With the July 4th holiday coming up, I thought I'd make a recipe I found in my great- great- grandmother's recipe box called Liberty Stew. It sounds patriotic, despite the fact that we don't typically eat heavy and meaty stews mid-summer. Nonetheless, it's a dish that is easy to make, will provide you with awesome leftovers, and is a filling recipe that is loved by the whole family.
We like a little extra spice in our family so I have adjusted this recipe ever so slightly. The italicized item note which ingredients I've added to make this recipe a little more suited to my family's liking.
*Get these ingredients at your Illinois farmers market!
INGREDIENTS
1 package of macaroni (we use whole wheat rotini)*
1 quart of fire roasted diced crushed tomatoes*
1 pound ground beef*
1 onion, chipped*
2 tablespoons salt flakes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon roasted minced garlic*
DIRECTIONS
Prepare the macaroni per the directions on the package. Drain and leave in the pot.
While the pasta is cooking, sauté the onion in a little bit of olive oil. Cook until browned. Then add the chili powder, Italian seasoning, cumin, black pepper and cumin. Mix together. (Note: adding the seasoning to the onion at this point will make the mixture thick and brown - but that's okay!)
Add the ground beef to the onion mixture and cook thoroughly.
Add the onion/beef mixture to the pot with the drained pasta.
Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot.
Add the salt to the pot.
Stir everything together and place the pot over low heat. Allow everything to simmer for about 5-8 minutes.
Serve on a plate or in a bowl! We love to add a little crumble of goat cheese or freshly ground parmesan.
Serving size: approximately eight servings.