What’s For Dinner?

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1. My girls, who are grown now, loved rice and tofu. When we didn’t know what to have for dinner, we cooked brown or basmati rice, fried tofu, and wrapped it in a tortilla with whatever we had to add to it: avocado, tomatoes, steamed broccoli, sprouts, cheese. It’s still one of their favorite meals.

   Or we would have pasta with butter.

2. My mom used to make that for us kids all the time. Ah, the memories…

3. I never heard of it! When I don’t know what else to make, it’s some kind of pasta — with red sauce, or with butter, parmesan cheese, and peas, or, if there’s basil, with pesto.

4. Ahhh – American Chop Suey…..always on the school lunch menu in Hudson, MA in the 1960s/70s. My own version – also a standby- sounds similar to yours, but no tomato soup just burger, macaroni, onion and tomatoes YUMM!

5. i hadn’t heard about it until i moved to the area. if i don’t know what to make for dinner, for joe, i usually make just pasta and butter. i know. so boring. but butter. what’s not to love?

   since we have this big ass grill, i plan on grilling until blizzard time.

6. Lately my “stand by” recipe is eggs in a bowl. I make some over easy/over medium eggs, cut them up in a bowl, butter some toast and tear that into bite sized pieces, and mix it all together. It’s really good for when I have to eat and study…

   The American Chop Suey sounds tasty. I think I’ll try that (with some veggie crumbles in place of the beef) this weekend.

7. YUM! My mother made something very similar when I was a kid. Hamburg casserole: Fry the hamburg in the frying pan, drain off the grease. Add a can of french style green beans and enough tomato sauce to hold it together but not so much that it’s like a soup. Put into a casserole dish and top with mounds of homemade mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

8. thanks for the recipe Carole! my usual standby is Mac & Cheese or scrambled eggs and salad ….

9. American Chop suey!! My all time favorite. Only the family recipe was the ground beef, elbow macaroni and stewed tomatoes, no tomato sauce or soup. I make that for me often but my spouse and children are not fans – the heretics! Another favorite: Boston Baked Beans. Brick Oven baked beans, add molasses, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, and either ham or hot dogs. Serve with hot brown bread and apple salad (delicious apples cut into chunks, crushed pineapple, chopped walnuts, raisons all dressed in mayonaise diluted with pineapple juice). A nice homemade pneapple upside down cake for dessert finishes off the meal nicely. DH still prefers to grill throughout the year.

10. Black beans and rice, lightly spiced, with melted cheddar on top. (I once mentioned this to a rather upscale coworker, who responded, “Oh. How Third World.” (: )

11. Hamburger, rice, 1 package of taco seasoning, sprinkle with Montery Jwck cheese, put chiles on my 1/3, throw in oven. Serve on top of heated refried beans. Hmmmmm, taco casserole.

12. One of my favorites too, and I didn’t realize until a few years ago that it was a New England thing. My favorite version if it is finished up by melting some cheese on top in the oven.

    Maybe I’ll have that tonight actually. . .

13. My stand-by is linguine with white clam sauce. I used whatever spaghetti like pasta I have. Garlic is a staple at my house, and if I have a shallot I throw that in too, but if I don’t it’s okay. Make a little rue as the base. Throw in white wine if I have it, or chicken stock if I don’t. A can of clams (I always have a couple in the pantry.) Some half and half to make it nice and creamy. YUM!!! So easy and it’s like eating in a restaurant – for a fraction of the cost!!!

14. When I don’t know what to cook I drive somewhere for dinner…Noodles or Wendys;-)

15. I’ve never heard of your recipe, it sounds interesting. I have a few standards, one is to buy a roast chicken on the way home and wrap pieces in tortillas with salad and sweet chilli sauce. Another is corn patties with vegetables. 2 tins of corn 400 grams, 2 eggs, a glug of sweet chilli, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 -3/4 cup flour and a dash of milk. You want kind of a pancake like batter. then fry with a little oil and serve with potatoes and whatever vegetables or salad on hand. Only takes about 20 minutes. It was dinner last night:)

16. I grew up with the same dish in PA called ‘goulash’. My Mom often made it with egg noodles instead of macs. Either or.

17. You’re right, no one here in Salt Lake City knows the joy that is American Chop Suey. But now I make it with TVP instead of hamburger. Tastes just as good.

18. You’re kidding?! American Chop Suey is one of the necessities taught to me by dear mum (Blogless Sharon). That is definitely my standby recipe too! Running a close second is my concoction of sweet italian sausage with peppers and potatoes with diced tomatoes. (posted in July).

19. I never knew that was New England specific! My mom also used to call it “quick beef put-together”. Our standby for what the hell to have for dinner night is mac-n-cheese with hot dogs (cut into pieces and stirred in the mac-n-cheese).

20. Beef stew in the crockpot. Without potatoes (hubby is allergic, if you can belive it). Kidney beans, cup of red wine, pearl onions, carrots, rosemary, 3 cloves of garlic, mustard, tomato paste, salt, papper, stew beef and beef stock. Let it cook on low all day… come home, throw in some flour to thicken, serve it over egg noodles. Super Easy. Super Yummy. And a fav fall food.

21. I think we call that “goulash” round here.

22. American Chop Suey was a regular item on our family menu when I was growing up and I used to make it when my kids were little. Mmm, I can taste it now. Real cool weather comfort food!

23. I make thr same thing except we call it goulash and I put corn in mine. My father used to make it for us growing up and now it’s a staple in our house.

24. In the comments, Chris mentions “goulash”..I wonder where Chris is because I grew up in northeast PA and we called that “goulash” as well. But another was “poop in a cloud” (actually my dad would call it shit in a cloud, but the rated G version is poop in a cloud) mashed potatoes, dig a hole out of your pile of potatoes and fill with chunky hamburger in gravy, and a veggie on the side.
    My husband grew up in the upper midwest (northern WI) and their “stand-by” dinner was similar, ground beef, chopped onion, macaroni and canned corn, no sauce, just seasoned with salt pepper, maybe garlic and parsley.
    Another variation is *real* wild rice (not the uncle bens stuff) with burger and walnuts.

25. Oh I’m defiantely a American Chop Suey gal myself!
    Soemtimes I use soup sometimes my homemade suce witho ut without stewed tomatoes…chopped onlions different types sometimes, red/green peppers whatever else is around I feel like tossing in… leftover steak is good too…;o) Great comfort food!
    Another quick simple favorite is shepards pie & chili

26. Thanks a lot! It’s only 9am and now I want some American chop suey! I love it, but make mine with spaghetti sauce (from a jar of course – Classico Traditional Basil or Spicy Red Pepper). My mother used to make it for us as kids too. It really is good as leftovers – even cold right out of the refrigerator 🙂

27. You are too funny! I saw the picture before I even started reading and said to myself – “American Chop Suey – I should make some soon!” I didn’t realize it was a NE thing – living in MA all my life, you get so used to NE things… my mom makes the best Baked Beans around – her recipe is nothing like Chris said above, she uses navy beans, salt pork, onions, ketchup, and other things (I don’t have her recipe, but I guess I should get it). We also fry up salt pork, then pull it out and use the grease for corn chowder… it is just the best taste!

    My “go to” meal if we don’t know what to make is mac & cheese (annie’s is what I keep in the house) with a can of tuna.

28. Oh, I never had it with tomato soup. I’ll have to give it a try. Yum.

29. Mine is similar to Lucia’s: black beans and yellow rice. Though I like monterey jack better than cheddar. 😉

30. Oh yes, American Chop Suey. I also didn’t know that it a New England classic, but I do love it. We have plenty of mac and cheese and also quesadillas are a big standby. I am also big on pastas with whatever I have on hand. I always sautee onion/garlic in olive oil, then I’ll add some canned tomatoes (or fresh cherry tomatoes); chopped artichokes (from the can) and some chopped olives. A sprinkle of salt/peper and hot pepper and some parm cheese. In the summer, I’ll make a fresh tomato sauce by chopping with a bunch of tomatoes; put in bowl with basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Then cook the pasta and combine.

31. Oh, I just love American Chop Suey! And I have fond memories of it from my school days. I even recall once in elementary school when a boy was considering the nature of the stewed tomato on his fork and another boy smacked his hand from the bottom, hoping to make the first one drop it in his lap. What happened was the first boy was so startled that his hadn REALLY flew up, and so did the tomato – right onto the ceiling of the cafeteria! I know that the stain was still there when I visited my old elementary school while I was in high school…tee hee hee!

    As for current stand-by meals, we will often have mac & cheese (made with elbows and a jar of cheese sauce because my snobby little boys don’t like the powder…), or I’ll just poke around the kitchen and see what we have and come up with what has become know as one of my “dump meals” – I just dump a few things into a baking dish or a pot and heat it up. Ok, I’m the queen of the one pot meal, but I hate to clean up, so what can I say? Some recent favorites:

    Dump Chicken – Put a few boneless chicken breasts or tenders in a baking dish, then dump on some canned or frozen veggies (we had corn, green beans and mushrooms the last time) and some spaghetti sauce (whatever was last on sale!) and cover with shredded cheese if you have it. Put it in the oven (at the universal 350 degrees) until hot and chicken is cooked through.

    Tortellini Soup – Dump one can of chicken broth, three individual serving size cans of V-8, and a small bag of tortellini into the pot and simmer until tortellini are cooked through.

    Chicken Chili – Dump some cut up chicken (fresh or left overs, white or dark meat – what ever you have around) into the crock pot along with a jar of your favorite salsa and a can of flavored chili beans and a can of corn before you leave for work, and come home to supper. Especially yummy when served with a dollop of sour cream and some tortilla chips (we love the “hint of lime” kind).

    We also love shepherd’s pie (and the other day I made it with chicken because we were out of ground beef) and “breakfast for supper” when we’re just too tired to think about what to make.

32. Sandwiches or Mac & Cheese from a box 😉

33. Definitely regional since I’ve never heard of it! My standby is affectionately called late night spaghetti — shallots, garlic, pancetta, pasta, red pepper flakes, and at the very end I crack an egg over it and toss it. In fact we’ll be having that for dinner tonight since the Poulette is sick and I can’t run to the market today. That said, if I ask my kids what they want for dinner at the end of the week or over the weekend when I’m not feeling particularly creative they’ll ALWAYS ask for pancakes!

34. I always called it “goulash”..great meal and even better with fresh bread or buns (like who needs more carbs!?) but it is a great meal!

35. We call that goulash here in KS. I also put sugar in it because my mom did. I think it was to counteract the acid in the tomatoes because they broke her mouth out. Doesn’t matter, with or without sugar it is a great comfort food.

36. We call that Goulash; learned from my Southern Illinois mother. Hamburger, green pepper if you have it, can of stewed tomatoes, can of tomato sauce, maybe a can of drained mushrooms, and macaroni. I add some brown sugar, paprika and cumin, along with garlic and oregano. Great the next day.

    Our other favorite quick meal is Scroodles. Hamburger, rotini, cream of mushroom soup and cream of celery soup. Add some garlic salt, oregano and basil, because it’s pretty bland otherwise. We just had this Tuesday night.

37. Hey – I remember that! must make it soon!@
    my current stand by meal, when I cannot make it to the market is tuna & peas : saute a chopped onion, stir in 1 big can tuna (drained) and 2 cans peas (drained). sprinkle heavily with oregano, and heat through. just before serving, add a bunch of sour cream (and a tad bit of half n’half). Serve over pasta, top with grated peccorino cheese. tastes alot like tuna casserole, but is ready in 10 minutes. woo hoo, my kinda meal for when I get home late from work!

38. Hi, I found the button for the knit unto others….the blog site was from 2005 but I saw underneath the button a mention of this will take place again this year. Can you tell me where I need to go to join this KAL?

39. Definitely either spaghetti or chili. Both are easy and since I make really big batches, I usually have some of both in the freezer already.

40. Oh yeah, we called it Goulash in Michigan. It’s Goulash in Kansas too. We made a similar dish when I was growing up (and it’s a standard in my house now) called Texas Hash. Basically rice with chopped canned tomatoes, hamburger, onion, and chile powder. Another comfort food my mom made a lot was just called “macaroni, tomatoes and bacon”. That had a little sugar added – oh it’s one of my favorites. Gee thanks for making me hungry for some of my favorite carb-laden dishes so early in the morning Carole!! heh 🙂

41. Yup. Goulash! We just had that the other night, and this may sound really gross to you, but I use all the same ingredients except I add a bit of cream cheese (no measuring!). It is SOOOOO good. 🙂

42. I’m with Margene…I go to Noodles & Co or Illegal Pete’s (Mexican). Or cereal; or falafel, hummus, & pita… When I was little I loved noodles, butter, & cheese. Lately I’ve been dreaming of tuna noodle casserole!

43. My mom called that Goulash!

44. Oh wow – that sounds beyond wonderful and makes me miss my time living up north even more – autumn/winter – great seasons for the holidays and comfort food!

45. My standby is a Cal-Mex dish called chilliquilles – fry up torn up tortillas and chopped onion while frying up a pound of burger in a separate pot. You want the tortillas nice and crispy. You can add green and/or red peppers too.. when those two are done to your family’s liking, put them together in the bigger (in my case, cast iron) skillet, and add a mixture of 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese and one can fire-roasted tomatoes (or other sauce mixture to equal 1 1/2 cups – I’ve used enchilada sauce in a pinch but then it’s spicier). Spread this layer over the burger and tortilla layer, add a layer of grated Jack cheese on top (about 2 cups) and cover while the cheesy top layer melts and everything heats through – about 5-10 minutes. This recipe can be adjusted upwards or downwards depending on the number of people you have to feed and is great comfort food – the one recipe a DS called home to ask how to make when he went away to college:)

46. Ha, I’ve never heard of American Chop Suey.
    Our standby is chicken fajitas. Just chicken breast cut in strips covered in fajita dust seasoning sauteed with onions and bell peppers. Throw it all on a tortilla, and some sour cream if you have some.
    The REALLY lazy dinner is Bachelor Stew: brown up some hamburger, drain, then pour in a family-size can of Campbell’s vegetable soup (the beef stock version). Don’t dilute it at all. Then add a can of canned corn (whole can – not drained). Heat until flavors go together. Soooo lazy, I learned this one in college.

47. I have never heard of that before. I’ve spent my life in California, so that might be why. *L*

    All else fails, I make breakfast for dinner. Although, during the summer, I usually usually get a piece of fruit and hope for winter.

48. American Chop Suey is called ‘Stuff’ in our family – long story, involving a cousin with a bad memory…and maybe some alcohol… ;o)

    I made Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots in the slow cooker yesterday and was told it was good – I had knitting so I only got to smell it all day, not eat it ;o)

49. My fall standby?

    Hot cocoa with a healthy splash of creme de menthe.

    Yummers.

50. We ate it growing up in MN. There was chili powder and some other spices thrown in and it was called chili macaroni hotdish 🙂 I ate so much of it I won’t eat it now. But we always had more hamburger than we knew what to do with on the farm too…

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