Ah yes, the hot dish. The one thing that could be the saving grace of any college student.
Hot dish mainly consists of three things: ground beef, elbow macaroni, and tomato sauce. Beyond that, you can add anything you want to flavor it more to your taste. My momma always put corn and onions in hers, and then I would normally sneak in a little garlic.
Preperation:
1lb. ground beef
1 box elbow macaroni
1 can tomato sauce (size of can depends on how thick or thin you like your hot dish)
Any other assorted ingredients you wish
First, brown your pound of beef. Be sure to get it nice and separated so it spreads out evenly in the mixture. Next, cook your macaroni. Get it nice and tender. Then, add the ground beef and macaroni to the tomato sauce in a microwaveable casserole dish. Then, add whatever extra ingredients you desire. Microwave until piping hot. Immediately refrigerate leftovers. But be careful! When hot dish goes bad, it really goes bad. Feeds a single person one meal a day for a week.
I was raised on the hot dish. It's truly the tool the lazy person uses to feed themselves. We always liked to spice it up with some garlic bread or maybe pasta salad.