Best Meaty Macaroni Recipes

MEATY MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Add the spaghetti sauce, water, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes., In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, macaroni, mushrooms, cheeses and bread crumbs. Spoon into a 3-qt. baking dish. Top with meat mixture. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with additional mozzarella cheese if desired. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

MEATY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Prepare mac and cheese according to box directions, using salted water.
• Meanwhile, brown meat and drain grease.Rinse meat if desired to remove even more grease.
• Season meat with onion and garlic- fresh and sauteed can be used instead- and add any additional seasonings that your family likes. SEE NOTE - skip if using left over meat- but do reheat the leftovers.
• Add meat to prepared mac and cheese and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
• At this point you can add EXTRAS such as additional grated cheese, great opportunity to sneak in veggies - peas, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc., Use what you like or try this to entice kids to eat things they normally wouldn't.
• I have even added some spinach to the meat mixing it in well so it is not as noticeable! Sometimes you have to be sneaky! hehehe.
• NOTE: This is even faster when you use left over taco meat, sloppy joes, crumbled meatloaf, etc -- Add what your family likes.
• No this isn't the healthiest meal- but it IS so much healthier for them than a greasy burger grabbed on the run, and you can make it as healthy as you choose- I have even used leftover homemade mac and cheese- No preservatives at all that way!
• You can 'fancy' it up by topping it with extra cheese or breadcrumbs and popping it under the broiler for a minute just to brown.
• A real time saving tip that the kids love is to put the entire mixture in a lightly sprayed casserole pan and top with biscuit dough- you can even use the ones in the can, bake per can instructions until the biscuits are done.

MEATY MACARONI

Steps:

• Crumble beef into a 2-qt. microwave-safe dish. Add onion and green pepper. Cover and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, stirring once; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce, macaroni, water, salt and pepper. , Cover and microwave on high for 9 minutes, stirring once. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.