Chinese Hamburger Casserole

My mom made this when I was a kid.  I made it again today and it was a hit with the whole family!

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cans mushroom soup
1/4 tsp pepper
chow mein noodles

Brown and rinse hamburger then saute onions in same pan.  Add all remaining ingredients except chow mein noodles and mix together.  Pour into 9 by 13 pan and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes then remove cover and bake an additional 30 minutes.  The original recipe says to top with chow mein noodles at this point and bake an additional 10 minutes.  I just pull it out after the hour and serve it over chow mein noodles.  This prevents soggy noodles in leftovers...if there ever were any :)
Another thing I do to conserve expensive meat is use less hamburger than called for.  ( I buy five pound chubs when on sale, cut them into 8 sections, bag and freeze, then I use the sections like I would a pound...)