I originally found this as “A Quickie Econo-Meal” in the March 19, 1970, Salt Lake City Tribune. In my collection of Eddie Doucette recipes, it first appears in the second, 2024, printing.
It’s about as simple as you can get, although the title is a bit of a misnomer: if you want to make the macaroni and brown the hamburger concurrently to save time, it won’t be a “One Pot Stew”. Even if you make them sequentially and use the same pot, you’ll still need something to hold the macaroni in reserve. I suppose you could use one of your serving bowls!
Regardless, this is a very simple stew that is easily modified and very reminiscent of the kind of thing my mom made in the seventies. It’s a classic comfort food.
The original recipe doesn’t call for any hot sauce, but where it says to “check for seasonings” I decided it needed a touch of vinegar. Since there’s always hot sauce in the house, that’s not a difficult add.
The secret of healthy hitchhiking is to eat junk food. — Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)