This recipe is always worth repeating. Good old fashioned soul food and perfect for fall weather. Hope you enjoy.
This has been my go-to casserole for years and I thought everyone in the world made a version of it. However, when I took it to a Church Potluck recently, there were several young ladies that asked me for the recipe. Since we are all trying to stretch our budget and still have something nourishing to feed our families, I thought I would post the recipe here just in case it’s not already one of your staple recipes.
All kids and big kids alike usually like macaroni and cheese, and this is so similar, except it has meat in it.
1 lb. ground chuck crumbled and browned.
1 med. onion diced and cooked with the meat the last few minutes to infuse the flavor and soften the onion.
Sprinkle both generously with garlic salt while cooking.
1 pkg. elbow macaroni cooked and drained
2 sm. cans (8 oz) tomato sauce or 1 sm. can tomato paste
1/2 can water
3/4 pkg shredded cheese. I always use the 3 cheese variety.
Cook the macaroni in boiling water while you brown the meat and onion in a skillet. Drain the macaroni well and lightly rinse, then add the meat mixture. Then add in the tomato sauce and as much water as needed to make a nice sauce. Cook the sauce for a few minutes until boiling. Mix it all together well. Place into a large casserole dish and cover with the cheese. Cover with foil (be sure to spray your foil with Pam or some kind of nonstick spray so it won’t stick to the cheese when baking.)
Place in a 350 oven and bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. When you can see the bottom all bubbly and you are sure it has been heated all the way through and the cheese is melted and all gooey, then you are done. Makes 8 generous servings. I usually fix some garlic bread and a tossed salad to go with it.
All ready to add a little salad and some garlic bread and a super dinner.
Cost breakdown
1 lb. ground chuck $1.87 on sale this week
2 cans tomato sauce .20 c each on sale = .40c
1 pkg. macaroni shells $1 on sale
3/4 pkg shredded cheese $1.50 for the whole package on sale=$1.10
That’s a total of $4.37
Add the salad and garlic bread and you still have a meal for under $10 for 8.
Mexican Variation – just add a small can of chopped green chilis and 1/2 pkg. of taco seasoning.
Great comfort food and a crowd pleaser every time you serve it.
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When you say Small can can you tell e
Me the ounces, there are 3 sizes at our grocery store. Thanks
The 8 oz size. I usually find them on sale for 8 to 10 for $1. When I do I stock up. Hope you enjoy, this is a favorite or sure.
Do you drain the meat after browned before mixing with other ingredients?
NO, there shouldn’t be a lot of grease, so just add everything as given. Marty
How does this freeze?
It freezes really well. I freeze before I bake it. I have kept it in the freezer for a month and it is perfect. Give it a try, your family will love it. Marty
Marty, I add a can of rotel and delete the paste. Very good!
Will this keep warm we’ll in a crockpot? I was thinking of taking this to a pot luck.
It needs to bake in the oven to melt the cheese and thicken the sauce. Take it right out of the oven and to your potluck, it should be fine. It needs to cool for a bit anyway to thicken up.