This is a meal that my mom would make when I was growing up – I remember it very fondly…it might be one of my favorite meals of ALL TIME. Not only is it delicious, but it’s so easy and takes very few ingredients. I’ve never been able to post it before, because she didn’t really have a concrete recipe. So since we’re staying here for now, I ordered asked her to make it so I could take photos and write down measurements. It’s a thing of beauty.
First, you’ll need a pound of sausage. You can use any type that you like. We used home-canned sausage because that’s our favorite…the store variety doesn’t even compare in my eyes, because this is what I was raised on. Our family orders a pig from a local farmer and then we have it processed into sausage – we pick it up and then mom fixes some into patties for the freezer and she cans the rest. I wanted to help her with the last pig, but I was still feeling rather pukey so she did it all. Home-canned sausage is so good it’ll make you slap your mama.
Note: I didn’t slap my mama while making this dish.
When you’re browning your sausage, you’ll also want to throw some onion in there to brown too. I think it was about 1 cup, finely chopped. You don’t want the chunks too big – trust me on this one.
While all this is going on, you’ll want to be cooking your noodles. We like macaroni. It just seems to work the best for this dish…and I like going with what I KNOW works. If something is good, just don’t mess with it. This is a public service announcement. Amen. Cook 2 cups of dry noodles, which will equal out to about 4 cups cooked. Make sure to cook the noodles al dente – that’s important…they will continue cooking in the oven and soak up some of your liquid…you need that soakage.
When your sausage and onions are browned, you can add the tomatoes. We used one quart of home-canned tomatoes – so that’s 32 ounces if you’re using tomatoes from the store (you could make do with two 14.5 ounce cans).
Add the macaroni to the sausage mixture and warm it until the tomatoes are hot. It should look VERY juicy…the pasta will soak up the juice while it bakes, making it into a work of art. If it’s not juicy enough, add some tomato juice. Use this picture as your judge for how it should look. (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)
Notice that I didn’t add any salt or pepper. Why? The sausage is already seasoned and the tomatoes are canned with a bit of salt. That’s enough for us – but you might want to taste it before you bake it to make sure it’s up to par with your family.
Pour it into a 9×13 glass dish (greased) and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. If it still looks too juicy after that, you can bake it up to 45 minutes total.
See…all the juice is gone – left behind is a masterpiece…comfort food at its finest. Folks, I’m telling you…don’t miss out on making this. And when you make it, invite me to dinner.
Note – EXCELLENT leftover for lunch…if there is any leftover. I have my doubts.
Mama’s Sausage Macaroni
- 1 pound bulk sausage
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 quart tomatoes (32 ounces) 2 to 2 1/2 (14.5 ounce) cans will also work
- 2 cups dry macaroni noodles, cooked until al dente (4 cups cooked)
- Salt/Pepper if desired
- In a large skillet, brown the sausage and onions.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. When sausage is done, add tomatoes and drained pasta. Cook on stovetop until tomatoes are warmed.
- Pour into a 9×13 glass dish. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until juice is soaked up by pasta.
Winner! First, thank you for having SO many recipes with “normal” ingredients that are quick, easy, and yummy! Second, here are the spices I added (and a couple other changes simply based on what was in my pantry, although I’m sure home-canned *anything* would make it even better!), for those that could be interested. I had organic, grass-fed ground beef, so I started with that. I’ve had a cold all week and wasn’t interested in more watery eyes, so I used dried minced onion. Then I added a little minced garlic, salt, basil, oregano, pepper, red pepper flakes, coriander, and a little sage. Browned that all up, added the tomatoes (had a 28 oz can, so kept in a little of the pasta water to add more flavored liquid). Cooked the pasta longer than I would have with the elbow macaroni because I had large shells, but then mixed it all together (kept about 1/4 cup-ish of liquid), put it in the greased 9×13, stirred about half way through since they were large shells and I wanted to make sure everything was mixed and cooked evenly, and it turned out great! Thanks again Stacy! And thanks to your Mama too! Maybe some day I’ll be brave enough to can and then I can enjoy the “real” recipe. 🙂
🙂 Be brave! You can do it!!
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Hi Stacy, visiting from Tuesdays at the Table. This sounds as if it would be bland, though I’m assuming that the sausage is where all of the sesoning comes from. I want to ask about the canning of sausage, as I have never heard of “canning” your own meats. Is it cooked first or raw? And do you always use your own “special” version from the butchered pig? Or do you have a brand to use in place of the butchers? Hoping to hear back from you to learn more. Thanks and have a great upcoming week.
Carla, our family orders a pig from a local farmer. He also does his own seasoning and curing of meats. When we get it, it’s raw. We cold pack it into canning jars and process that way – so it does get cooked a little bit. However, we scoop it out of the jar and fry it in the skillet when we’re ready.
It does seem like it might be bland….but the sausage works magic and it’s anything but bland! 🙂
It’s the BEST sausage ever. We use it for gravy and eggs and recipes like this. For patties, we save some of the raw sausage out and form it into patties and freeze them that way.
See cold pack canning method: http://chestofbooks.com/food/recipes/American-Woman-Cook-Book/General-Directions-For-Canning-Meat-By-The-Cold-Pack-Method.html
Stacy, how exciting for you to be able to post your Mom’s Sausage Macaroni. It looks like an awesome recipe, I just love family recipes that float in someones head until a daughter comes along and writes it down. It is a wonderful memory! Hope you have a fabulous week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
The only way it would ever get written down was if I did it. lol
Yep, I definitely need to make this. I love a good baked pasta dish. 🙂 Thanks for sharing with Tuesdays at the Table!
Pasta just makes life better!
Wow… this is super simple. Love it. Can you make it with rice noodles?
I don’t know….I’ve never used rice noodles. 🙂 But you could try!
Sounds really good – I am just getting into canning and am looking for good resources – is there a particular book you or your mom would recommend? The canned sausage sounds very interesting. I’m enjoying your blog – thanks for sharing.
YES!!! The Ball Blue Book of Preserving is what we use. 🙂 I talk about it here: http://www.stacymakescents.com/canning-peaches-a-tutorial
We love canning together! You’ll really enjoy it!
Stacy,
My husband taught me a chopped suey recipe that is easy and yummy.
A pack of browned hamburger
1 can of tomato soup
1 cup of pasta (spirals or macaroni work best)
parmesan cheese to taste
Boil noodles and then mix all ingredients. Do not add anything to the soup, just scoop it out from the can.
I thought it sounded horrible, then tried it one day…
I am going to try your mama’s recipe too.
Christy B
I’ve seen those types of recipes, but I have never made one though – not a huge fan of canned tomato soup. I hope you enjoy Mama’s version! 🙂 Isn’t it funny how some stuff sounds horrible but tastes so stinkin’ delicious?
This may be a silly question, but if you’re not using your own, home-canned tomatoes, what kind do I buy? Stewed? Diced? Crushed? My family is not a big fan of big chunks of tomato in foods, so can I use crushed or petite diced? This sounds so good, and I like that it’s dairy-free, since I’m not eating dairy right now!
Anything goes! 🙂 Any type you want to use will work just fine.
Stacey,
My husbands family makes a variation of this and I had to learn to cook it just like his dad did because it is one of his favorites. We do all of ours in a cast iron skillet however. The main difference is that we use hamburger meat instead of sausage and since his family doesnt really like chunks of tomatoes they always used a large can of tomato soup. For sides with this they always make mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls.
I’m not a fan of canned tomato soup – no idea why…I’m weird like that. 🙂 We tried it with hamburger, but we prefer the sausage. Those are great sides though! Yummo!
My mom doesn’t like chunky tomatoes either…but by the time we stir it up they get crushed – similar to crushed tomatoes from the store. But I think that’s just because home canned tomatoes are pretty soft. *Drool*
If it didn’t make you slap your mama, what makes you think I’d slap mine? You think you’re better than me?? HUH? 😉 This sounds so good.
Well, I hate to point fingers….lol.
Sounds great!!! Will have to try this! Thank you for sharing.
How are you feeling? How is the house hunting going?
Blessings to you!!
I’m feeling MUCH better!!! 🙂 Life is a lot easier now. Trying to zero in on a house, but we’re still here at Mama’s. Thanks!
What? No cheese? 🙂
Nooooooooooooo. It totally ruins this dish. Totally.
I’m with Judy wondering where the cheese is, LOL. Even-though I am lactose intolerant I still gotta have my cheese, although in moderation 🙂 That last image looks amazing. I have a similar recipe for the slow cooker, though I am sure it isn’t nearly as good as “mamas”. http://www.getcrockingapp.com/blog/beefy-mac-and-cheese/
It’s a bit the same…but a lot different. LOL
No, cheese totally ruins this recipe. I am a cheese lover, but it’s just not the thing for this dish….trust me. 🙂 And is anything really as good as “mama’s?” Nope. 🙂