American Chop Suey aka American Goulash

🧂 Ingredients

• 24 oz macaroni noodles
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 lb ground beef
• 56 oz (2 x 28 oz) cans of san marzano tomatoes
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp sweet basil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup reserved pasta water
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into large chunks or rounds
• Parsley for garnish

Instructions

• 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• 2 Fill a stock pot with water. Place on stove. Bring to a boil. Add salt to the
  water. You will be using this to boil the noodles but don't do that till your
  sauce is simmering.
• 3 In the meantime place a large dutch oven on the stove top. Add oil, onions and
  shallots to the dutch oven, turn on medium heat, cook until onions start to
  soften.
• 4 Add ground beef to the dutch oven and cook until it's browned and juices run
  clear.
• 5 Pour both cans of tomatoes into a blender and give it a whir until it's smooth.
  Transfer that to the dutch oven. 
  
  Add the Worcestershire sauce. Stir.
• 6 Add spices to the dutch oven and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. 
  
  Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
• 7 At this time you want to add your macaroni noodles to the pot with water. Cook
  until al dente, about 1 minute less than the package tells you to cook them.
• 8 Please do not rinse your noodles, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, set that
  aside for when you need it. You can now drain your noodles, but do not rinse
  them.
• 9 Add the cooked macaroni noodles, pasta water and parmesan cheese to the dutch
  oven. Mix really well.
• 10 Now you can cook the casserole in your dutch oven in the oven, but I transfer
  mine to two casserole dishes. Spread out with a spoon.
• 11 Press about ½ the mozzarella cheese into the casserole so it sinks in a bit.
  Then top with the other half.
• 12 Pop your casserole in the preheated 375 degree F oven, cook for about 20 to 25
  minutes, depending on how you like your cheese. We like ours when it is golden
  brown.
• 13 Remove from oven and eat right away.
• 14 Serve with a big old casserole loving smile!

Nutrition Info