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Rachael Ray has nothing on my mother. As far as this family is concerned, my mom invented healthful, delicious comfort food that one can cook in 30 minutes or less.
This hamburger and macaroni dish is one of my mother’s recipes that has been served in our house at least once a month for the last 45 years. We even have a special name for it—HMO (Hamburger Macaroni Onions). I’ve also heard it called “goulash” or “American chop suey” or “Hamburger Noodle Casserole.”
My father gets a song in his voice when he announces that we’re having HMO for dinner. You make brown the meat and make the sauce while the water is coming to a boil and the macaroni is cooking. So it takes less than half an hour to make. So easy!
Hamburger and Macaroni Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni (use rice pasta or gluten-free pasta for gluten-free version)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, chopped (or mixed chopped green onion greens and yellow onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- Pinch chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 large can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
1 Start cooking the pasta: Get a large pot of salted hot water (1 tablespoon of salt for 2 quarts of water) heating and begin cooking the macaroni as per the directions on the macaroni package.
2 Brown the beef and onions: While the water is heating and macaroni cooking, prepare the sauce. In a skillet, brown the ground beef in a tablespoon of olive oil on high heat. Stir only infrequently so that the ground beef has an opportunity to brown.
When the beef has mostly browned, add the onions to the pan and toss to combine. Cook until the onions are soft, about 4-6 minutes.
3 Add seasonings, tomatoes: Add the celery seed, a dash of crushed red pepper and seasoned salt. Pour in canned tomatoes, add the Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4 Add cooked pasta: Reserve a half cup of the pasta cooking water. Mix in the drained and cooked macaroni and the parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add in some of the pasta water if the dish is too dry.
Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
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Links:
Rhode Island 'Chop Suey,' from The Perfect Pantry
Creamy Taco Mac, from Annie's Eats
Cheeseburger Mac, from Ezra Poundcake
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Hamburger and Macaroni
I can’t wait to try this. I’m really a big fan of homemade dishes.
Sounds rather bland like my Mom made. I updated hers and used some diced green chilies, a couple of cans of RoTel tomatoes, some sliced black olives, some sliced mushrooms, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire and stirred in a cup of shredded Cheddar at the end. I did it all on the stove top and added the cooked macaroni at the end with the cheese. Yes, I used the parsley and seasonings. Oh and I also used diced green pepper with the onions and all the rest of the ingredients above. Garlic is good too.
Was very simple to make but lacked flavor and I even added garlic. Not something I would make again.
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Hi Lois, sounds to me like you needed to add more salt. Try adding a bit more and I think you’ll find the dish has plenty of flavor.
Well said , this dish has plenty of yummy flavor .If you want more flavor then add more season salt . Thank you for this recipe Elise Bauer, because it’s a hit at my house ! : )
Hi Lois, I’m sorry to hear that you found this lacking flavor. Did you use salt? And the cayenne? It’s also a great idea to taste as you go because sometimes you might find you need more of this or less of that to suit your tastes. Thanks for your feedback.
Keeper, this dish was really good.
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Simple & delicious❗️
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I’m so glad you liked it Mel!