One thing that will come your way
in plenty amounts while you are
in VA limbo with your disability
money and enduring the poverty
lifestyle until it is over, is
the food product of Macaroni.

Food pantries, food stamp programs,
and surplus food issuances to the
poor, all have a ready amount of
macaroni and field rice to throw
your way until you can get to the
next income plateau when the Republicans
at VA in Washington finally get their
sorry and dumb asses booted off
the job and replaced by somebody
with a brain.

Because macaroni is such a staple
in the poverty arena, it is worth
mentioning a couple of fast easy
dishes here that even men can
put together when VA inflicted hunger
is roaring in your bellies.

Just keep these products in your
man-kitchen all the time, and it
will be there as a backup plan
on those days when time or food
is running low and you just need
something fast on board that will
fill you up and get the job done.

____________________________________


Macaroni Parmesan


What You Will Need:

1 box of macaroni, any shape you choose

salt and pepper

1 jar of Basil seasoning
(find this in the seasoning aisle)

1 jar of shaker cheese
Parmesan, Romano, or Parm-Romano combined
(find this in the tomato sauce aisle)

margarine or butter



Use a small saucepan around 6 inches
in diameter and 3 inches deep. Fill
it with cold water up to 1 inch from
the top rim. Bring the water to a boil.

Lower the heat to medium, add into
the water, a pile of macaroni so
it sits about 1 1/2 inches deep in
the water. Boil the macaroni for
about 15 minutes or until it starts
to get larger and is tender to break
in half with a fork.

Drain the macaroni in a strainer
or collander. Empty the macaroni
in a medium sized salad bowl.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon full of
margarine or butter into the hot
macaroni. Spoon it around until
the butter melts and mixes with
the macaroni.

Shake on salt and pepper on the top,
then spoon it around, and do it
again a second time.

Shake Basil seasoning on top so
the entire top is lightly covered
with the seasoning. Spoon it around
in the macaroni and do it a second
time again.

Shake the Parmesan cheese directly
onto the hot macaroni. Cover the top
and spoon it around, and do it a
second time again.

Serve with a hot or cold vegetable
or green salad. Eat it directly from
the bowl.

___________________________________________


Let me explain here there is a fine
line between Italian dishes such as
Ziti and regular Goulash and what
separates those are the seasonings
used or not used. If you feel the need
to add a seasoning to this dish below,
then it would be Basil, the same as
above. What makes this Hungarian
is the absence of any garlic or
Italian seasoning mix.


Hugarian Goulash

What You Will Need:

1 pound of crumbled ground beef
or ground beef substitute

1 medium onion

1 large can of tomato sauce
(28 oz.)

1 box of macaroni

salt and pepper

1 jar of Onion Powder seasoning
(found in the seasoning aisle)



Just like above, fill the saucepan
with cold water, 1 inch from the
top, and bring it to a boil. Reduce
the heat and add about 2 inches deep
of macaroni. Boil it until it is
tender about 15 minutes.

At the same time, crumble up
ground beef in a fry pain and
chop up the onion and add that
to the beef. Fry both together
in the pan, add salt and pepper
as you like.

When the macaroni is done,
drain off the water in a strainer
or collander. Return the hot
macaroni to a larger pan with
a lid. When the ground beef
is done, drain off the grease
or remove the beef from the
pan with a fork of some kind
and add it to the hot macaroni.

Add the tomato sauce. If you would
like less tomato sauce then use
the next smaller sized can instead
of a large can.

Mix everything together, add
more salt and pepper. Shake
onion powder all over the top
of the tomato sauce and macaroni,
and then spoon it around, and
then do it again a second time.

Heat the tomato sauce mixture
with the ground beef included
until everything is nice and hot
for about 5 minutes. You want the
onion flavor to mix with the sauce.

Serve with whatever bread you
have available, or any green
or cold vegetable or green salad
if you have it.

This is not really the kind of
dish where you would shake
parmesan cheese on it, but I
have seen it done. This is not
an Italian dish so don't confuse
the 2 flavor bases.

The Army used to issue a lame
K-Ration version of macaroni and
beef back in the day, so here
I am introducing you to the
homestyle version of this
meal.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: McClellanVet,