(Phaysis) » macaroni http://www.phaysis.com One bulb shy... Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:00:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The Macaroni Experiment http://www.phaysis.com/2008/12/29/the-macaroni-experiment/ http://www.phaysis.com/2008/12/29/the-macaroni-experiment/#comments Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:18:00 +0000 Shawn http://skolnosk/wordpress/?p=198 I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t cook; if ever a chance came up to cook, and I actually took it, I’d be the first to brag about myself and my culinary activities. That’s because it’s a once-in-a-while thing for me. Most of the people on this earth cook every single day, but each time I cook, it’s so rare…it’s a special event.

Tonight, I went by a suggestion from a coworker. We were talking about our holiday exploits and the kind of stuff we cooked up (I made pork chops one night and pot roast for xmas day — like woah). I mentioned that I was thinking about taking a half pound of ground beef and fixing it with macaroni and cheese. What he suggested was twelve orders of magnitude better than the bachelor-chow I was planning. I’m sure most of you know this dish, hell it may even be comfort food in your family, but it’s shit-simple and incredibly good.

Beefy Macaroni and Veggies
This is a single-skillet meal; makes 2 servings. Scale up to fit your needs or tastes.

  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
  • 2/3 cup diced tomatos, canned or fresh-chopped like mine
  • 1/3 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 can tomato paste (or a few squirts of ketchup if your cupboard is barren like mine)
  • shredded parmesan

Brown the beef in a large skillet; season as desired. Set it to the side to drain like I did or scoot it to the edge of the skillet. Then dump the macaroni and a cup of water in the skillet to begin boiling. Then add everything else: diced tomatos, tomato paste (or ketchup, tsk-tsk), peppers, onions, garlic. Stir everything, then let that simmer, stirring occasionally for 7 to 10 minutes or so until the macaroni is done, the veggies are soft and semi-translucent, and the water is absorbed. Pull off a serving and top with shredded parmesan cheese. Serve with a side salad for a crunchy alternation.

I completely surprised myself. Tons better than Hamburger Helper(tm), and a heap better than my unoriginal bachelor meal plan. Another meal to my repertoire!

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