HMT - Hamburger, Macaroni, and Tomato

[dragoon811]

 Whoo! While, admittedly, this is a fairly easy dish, it's darn tasty. Instead of being just "spaghetti sauce on the wrong noodles", you'll find that the texture is different. It's warm a nice starchy chewy, tasty, with a little zing. The sauce really sings in this application, since the noodles will pick up it's notes.

Make spaghetti sauce using this recipe:
1lb ground beef
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 medium to small onion, diced.
1 baby carrot, minced
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
garlic powder, Garlic&Herb Mrs Dash, Salt, Pepper, Oregano, and Sage to taste.

 

Heat up the pan, and toss in about a tablespoon of olive oil along with the minced garlic, carrot, and diced onion. Cook these until the onions and garlic are translucent - add the beef, and brown it up with a little salt (4 grinds) and pepper (7 grinds, fine.)
Toss in the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes (juice included, no straining!).
Stir it all up, and add 3 shakes of garlic powder, 3 shakes of the Garlic & Herb Mrs Dash, 2 more grinds of salt, another 4 grinds of pepper, and sage and oregano until you can smell them.

Now simmer away while you prep the noodles and oven. Don't forget to taste as you go. :)

Don't worry about thickening the sauce with tomato paste or something. The macaroni will have enough starch left after draining to do so for you. ;)

While simmering the sauce, preheat the oven to 350 degrees (f), and cook up a bag of macaroni noodles. :) (omnomnom)

Since this is getting baked afterwards, only cook the noodles to about al dente. (firm when you bite it, but not hard. A little chewy.)

Drain the macaroni noodles, and mix the sauce into them.

Now, two ways:

A. pour into 4 little baking dishes and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
B. pour into one large casserole dish (not a deep round one) and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Serve, top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!