American Chop Suey

I have no idea where the name for this dish came from, it's something my Nana used to make using condensed soup, onion, ground beef and macaroni. I'm not knocking it, I gobbled the stuff up as a child but, it's not something I would serve myself now. I recently made a macaroni dish that reminded me so much of it that I decided to go ahead and try to create a healthier version and with this week's share I had plenty to work with.

I gathered the ingredients:

I'm trying to make this as much a "one pot" meal as I can. So first I boiled the pasta. While that was happening,  I put the food processor to work - this is because I find it's best with my children to get things as fine as possible in a casserole. So I pulsed up those peppers and onions. Once the pasta was in the strainer I threw some oil in the pot and added those peppers and onions.

Now that all the water from the vegetables has evaporated, I add the garlic followed by the ground beef. I am not going to tell you what mix to use here, I grind my own and it tends to be on the lean side. You don't want too much fat because it's not going to get drained off and the dish shouldn't be oily but, you also don't want the beef to get dry either. Add the chopped tomatoes once the beef had browned (yes, I used my food processor again, it's already going to need to be washed.)

Once the tomatoes are in add the can of tomato sauce. If I had more tomatoes I would have used all fresh and crushed them in the food processor, but it wasn't an option. Add the basil and oregano. I gave everything a stir let it simmer for a minute or two. Time to mix in the pasta! If things are too dry at this point add some water. 

Taste for salt and pepper and serve! Otherwise you could top with mozzarella and place it under the broiler for a couple of minutes until it gets all melty then serve. 

Steffanie's American Chop Suey

Ingredients:

13.25 oz. whole wheat pasta (rotini or macaroni work well)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 green bell pepper, chopped fine

1 red bell pepper, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 lb. ground beef

14 1/2 oz. tomatoes, diced

14 1/2 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

2. In the same pot heat 1 tbsp. oil and saute the peppers and onion until translucent and most of the water has evaporated. Add the garlic and saute 30 sec. more. Add the ground beef, cook until browned. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the spices and taste for salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta, combine well. Check for salt and pepper one last time and serve.