Anyone out there remember “Beefaroni”?  Maybe I’m the only one that old now - but seriously it was my favorite pasta-in-a-can.  I’ve tried lots of recipes that try to duplicate it - but I think mine (of course!) is the real deal...  And guess what?  It’s still out there!  Maybe you even remember the advertising jingle:

We’re having Beefaroni! It’s beef and macaroni! Beefaroni’s full of meat. Beefaroni’s fun to eat. Beefaroni’s really neat. Hooray! Whee! For Chef Boy-ar-dee!

This week I had a good amount of ground beef I needed to use, and meatloaf just didn’t sound good.   It made me think of our favorite comfort soup.  I usually make this family stand-by with crumbled ground beef and it’s wonderful - but this time I made it into meatballs.

I formed tiny meatballs (smaller than normal) and placed them in a heavy pan in a 350 degree oven.  After watching them, and testing a few - I determined they were finished about an hour later.  After taking most of the meatballs and packaging them to freeze, I had about 2 cups left.

Over the years, I’ve seen similar recipes, but they turn out too watery to resemble my favorite canned Beefaroni.  The thing I liked about Chef Boy-ar-dee’s was the creamy, but not too thick sauce.  Once I added a can of condensed tomato soup to the mix - it was perfect.  I still like it to be a bit soupy, but not watery - so my recipe has evolved over years of making it.   And yes, kids love it - it DOES have macaroni you know... If you want it more “classy” - change the pasta to something fancy.   Here it is - tweaks included.

Ingredients:

2 pounds meatballs (your recipe, mine, or packaged frozen)

1/2 onion, loosely chopped

2 28-oz cans petite diced tomatoes in juice (or home bottled quarts)

1 lb pkg of elbow macaroni (I like the Barilla ‘swirled’ variety)

1 10-oz can condensed tomato soup

salt & pepper to taste

grated cheese (optional)

Directions:

Prepare meatballs, if using your own.  Set aside. 

Remove condensed tomato soup from can and stir until it is smooth (this is important, unless you like ‘chunks’ of tomato soup)   Stir in chopped onion.  Add one of the cans of tomatoes.  Set aside. 

Cook macaroni as directed on package, but only allow it to boil a few minutes.  At this point, drain off enough water that you can barely see it below the pasta.  (If you like yours with more liquid, adjust accordingly)

Stir in soup & onion mixture. 

Add canned tomatoes (with juice) & meatballs. 

Cover and allow to simmer until macaroni is barely done.  As it sits, the pasta will finish cooking. 

Serve in bowls, cover with grated cheese, and season as desired. 

This seems to improve with time - the second day is even better.