Johnny Mazzetti is what I've seen cafeterias call it. I don't think my mom ever made it, but if she did, it was probably Italian goulash or some such name.

I think my school called it hamburger helper.... that's what I think of it as.

Goulash here. My family adds cheese.

It's weird that we called it goulash, since my mom was raised in Delaware, not the Midwest.

I've seen a Stouffer's version, simply called "macaroni and beef."

God, I'm hungry now.

Haven't we had the "What did you call macaroni, ground beef, and tomatoes?" conversation?

Of course! It's a little circular, but I figure the conversation itself counts as comfort food. It's filling, not terribly adventurous, and reminds you of growing up.

How is that different from Chili Mac?

I think we called that goulash in my house, but the school cafeteria called it Beefaroni.

Beans and chili powder.

I think we need a new digital camera. The quality of pictures is starting to suck. these were the best photos of Owen's 4K graduation I could get.

And I messed up on the Flip and didn't get him dancing to Splish Splash. At least there will be less to embarrass him as a teenager.

We didn't call it anything around our house because we never made it, nobody else's mom that I knew of ever made it, it never appeared in our cafeterias, and I never even knew it existed until the Buffistas. Am I just a freak (or someone with a really lousy food memory), or is it in fact just not a Bay Area thing since ever? Are there any other native localistas to confirm or refute?

Now that I think about it, I am pretty sure that it was a recipe my mom learned in Home Ec, so that'd be Hayward.

Owen is a cutie-head.