Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Necessity

Necessity, who is the mother of invention.
Plato, The Republic
Greek author & philosopher in Athens (427 BC - 347 BC)
Yesterday my necessity was staying home. I didn't want to go out and brave the roads. Don't get me wrong I'm 100% Alaska girl and snow on the roads doesn't really scare me a bit. That said I didn't want to be out on the roads when I knew the plows would be working frantically to clear the snow so life can go on. So in desperation I dug through my empty pantry and near empty freezer and here is what I came up with.

1lb ground beef
1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 cup elbow macaroni
Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350° and spray and 8X8 baking dish with nonstick spray.
Brown the meat and cook the noodles. Combine beef, noodles, tomatoes, and tomato paste.
Put mixture in baking dish and cover with grated cheese to taste.
Bake for 30 minutes.

The results were fantastic. It was a little bit like Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni but without all the preservatives. And it was really fast and simple. I did forget to season the mixture so it was a little bland but I think you could season it any way you wanted to. I think this will quickly become a staple in our house and replace the Hamburger Helper!

Today life is back to normal. It warmed up last night and the snow is melting, maybe a little too quickly. Makes me glad our house is a little higher than the ones around us. School is in session and my house is empty. I think I'm going to enjoy this a little before I finish my grocery list and head out.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sounds yummy! I've made that dish for years only mine has a can of corn added to it. We call it Goulash and you're right...it is really good. Now that I think about it, I bet it got invented in our family in such such a circumstance: when there was nothing else in the cupboard!