Long time no see! I might have taken a good month off from posting, but I have an excuse. I was tired.
But now I'm back with another homey favorite - my Cheesy Beefaroni recipe! If you are a fan of tomato-y, cheesy pasta (like me), then you'll love this one! Now, there's no sugarcoating - this isn't the healthiest. It's just a good, hearty, gooey, meaty delight. And you like that.
(Note: This recipe utilizes my favorite tomato sauce recipe that is found here: but any tomato sauce can be used (as long as you like it!) Feel free to make your own with any recipe of choice, or buy your favorite brand at the store and use it as your base. Just make sure you have about 4 cups of it, because that's the perfect amount you'll need for this meal!)
Not much else needs to be said, so let's get right to it!
Prep Time: 0 Minutes | Cook Time: 30-40 Minutes | Total Time: 30-40 Minutes
*Cook time does not include time spent prepping tomato sauce, and may vary depending on sauce used*
Special Equipment
2 large Pots (for boiling pasta and cooking meat sauce)
1 Strainer (to rinse pasta and ground beef)
1 large Pan (for cooking ground beef)
1 Spatula
1 large Cooking Spoon
One glass 9"x13" casserole dish
1 large Baking Sheet
Ingredients
1 yield of The Sweetest Tomato Sauce (or 4 cups of tomato pasta sauce of choice)
1lb Ground Beef, raw (as lean as you want)
1tbsp Coconut Oil (or other cooking oil of choice) {only required is 90% lean ground beef is used}
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1lb (16oz) of dry small pasta of choice (Elbow, Penne, Shells, Rotini, etc.)
2 cups (about 8oz) of Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Method
Prepare The Sweetest Tomato Sauce (or 4 cups of tomato pasta sauce of choice) in a large Pot. Heat sauce on low as you prepare the meat (steps 3 and 4).
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
Fill your second large pot with water and heat it on High. Allow water to come to boil as you prepare ground beef (steps 4 and 5).
If you are using 90% lean ground beef, add coconut oil to the large cooking pan. Then, add the raw ground beef, and break into four large pieces with spatula. Add the salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon to the meat. Stir with spatula and cook until the ground beef starts to brown, about 5 minutes.
Use spatula to break beef apart even more and stir, and let cook for another minute or so. After a minute or so, break beef apart some more and stir again. Repeat step until 90% of the meat is brown, this step will take about 5-10 minutes total.
Use strainer to remove excess grease from meat, then set strainer aside. Add the drained meat to the warmed pot of tomato sauce, and stir to combine. Allow it to continue heating on low.
Once pot of water from Step 3 is boiling, add pasta and cook according to box instructions, about 7-10 minutes.
Use strainer to drain the pasta. Then add the pasta to the pot of meat sauce. Stir gently with a large cooking spoon to fully combine.
Use the large cooking spoon to scoop the meaty pasta into a glass 9"x13" casserole dish. Be sure to evenly distribute in the dish.
Place the casserole dish on top of a large cooking sheet (to catch any potential spillage). Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove casserole from the oven, and evenly distribute the 2cups of Sharp Cheddar Cheese to the top of the pasta. Return to the oven, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted.
Allow the pasta to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving with a spatula. Enjoy!
Nutritional Data*
Servings: 12
Serving Size: 1/12th of yield
Calories: 338 | Protein: 17 | Carbs: 38 | Fiber: 3 | Fats: 14
*Elbow pasta, 90% lean ground beef, and coconut oil were used when calculating the nutritional value of this meal. Only half the value of the coconut oil was observed, as the majority of grease will be drained from the meat. The Sweetest Tomato Sauce was also observed. Data may vary depending on leanness of ground beef and type of tomato sauce used.
This is a family recipe and is not derived from another existing recipe. Please give proper credit if re-posting.
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