What's Cookin'?

In honor of the fact that today was the first time in a long time I've actually made a meal from scratch, I thought I'd share the recipe with you. It may sound gross, but it's quite delish'. It can be doctored up with onion, garlic and/or oregano. I prefer to keep it simple with just salt and pepper.

This is a family fave, passed down from my paternal grandmother who was not a great cook, and despite the original name, Italian Delight, she was not Italian, nor is there much in the recipe to suggest an origin in Italy.

So, without further adieu, I present what I have renamed Ghetto Casserole:

3/4 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup corn (canned or frozen - fresh may be good too, but I've never tried it)
8 oz Velveeta
Salt
Pepper

In a pan, cook ground beef, cooking it as you would for tacos. Salt and pepper to taste. Drain fat, set aside.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the elbow macaroni until tender. Drain and add the cooked meat, corn, tomato soup and Velveeta. Stir until mixed. Season as desired.

That's it - like I said, probably sounds gross, but it's quite tasty. The beauty of it is you can play with the quantities adding meat or macaroni if you prefer one to the other. It can be prepared in advance and reheated although I prefer it freshly made.

I believe the original recipe called for onion, and perhaps oregano (thus making it Italian), but it's long gone by now. I've looked on Campbell's and Kraft's websites and they don't have a record of it. For all I know, it originated in the mind of my grandmother.

Give it a try! I'll post another recipe next Tuesday.

What are you having for dinner?