My Almost One Pot Wonder

OK, I am going to post a recipe.
This is my mother-inlaw Lil's dish-
she calls it "American Chop Suey". My husband and kids call it "Goulash"
My family loves this stuff and I'll admit-so do I.
I call it an "almost" one pot wonder but really you have to dirty up two pots
but I'll get to that later.

First-The Ingredients:
1)2 16oz cans of Italian-stewed tomatoes
2)2 16oz cans of baked kidney beans(I use Friends brand)
3) About a cup of uncooked medium shell pasta or elbow macaroni if you prefer
4) 1 lb. of ground beef
5) 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic
6) half of a sweet onion (vidalia if you can get it) chopped
2-3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of sugar
Garlic salt and black pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese (both are good).

Directions:
In a large 6 qt. pot drizzle in the olive oil and add the onions and garlic.
Saute a little, careful not to burn the garlic.
Add your crumbled up ground beef and cook until brown. Drain any fat and return to pot.
Add your garlic salt and pepper to taste.
Add the tomatoes(I like to put mine in a bowl and chop them up a little first) juice and all.
Add the kidneys, juice and all.
Stir in the sugar(it takes the tartness out of the tomatoes-I like it but some prefer not to add sugar-to each her own!)
Add around half a cup of water to the mixture(it will create extra juice and we "lik-a" the juice!)
Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer.

Right about now your husband will meander into the kitchen and lift the lid
and ask when is supper going to be ready.
You smile and say "Soon dear" and send him back to his chair.

In a separate pot(told ya it was almost a one-pot wonder) cook the pasta until Al dente then drain and add to the main pot.
Continue cooking until pasta is tender.

Pretty soon your kids will appear with a friend.
The friend will volunteer the info that his parents are both working late.
You will smile and set another plate.

Serve piping-hot and garnish with the shredded cheese if desired.
You can also just sprinkle it with grated Parmesan-either way it's delicious.
Serve with warm garlic or plain Italian bread.