I remember my mother making “Chop Suey” when I was growing up. For some of you, this means Chinese food.. no, this is the American version. A nice way to doctor up a pound of ground beef and other staples you have in your pantry. It is a better alternative to Hamburger Helper. A much tastier one as well!
I just came home from our church’s Ladies Retreat. What a let down to return to dishes, a broken dishwasher and the dirty laundry that multiplied while I was away, but I was getting hungry and wanted easy and tasty for dinner. I had not gone to the store since returning, but had ground beef and this has ingredients that I usually have on hand.
http://www.americastestkitchentv.com/
This recipe for “Skillet American Chop Suey” is from America’s Test Kitchen’s book The Best 30-Minute Recipe (page 148)
Skillet American Chop Suey
Serves 4
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided use
- 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped medium
- 1 celery rib, chopped medium (I didn’t have any this time)
- salt and ground pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz elbow macaroni (about 2 cups-dry)
Making the minutes count: Before cooking, mince the onion. While the beef cooks, chop the bell pepper and celery. While the vegetables cook mince the garlic.
- Cook Beef: Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add beef and cook, breaking it into pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Saute Vegetables: add remaining Tbsp oil to skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in Garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Simmer Macaroni: Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, macaroni, and browned beef. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a vigorous simmer, until macaroni is tender, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Goodcookbecky's Blog 
July 30, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Like the look of that alright. I’ve got some mince in the fridge so I’m going to hunt through my pantry, ’cause I think I can rustle up those ingredients too.
January 17, 2016 at 9:21 am
Just want to say we make this all the time and love it. ATK has a similar recipe in Cover and Bake, but that recipe calls for simmering the beef and vegetables for 20 minutes then adding the pasta and simmering for 20 minutes longer. Both ways are fine. We also like to top ours with some shredded Italian cheese. The ingredients are simple, but the comfort level of this dish is over the top. Enjoy 🙂
February 14, 2016 at 7:48 am
Just made this! I scaled up the recipe 4x and was concerned that the increase would cause issues. It did! However, the issues were manageable such as using a huge pot rather than a skillet.
I thought the finished dish was excellent, although I did add a considerable amount of freshly ground pepper to liven up the dish. When complete, the dish had just the right balance of texture, flavor and aroma. The finished dish was not salty to the taste, but it was loaded with sodium none-the-less due to the chicken broth and the added salt. When I make this again, I won’t saute the veggies with any added salt. Better to allow each person to add salt on their own plate than add it to the entire batch.