be happy for this moment.

You can't possibly ask me to go without having some dinner. It's absurd. I never go without my dinner. No one ever does, except vegetarians and people like that.
Oscar Wilde

My father was a very picky eater. Born and raised in southern Ohio he certainly loved his meat and potatoes but his palate did have an appreciation for soup beans and fried potatoes. Canned peaches for dessert of course.

Needless to say, adventurous dishes were not relished at his kitchen table.

But one of "his" recipes that he always made and loved to eat was Sicilian Supper. Our family is not Italian, not even a little bit. But even French and Irish taste buds can't deny the classic goodness of this easy dish.

He died in 2002, when I was 19, but each and every time I make or share the Sicilian Supper recipe I can see him sitting at the table in our kitchen. Piece of garlic bread in one hand, fork digging into this picky-eater-friendly dish.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopping onion
3/4 cup water
6 oz. tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
½ bag of egg noodles
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
8 oz. cream cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook egg noodles as package directs. Drain and set aside.

Brown ground beef and drain excess fat. Add in chopped onions to ground beef and saute until tender. Stir in tomato paste, water, garlic powder, salt. Let simmer until nicely combined.

In a separate sauce pan combine milk, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese. Over low heat stir until melted and combined.

Add in cooked egg noodles to cheese mixture. Stir to combine.

Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Start on one end and spoon the ground beef mixture into a straight line. Then, make a line of the noodle mixture. Continue alternating lines of the mixtures until dish is filled. The final result will look like the stripes of the American flag.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve a large scoop of baked Sicilian Supper that includes both meat and noodles. Goes great with a salad and garlic bread.