Macaroni and Cheese with Beef and Tomatoes

This one's quick and easy. I accidentally poured a little too much milk into the mashed potatoes that I was making for the English Cottage Pie so I ended up with a milky, starchy mess. I scooped out the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set the mashed potatoes aside to thicken, boiled three more potatoes to correct my error, then turned the soupy milk into macaroni and cheese with beef and tomatoes.

I meant to do that all along. Uh huh.




Macaroni and Cheese with Beef and Tomatoes

For four to six servings, you'll need:
1 lb macaroni or other pasta noodle of your choice, boiled and drained
1 small onion, diced
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups milk
1/4 cup flour or cornstarch
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
4 tomatoes, diced

Set a pot of water to boil the pasta.

Dice one small onion. In a pan on medium-high heat, saute the onion.




Add the ground beef and saute some more. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt. Drain the fat from the beef and then set aside.




In a pot, add 3 cups milk and dissolve 1/4 cup cornstarch or flour into the mixture. Add the shredded cheddar cheese and let simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken.




When the pasta is done, add the pasta to the cheese and mix thoroughly. Set aside.




Dice the tomatoes.

Then add the tomatoes and beef to the mac and cheese. You want the mac and cheese to be a little cool so the tomatoes and beef are separate components and not a big mash. Unless that's what you want.




The freshness of the tomatoes provide a nice contrast to the beef and warm cheese.




Serve up to a lil' sis who likes mac and cheese in any form and a hungry oldest nephew who's happy to eat anything besides tuna straight from the can with a dash of sriracha.

Enjoy!

Other mac & cheese recipes:
Macaroni and Cheese
Spicy Mac and Cheese with Chicken

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