my grandma's meat and macaroni

This is a beloved dish from ‘small kid time.’ My grandma called it “Creole Macaroni” and made this for all her grandkids. My cousins and I all loved it—her crowning touch was a slice of American cheese melting over the top. I changed it up only a little—adding more veggies and nixing the American cheese, but I think Grandma would be OK with that.

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1 package of ground turkey (or hamburger)
½ box of elbow macaroni or other similar pasta
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 can of corn or fresh corn
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small can tomato sauce
Heinz catsup

Olive oil
Pepper to taste
Grated sharp cheddar cheese

Optional
2 zucchini, sliced then quartered
1 red pepper, diced

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Cook ground meat and garlic in a little bit of oil. Add onions, then corn (and other optional vegetables) and cook. Add tomato sauce and simmer. At the same time, cook macaroni until just done. Add macaroni to the meat/vegetable mixture. Add about 2-3 good squirts of catsup and mix well.

Top with grated cheese.

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