Food is Cheap

 Back in the day (sometime in the “olden days“, before “back then” and a while after the “days of  yore“), I was a high school student. A few times per month there was a fervor among the guys; they couldn’t focus on their classwork, they had trouble making eye contact, and they paced back and forth continuously.

Did they have girls on their minds?

Nope. Those were special days.

You see, school cafeteria food was generally, well… Let me consult a thesaurus for an appropriate word….. appalling? atrocious? gruesome? horrendous? It was bad.

But sometimes there was a shining light on the horizon, a beacon of hope that helped us through the day. We couldn’t focus on our classes, but by God, we were happy. Sometimes it was corn chowder. Other times, it was Salisbury steak. And once every month or so, it was hamburger stew.

This is my attempt to recreate the euphoria of this delicious high school cafeteria dish.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons of chili powder
• 1/4 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

•  1 cup of carrots, diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 jalepeno peppers, minced (optional)
• 1 onion, diced

• 2 pounds of ground beef, browned and drained
• 1 can (14.5oz) diced whole tomatoes
• 1 can (14.5oz) tomato sauce

(I forgot to take a pictures, but you all should know what hamburger and canned tomatoes look like, right?)

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Cook onion, carrot, and garlic until soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Serve over rice or with a big hearty slice of bread.
5. Steal someone’s milk to further recreate that high school feeling (or have your milk stolen from you, if more applicable)  

This recipe makes enough to serve 8-10 hungry high school sophomores.

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