
Add more cheese (any kind you wish) if desired. Return to oven until cheese melts.
