Cheeseburger Macaroni
OH, YAH! I went there. This is a down right comforting and oh so delicious meal.
First things first, this dish can be modified to fit vegetarians or meatatarians. You can use any form of ground protein such as turkey, beef, soy, or vegetables. I have actually tried all variations and they are equally delicious!
Start off by heating a pan and cooking your ground protein and adding some taco seasoning. You can add garlic and red chili powder at this point, if your family can tolerate the spice levels. I usually add red chili powder/crushed pepper from the top so there is no alarming anyone.
Once your protein has cooked, add a can of diced tomatoes and peppers. Rotel is perfectly okay to use, unless you prefer to use an organic version found at many health food stores. Just a heads up though, be sure to purchase according to your spice level since Rotel is sold in original, mild, or hot; and keeping in mind Taco Seasoning also comes in various different spice levels.
Once mixed, add water and pasta to the pot. After the mixture comes to a boil reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pot and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the water has fully cooked the pasta and evaporated.
While that is cooking, you can make the cheese sauce. Heat a small pan with some butter and slowly add in the all purpose flour. Once the flour has cooked through add some milk and continue to whisk. After the mixture comes to a boil, remove pot from the heat and add cheese. Continue to whisk until the mixture turns into a unified liquid form-aka-CHEESE SAUCE.
After the pasta is done and the water evaporates, pour in the cheese sauce and collaborate the two together. Heat on low for about 2-3 minutes and serve! You can add crushed red pepper as a topping (because this home girl loves her some spice!).
Recipe
A hamburger helper version of cheeseburger macaroni made from scratch with extra seasonings and flavors.
- 1 lb ground protein (turkey, beef, soy, etc)
- 10 oz diced tomato and peppers (i.e. Rotel)
- 1 package McCormick taco seasoning
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- 2 cups water or broth
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlic
- red chili powder (optional)
- oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
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Heat a pan and add a pinch of oil. Mash your ground protein and then add it to the pan. (SIDE NOTE: I like to mix mine so the lines of the ground meat don't cook in the same form/shape.)
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Stir in the taco seasoning, garlic, red chili powder, Rotel, and salt.
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Mix and add 2 cups of water and the pasta.
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Once the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, you can make the cheese sauce.
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After the water has evaporated, stir in the cheese sauce.
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Mix the two together and simmer for about 3 minutes.
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Serve!
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Heat a saucepan and add butter to it. Once heated, add the flour and whisk until cooked through (about 1-2minutes on low heat).
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Whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture boils and thickens, remove it from the heat.
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Add in the cup of shredded cheese and continue to whisk until it is all mixed and a thick sauce. Set it aside until ready to mix with the pasta.
