I used to eat a lot of this... well, not this, exactly, but something pretty darn close to this. And that something was a handful of spaghetti (cooked), a can of chili (it did not matter which brand), and a whole lot of mustard (really spices it up), and barbecue sauce (to taste, but of course). And I'd eat more or less an entire pot of this stuff over the course of an evening... sitting in front of a camp fire, while drinking wine straight from the gallon jug. So, this really was back in the day.
Today (only just now deciding this), I'm going to try my hand at a cheesy sort of version of the same.
Having provided way too much information by way of a back-story at this point already, I will just say that I got two loaves of frozen hamburger meat on sale for less that a dollar a pound. I froze both loaves, took one out the other day (intending to make chili), but it did not fit in the pan, so I wound up baking the tube of meat from frozen. It wound up making fairly decent (but just decent) hamburgers. And this (eaten as hamburgers) is where the bulk of the three pound loaf of meat went.
1lb Hamburger Meat (probably a bit less, see above)
2 large onions (chopped the old fashioned ways with tears in the eye)
1 can black beans (because that's the kind that doesn't give me gas)
I cooked the lot down... and it is now cooling in the refrigerator where I hope to skim off a bit more of the fat. I already got loads from cooking the loaf.
For noodles, I'm using the ones that came in a Macaroni & Cheese boxed set (call it a kit).
1 7oz packet of Macaroni Noodles
5 cups of water
2 spoons of greasy water from the chili mixture to help keep the macaroni separate while cooking (smells good)
I brought the water to a boil, added the noodles, and simmered for ten minutes or so.
Oh, odd note. I was intending to add rice to my chili dish... but there was none to be had. And I thought about using lasagna noodles (as I spotted those first), but they seem more specialized (and expensive), so that's how I wound up not only with macaroni noodles, but the decision to add the cheese packets.
2 packets Mac & Cheese Mix (the second being a random leftover)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
10 grinds of the old pepper mill
I've got a pot of food going here, which is good, because I am getting hungry.
I am currently, eating the first serving with salt and Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top. But it lacks any pizzazz. I think I'll add cumin to the lot prior to putting the pot in the refrigerator for the night. In other news and as I go through the bowl (well, I'm eating straight out of another pot, actually), the heat from the red pepper is starting to show. So, after soaking overnight, it will be plenty spicy. Still before putting it away, I'm going to add:
1 full teaspoon of cumin
10 heavy shakes of fish sauce
Also, the dish has twice the onion that it needs. And yes, spoonful by spoonful, the heat is rising. So, that's good.
Oh, yeah!
That's a full bodied heat!
A week later and I can say with all authority, the heat has really risen. It's a good dish. I can see doing something like it again. Though, I don't know how soon.
Just by the by, sour cream is my topping of choice to kill the heat.
November, 2018