My aunt made this old school lunch and I was shocked by how good it is. Simple comfort food. Just 3 ingredients!

Pour the stewed tomatoes, with all their juices, into the slow cooker. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to gently break up any very large tomato pieces if you prefer smaller chunks, but leave them fairly rustic for that old-school texture.

Stir in the uncooked elbow macaroni, making sure the pasta is mostly submerged in the tomato juices. If the pasta isn’t quite covered, gently press it down into the liquid; it’s okay if a few pieces peek out.

Dot the top with the pieces of butter, distributing them evenly over the macaroni and tomatoes so they melt down into everything as it cooks.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring once about halfway through. The exact time will depend on your slow cooker and how soft you like your pasta. Start checking around the 1 1/2-hour mark.

When the macaroni is tender and the tomatoes look thick and saucy, give everything a good stir to coat the pasta in the buttery tomato juices. Taste and add a pinch of salt and pepper if you like, keeping in mind the recipe is meant to be very simple and mild.

Serve warm straight from the slow cooker. The mixture will thicken a bit as it sits, and the macaroni will be soft and plump, just like those classic school-lunch style bowls many of us grew up with.