Main Dishes

American Chop Suey

Source: Family recipe (Love Gramp)

Ingredients

  • ⅓ to ½ lb ground beef (hamburg)
  • ½ of a medium to large onion, cut into fairly large pieces
  • 1 medium carrot, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed and cut into small pieces
  • 1 stalk celery, cut into ¼-inch slices
  • ½ red bell pepper, cut into 1 x ¼-inch pieces
  • ½ green bell pepper, same treatment
  • 3 or 4 mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tomato, cut into medium pieces (or ½ can whole tomatoes)
  • 1 handful fresh spinach, optional
  • 1 cup elbow macaroni
  • 1 can Campbell’s tomato condensed soup
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt, pepper, and cumin, to taste
  • A little red wine

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large pan or wok over fairly high heat.
  2. Add ground beef and onion. Cook until onions are translucent. Pour in a little red wine.
  3. Add garlic and carrot. Cook another 2–3 minutes.
  4. (Start boiling salted water for the pasta now.)
  5. Add everything else except the spinach (peppers, celery, mushrooms, tomato). Continue cooking over medium heat.
  6. Add pasta to the boiling water and set a timer for 9 minutes.
  7. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and cumin over the pan.
  8. After 4 minutes, add the can of tomato soup and stir.
  9. After 2 more minutes, add the spinach.
  10. When the timer goes off, drain the pasta and add to the pan.
  11. Stir and serve.