I've Been Eating This Since I was 3: Hamburger and Rice

     Today's recipe was the taste of my childhood. Supposedly, my great-grandmother invented it, and today, everyone in my family knows how to make it, but we all put our own little twists on it. Since my dad has about six recipes that he makes well and this is one of them, we would have this for dinner at least a few times a month ever since I was a very small child. What I remember most about it when I was young, was the way it made the whole house smell like garlic, which I considered a good thing. Since it's really easy and only takes half an hour to make, it's one of the first dinner recipes I ever learned. Today, it's my go-to dinner recipe when I'm either lazy, uninspired, or homesick. Traditionally, the stew/gravy is served over rice, but one day, I decided to switch things up and have it on macaroni instead, which turned out to be an ingenious idea. Even though there isn't any rice in this version, we still refer to it as "hamburger and rice on macaroni." I don't know what my extended family members will think of that, but it's my contribution. And if any of you are reading this, I sure hope this recipe wasn't some sort of family secret.

Note: On this particular day, I was making this recipe for 13 people, so please ignore the obscenely large quantity of food shown in the pictures.

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 4 servings)
1 cup of rice, or more if you want
about 1lb of ground beef
1 large green bell pepper
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 10oz cans condensed tomato soup
10oz of water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook the rice. Hopefully, I don't have to explain that...
2. Chop the green pepper into fairly large chunks and dice the onion and garlic.

3. Heat a frying pan, and brown the beef over medium heat. When it looks almost all cooked, add the onions and cook for a few more minutes until tender.

4. Add the green pepper and garlic, stir well, and cook for another few minutes.
5. Now add both cans of tomato soup, plus 1 can full of water. Stir it well, and when it comes to a boil, it's done.

6. Serve it in a big bowl over rice and enjoy!

Guess what day tomorrow is! That's right, it's Pie Monday!