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Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni

Everyone knows that we should eat food that is good for us, but sometimes a body just needs a little comfort food.  My homemade cheeseburger macaroni was born years ago out of necessity – I was hungry and only had a few ingredients on hand at the time. The process is simple and can be made in 20 minutes. This is how it is done (scroll down for printable instructions):

Brown 1 pound of ground beef and drain well, returning to skillet.

Add the following:

  • 1 Tablespoon of Michael’s Taco Seasoning (you can use a packet if you have it, but we’ll laugh at you)
  • 1 1/2 cups of diced tomatoes (or a can of Rotel, blah blah blah)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup of macaroni noodles

NOTE: For Taco Mac, use 3 Tablespoons of Taco seasoning.

Stir it up.

If you happen to have that boxed macaroni & cheese crap on hand, this is a great way to use it.  The contents equal about a cup of macaroni. If you use the powdered cheese packet, you’re on your own.

Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover, simmering for 12-15 minutes until the macaroni is done and it looks like this:

cheeseburger macaroni

Now we’re gonna work a little magic. I hope you’re  ready. Since we don’t use that chemical-and-salt cheese flavored powdery junk, we are gonna need some serious cheesy goodness up in here. 

Grab a small saucepan and add a little butter. A Tablespoon will do, but 2 Tablespoons will do twice as good. Heat the butter until melted and bubbling, then add a couple of Tablespoons of flour and whisk it up good.  Keep it moving so it doesn’t scorch, but just cook it until the flour gets a little color on it, usually about 2 minutes or so.

Add 1/2 cup of milk and whisk it well until the mixture boils.

Take the sauce pan off the heat (or just turn off the stove eye, genius) and whisk about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Keep whisking until the cheese is completely melted, resisting the urge to stick your face in the pan and eat it right then and there.

Pour that cheesy deliciousness into the skillet over the beefy macaroni goodness as illustrated here:

cheeseburger macaroni 2

Stir everything together and let it sit for 5 minutes to mix the flavors together. I know you’re hungry, so to kill time during that five minutes, might I suggest:

  • getting out the plates and utensils
  • updating your Facebook status with a link to this recipe so your friends know how awesome you are
  • deleting all the forwarded emails your mother sends every day
  • recreating Lady Gaga’s latest hairstyle with soap suds from the sink

See there? 5 minutes goes by in a flash!  Dinner is served!

cheeseburger macaroni 3

 

Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 3 Tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning
  • 1½ cups diced tomatoes (or a can of Rotel)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup macaroni noodles
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
  • ½ cup milk (lowfat, whole, whatever you've got)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. Brown ground beef and drain. Return to skillet.
  2. Add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, water, and macaroni and stir.
  3. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and cover, simmering for 12-15 minutes.
  4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add flour and whisk thoroughly.
  5. Stir butter and flour mixture constantly for a minute or two until it takes on a little color.
  6. Add milk and whisk until boiling.
  7. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese until completely melted.
  8. Pour cheese sauce into skillet and stir to combine.

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