Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova
Whether you know it as American Chop Suey, Chili Mac, American Goulash, or even D.I.Y. Hamburger Helper, this deeply flavorful, super-comforting pasta dish is greater than the sum of its humble parts. Taking the time to brown the ground beef well and cook out the tomato paste makes a huge difference. You’ll notice that none of the fat gets drained off after the meat is seared, which is intentional—there’s no other fat added here, so if you’re using a leaner blend of ground beef, you may even need to add a knob of butter or a drizzle of olive oil to compensate.