The 'original' Johnny Marzetti was created in the 1940's by the owner of Marzetti's Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio and named after his brother... Johnny.

The following is the 'standard' mixture; at the end of the recipe I will show some variations.

Here in Ohio, we have many versions of this popular dish, here is the one I've used for years. Precook 1/2 of a 1-lb box of macaroni in boiling, salted water. While the macaroni is cooking preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Brown 1 lb ground beef in a heavy frying pan. Drain off excess grease, but leave a small amount in the pan.

Chop an onion, to your taste, but about 1/2 cup is standard. Chop about 1/4 cup green pepper. Put the onion and pepper in with the pre-cooked hamburger and saute the vegetables until the onion is transparent. Salt and pepper to taste.

By now your macaroni should be cooked, drain and set aside. I don't usually rinse my macaroni.

Grease a 2-quart casserole, I use regular shortening, or margarine, butter burns quicker.

In a bowl large enough to accommodate all of the ingredients, mix them all together. Add 1 can of tomatoes, drained (diced, or chopped) to the mixture.

You can add some sliced Velveeta cheese (about 1 cupful) to the mixture. Tranfer everything to the prepared casserole dish. Put additional cheese slices on top.

Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for about 35-40 minutes; or until the mixture is bubbling and the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serves 5 to 6.


VARIATIONS:

Some folks like to saute sliced mushrooms or use canned mushrooms (drained) and also sauted.

1 can of undiluted tomato soup can be used to replace the tomatoes; or 1 large can tomato sauce, or even catsup.

I prefer to use Velveeta cheese because it melts good; but you can substitute mild or medium Cheddar cheese (grated).
Some folks leave the cheese out of the mixture all together and only add it to the top for flavor. You can also use regular American cheese slices.

Marzetti owns Inn Maid Noodles and their recipe calls for about 1/2 pound bag of pre-cooked medium or wide noodles, instead of the macaroni. It is prepared in the skillet only with the addition of some water/soy sauce/sugar and added as a thickener.

Other cooks add a bit of sugar, others add garlic powder. Tomato paste 1 12-oz can instead of the other tomato products.

If you don't like fresh onion you can substitute about 2 tablespoons dehydrated onion.

I've seen recipes that have drained peas or corn added.
You can add chopped celery. Or a jar of pimientos, drained.

Sausage can be substituted for the hamburger meat, or a combination of ground beef and ground pork. If you like the taste of ground turkey, use that.

Bread crumbs can be put on top, instead of the cheese.

Some call for pre-cooked spaghetti, or cream of mushroom soup and add no tomato products.

Adding the pre-cooked macaroni or noodles directly to the skillet, adding the cheese until it melts and not putting the recipe in the oven to bake.

Adding what you have on hand, or leaving out what you don't. This recipe is like spaghetti sauce recipes; all different, but all good and geared to individual tastes.

This recipe has a multitude of names; Johnny Marzetti, Johnny Mazuma, Yum-a-Zetti, John Ben Getti, Johnny M, John Marzetti, Marsetti, Hamburger Casserole, Beef and Macaroni Casserole.

Enjoy what version you and yours like.