American Chop Suey

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Andy M.

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In response to a request, here's my ACS recipe.



AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

1 Lb Ground Beef
1 Ea Onion
1 Ea Green Pepper
2 Cl Garlic
3 Tb Tomato Paste
28 Oz Canned Tomato
1 Lb Elbow Macaroni


Brown the beef in a 5.5-quart sauté pan over medium high heat.

Add the onion, pepper and garlic and sauté until softened.

Add the paste and sauté for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the tomato to the sautéed meat vegetables. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the pasta according to package directions.

When the pasta is cooked, drain off the water and mix the pasta with the vegetable and meat mixture. Cook together for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavor of the sauce to cook into the pasta.

Serve with grated cheese.
 
My similar recipe included celery. When served over a pasta with cheese, I called it... um.. Italian Chop Suey. Over rice was American Chop Suey.
 
In response to a request, here's my ACS recipe.



AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

1 Lb Ground Beef
1 Ea Onion
1 Ea Green Pepper
2 Cl Garlic
3 Tb Tomato Paste
28 Oz Canned Tomato
1 Lb Elbow Macaroni


Brown the beef in a 5.5-quart sauté pan over medium high heat.

Add the onion, pepper and garlic and sauté until softened.

Add the paste and sauté for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the tomato to the sautéed meat vegetables. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the pasta according to package directions.

When the pasta is cooked, drain off the water and mix the pasta with the vegetable and meat mixture. Cook together for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavor of the sauce to cook into the pasta.

Serve with grated cheese.
Is that 28 oz. crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes or either will do?
 
Everyone makes their American Goulash a bit differently. I'd be interested in seeing your favorites.

Mine uses rotini, or cavatapi noodles, tomato puree, tomato paste, fresh, chopped onion, basil, oregano, thyme, sweet red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, a touch of cayenne pepper, browned ground beef, with the dry pasta cooked right in the sauce. The sauce is a bit soupy to start with. The pasta ansorbs the excess water, and sauce flavor, and adds starch that thickens te sauce to perfection, and causes it to adhere beautifully to the pasta. It's a rich, and satisfying meal.

My Mom's goulash was canned, stewed, or crushed tomatoes, ground beef, chopped onion, and elbo macaroni.

Seeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Everyone makes their American Goulash a bit differently. I'd be interested in seeing your favorites.

Mine uses rotini, or cavatapi noodles, tomato puree, tomato paste, fresh, chopped onion, basil, oregano, thyme, sweet red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, a touch of cayenne pepper, browned ground beef, with the dry pasta cooked right in the sauce. The sauce is a bit soupy to start with. The pasta ansorbs the excess water, and sauce flavor, and adds starch that thickens te sauce to perfection, and causes it to adhere beautifully to the pasta. It's a rich, and satisfying meal.

My Mom's goulash was canned, stewed, or crushed tomatoes, ground beef, chopped onion, and elbo macaroni.

Seeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

That's exactly how my mom made it and how I make it as well.
 
This dish has more names in the USA than any other I can think of. American Chop Suey, slumgullion, beefaroni, goulash, Johnny Marzetti, etc. Call it whatever you want.
I grew up in Michigan and never heard of this before I joined this forum. My mom was from Virginia, though, so I guess she wasn't familiar with it and never made it.
 
I grew up in Michigan and never heard of this before I joined this forum. My mom was from Virginia, though, so I guess she wasn't familiar with it and never made it.

If your mom never made it and your school cafeteria never served it, you wouldn't know about it.

My first exposure was in school, as was my daughter's. When I was first divorced my kids came for dinner one night a week and I asked what they liked, my eldest asked for ACS. We worked out the recipe together until the taste triggered her taste memory.

After SO and her family came into my life, I made it for them and they fell in love with it too. I made this recipe every year on Halloween for my daughter and grandson when they came to trick or treat. When we were going to Aruba every year, I was required to make a huge batch of ACS before her family arrived and they would go to town on it like they hadn't eaten in days.

It certainly isn't a gourmet dish but it seems to trigger some positive feeling in a lot of folks.
 
If your mom never made it and your school cafeteria never served it, you wouldn't know about it.

My first exposure was in school, as was my daughter's. When I was first divorced my kids came for dinner one night a week and I asked what they liked, my eldest asked for ACS. We worked out the recipe together until the taste triggered her taste memory.

After SO and her family came into my life, I made it for them and they fell in love with it too. I made this recipe every year on Halloween for my daughter and grandson when they came to trick or treat. When we were going to Aruba every year, I was required to make a huge batch of ACS before her family arrived and they would go to town on it like they hadn't eaten in days.

It certainly isn't a gourmet dish but it seems to trigger some positive feeling in a lot of folks.
Sure, I can see that. It's quick, easy, feeds a crowd and has a bunch of tasty ingredients. My mom learned to cook primarily from my dad's mother and their German-American family. Except for the ubiquitous spaghetti and meatballs, we didn't have a lot of pasta growing up.
 
Everyone makes their American Goulash a bit differently. I'd be interested in seeing your favorites.



Mine uses rotini, or cavatapi noodles, tomato puree, tomato paste, fresh, chopped onion, basil, oregano, thyme, sweet red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, a touch of cayenne pepper, browned ground beef, with the dry pasta cooked right in the sauce. The sauce is a bit soupy to start with. The pasta ansorbs the excess water, and sauce flavor, and adds starch that thickens te sauce to perfection, and causes it to adhere beautifully to the pasta. It's a rich, and satisfying meal.



My Mom's goulash was canned, stewed, or crushed tomatoes, ground beef, chopped onion, and elbo macaroni.



Seeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Your Mom's is what we do. Yumm. Simple perfection.
 
Your Mom's is what we do. Yumm. Simple perfection.

Exactly. That's what I love about this dish; its simplicity. Yet it bursts with flavor. When my mom made it, she would always make a big pot and I just kept eating and eating and eating. I couldn't get enough.

I need to make it soon.
 
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