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One of the most popular recipes on my website all winter long is my Classic Tomato Beef & Macaroni Soup. Thousands of people per day are stopping in here on the Kitchen Magpie just for that recipe alone. Crazy, eh? Everybody loves a comfort food classic.
The reason I bring that recipe up is there were a few comments that called my soup “goulash” and on Facebook, the term “chop suey” was thrown around, which of course, puzzled me as goulash is a traditional Hungarian dish that doesn’t resemble soup at all and although Chop Suey is one of my favorite Chinese dishes, it also doesn’t resemble soup. I dug a little deeper into the matter, and low and behold, apparently the term is used for a beef and macaroni casserole done in a skillet, which still isn’t a soup, but I guess the beef, tomatoes, and macaroni part is right.
Ever since then, I’ve been wanting to make the real version of macaroni chop suey. This comfort food calls to my soul. The soup is in my top five favorite soups ever and my entire family eats it, so I figured that a casserole would be a hit.
Another food item that has always been a hit with my family is Catelli Pasta and I’m happy to share that for 2016 I’ll be bringing you recipes and meal ideas here on The Kitchen Magpie that use their amazing products. I feel fortunate to be helping this Canadian company throughout the year learn how families today embrace this universally popular food – not to mention work with a company whose products I use on a regular basis.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll already know that Catelli’s whole wheat Healthy Harvest Pasta has been our family’s favorite for years. You’ve already seen me use it in many recipes – and I’ve also encouraged you to use whole-wheat pasta as well.
So what better way to start the year as part of the #CatelliFamilies than with a recipe using Catelli Healthy Harvest?
I wanted to ramp up the comfort food level with this skillet dish and turn it into a casserole that’s baked with cheese. While I appreciate a lovely skillet dish, there’s just something missing for me and usually it’s cheese. I’m a cheeseaholic, I know. But this macaroni chop suey begs for two layers of cheese baked into it.
And what a difference it makes! After prepping the sauce in the frying pan you combine it with the noodles, place half in a large casserole, top with the cheese then place the rest of the chop suey on top. Layer the very top with the last of the cheese, bake for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts, and serve!
I’ve said all along that whole wheat pasta holds up better in everything from soup to casseroles and this time is no exception. Don’t get me wrong, there is always a time for white flour pasta – and I’m sure I’ll be coming up with a recipe later on this year for it! But when you are looking for a fast, healthier dinner, whole wheat pasta is the way.
I’m looking forward to the next year of supporting Catelli Pasta and sharing all of their recipes with you! With that said, who else is a big fan of pasta? What are some of your favorite recipes to make for your family with pasta? If you can, share them on social media with the hashtag #CatelliFamilies so that we can all see your Catelli pasta creations! I’m looking forward to seeing your photos!
Happy cooking everyone!
Love,
Karlynn
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Dinner-in-a-Hurry Macaroni Chop Suey
Ingredients
- 1 gram box of Catelli Healthy Harvest Fusilli Rotini or Macaroni 375
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped optional
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ounces can crushed tomatoes 28
- 1 millilitre can tomato sauce 398
- 1/3 cup of tomato paste or ketchup
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons Worchestershire Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt to taste
- 2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions to firm. Drain, rinse under hot water and set aside.
- Place the ground beef in a large deep skillet or saucepan and add the onion and bell pepper, if using. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the onion is softened and the ground beef is no longer pink and is fully browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer, until lightly browned.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the tomato paste or ketchup, the sugar, Worchestershire sauce and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce mixture begins to boil. Taste and add salt or more sugar as needed. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add the drained macaroni to the sauce, mix well, and heat through.
- Quickly transfer half to a 4 quart casserole dish, sprinkle one cup of mozza cheese over the top. Spoon remaining half over top, then sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top.
- Bake in a 375 °F oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese on top has melted.
- Remove from the oven, serve and enjoy.
Nutrition
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Servings : 8
Dinner-in-a-Hurry Macaroni Chop Suey
Courtney McCrea says
Sorry to be picky, but I think I noticed an error…in the list of ingredients you have a can of crushed tomatoes but I think it should be diced tomatoes.
Deanna Rempel says
Yum! We call it Roman Holiday dish in our house.
The Kitchen Magpie says
Another name!! I like that one Mark Wicklund made me laugh!
Mark Wicklund says
We call in funeral hot dish around here