Monday. I had planned on a fun chicken dinner with pesto and spinach and it is oh so good. Grandpa ended up hanging out and it looked like he was staying for dinner, which is always fun but meant I needed a quick change of menu as I knew he would not be loving the meal I had planned. So a quick check of my pantry and fridge showed I had the makings of a dinner he loves, one I don’t usually have the ingredients for as this is a canned soup kind of recipe, not something I usually make. My kids all love this meal, however, and I do too as it is one of those foods that reminds my of Granny, who has been gone for almost 4 years now. Once in a while we can eat this and, again, kids LOVE this quick and easy meal. I’ll post the actual recipe at the end.
Tuesday. My sweet girls birthday today. Can’t believe she is 7 now. The passage of time is far too quick when you are a mom. My favorite saying “The days may be long but the years are short” So so true and 7 years have simply flown by. Looking at pictures over the years after the celebration last night had me nearly in tears. Such sweet and fun times we’ve had with this girl. She is absolutely delightful, a little spunky, is clever and funny, and so often has the best smile on her face, she loves life and loves her family. We are so lucky to have her in our family. Happy Birthday Lilli!
So for her birthday dinner we were going to have mexican at home but her Far-Mor (my husbands mother) wanted to take us all out and Lilli chose our favorite mexican restaurant. It was delicious and I didn’t have to do clean up! Win-win! She also wanted Costco’s All American Chocolate cake so I didn’t even bake the cake this time. I would be sad except we are having some friends over Friday for a small party so I get to make something for that.
So on to this totally not-from-scratch meal of my Granny’s that I made. Seriously it gets gobbled up so if you ever need a quick meal that kids will eat, that isn’t mac ‘n cheese, make this. I generally shy away from using canned soups but I know many people love it and this really does bring back so many memories of my Gran that I just have to make it once in a while, plus Grandpa loves it.
- 1/2 – 1 lb Ground beef*, use whatever amount you want, we like just a little for flavor
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 can tomato sauce*, I use the 15 oz can but only use about 10 oz and save the rest
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 oz pasta, cooked according to package
- Dash of onion powder and garlic powder
Put a pot of water on to boil for pasta. Brown beef and season with onion and garlic powder, maybe a little salt and pepper, leave in pan and set aside.
Add noodles to boiling water and cook to your liking, drain water after done.
On low heat Add soups and tomato sauce to cooked ground beef and stir until smooth and well mixed. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour over the cooked noodles and stir until incorporated throughout noodles.
Enjoy! My kids love this with canned corn and peaches or pears. I like to add a hearty green salad with plenty of goodness to give us something nutritious. This really is tasty and easy and if you were feeling ambitious you could use homemade cream of chicken soup instead of canned but my kids complain when I have tried it because it just isn’t quite the “same”. I also like this with cream of celery soup, which was an accident once but I didn’t tell the kids and they didn’t notice. 
*Grandpa likes to use 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground sausage. It is good but I don’t usually have sausage on hand. Originally this recipe called for canned tomato soup and not tomato sauce but I like it better with tomato sauce. Use what you have, it tastes good either way. Use whatever noodles you like, we usually use penne or elbow macaroni.
