Familiar Flavors

Believe it or not, I had not had Cheeseburger Macaroni prior to my first year of college. My dad loves the stuff, but my mama was far from a fan of it and she was queen of the kitchen in our house.

It. Was. So. Easy. I was flabbergasted that something so simple could produce a meal that was decent. It had a certain homey appeal, and I appreciated it when I had been studying for 9 hours straight, and wanted to eat something more substantial than cereal and coffee. It was my easy, in a pinch “real” meal.

If you haven’t noticed, I eat both gluten and dairy free. As I’ve grown older, I’ve tried to avoid eating as many processed foods as well. For me to feel my best, I need to make my own food and know what’s going into my body.

This is not want I want the focus of this blog to be, I’d rather it be about great food period. I will say this though; with adopting this way of eating I have experienced huge improvements in my personal health. The only downside to this is that I lost the convenience of the in a pinch meals from my youth.

I’m not the type to wallow in self-pity. About a year ago I was dying for some good old Cheeseburger Macaroni, so I set out to make some. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do – it tastes just how I remember it but it is so much better for me.

This is not out of a box Cheeseburger Macaroni:

1 box Elbow Macaroni (I use Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta)

2 Tbs Olive Oil

½ lb grass fed ground beef (I use sirloin)

1 small onion, diced (small squares around the size of a pea)

1 clove garlic, mined (super tiny pieces, you can use a microplane for this)

1 Tbs paprika (use sweet rather than smoked for this)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion salt

1 Tbs Tomato paste

4-8 oz. reserved pasta water

Fresh ground black pepper

Serves: 2 people with leftovers.

Time: 20-30 minutes depending on how long you let it simmer

Step 1: Boil water for pasta and follow instructions on box for it to be al dente (not too soft – you want to use your teeth slightly to bite through the pasta). If you are using gluten free pasta, add a drop or two of olive oil to the water to prevent sticking. Also, give the water a liberal amount of salt for the pasta to cook in.

Step 2: In a large skillet, sauté the diced onion and minced garlic in olive oil on medium heat.

Step 3: Add the ground beef when the onions and garlic start to appear translucent.

Step 4: Don’t wait for the meat to brown before adding the spices. Add the spices and brown the ground beef at the same time. This will make it more flavorful.

Step 5: When the meat is almost thoroughly browned, add in the tomato paste.

Step 6: Cook the tomato paste into the meat. About 1 or 2 minutes.

Step 7: Drain the pasta and reserve your 4-8 oz of your pasta water.

Step 8: Add the reserved pasta water to the meat mixture to get your desired thickness for the sauce. I like mine as you see it below.

Step 9: Add drained pasta to the mixture. Stir together, serve and enjoy.

Serving suggestions: Make a spinach salad with olives and avocado. Drizzle some homemade shallot, honey and balsamic vinaigrette onto it.

This is lecker. I hope your Cheeseburger Macaroni is lecker too.