PATTY'S SURPRISE

Hi Everyone.  What a weekend.  We celebrated Nick's 18th Birthday yesterday.  What a big day.  It seems like he was just born yesterday.  Time flies by so quickly.  Unbelievable.  It was an absolutely gorgeous California day.  We were able to eat outside, not too hot.  Just perfect in every way.  What a menu.  Guacamole and Chips, Sauteed Shrimp in garlic and olive oil, Squash Ravioli in brown butter and sage, those were the appetizers.  Tri Tip, Roasted Vegetables, Roman Salad, Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Almonds, Pomegranate Seeds, Chocolate Beet Cake and Ice Cream.  It was a feast for sure.  So after all that food, today I give you a simple, but wonderful one pot dish.  My whole family loves this.  The neighbor who used to live across the street from us (Patty) made this dish, (and called it Patty's Surprise).  It is so simple and I'm sure that everyone has some form of this recipe.  Everyone loves it.  Talk about easy, you can have this on the table in less than an hour.

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 15 oz (or it may be 15 1/2) oz tomato sauce
green pepper
onion
chili powder
Grated cheddar cheese
Fritos
3/4 box elbow macaroni

Chop the onion and the green pepper and saute in a little olive oil until tender.  Add the ground beef and cook until browned, add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper and 1 1/2 tbls of chili powder.  Lower heat to simmer and cook until it thickens up, (about 45 minutes).  In the meantime, cook the elbow macaroni.  When done, drain well and mix into the meat mixture.  In the bottom of the dish put the (small) Fritos, put the mixture on top.  Sprinkle with a handful of cheddar cheese, pop in the microwave for just a minute.  Serve.

I absolutely guarantee that if you make this once your whole family will ask you to make it again and again.  It is just one of those wonderful tasting things.   Try it soon.

That's it for now
Ciao
Grayce