The first time I made this dish that I call "cheeseburger casserole" instantly became my husband's favorite meal. This is one dish you'll want to have in your repertoire. It's family-friendly, easy, quick, and the leftovers are great! If you have a kitchen experience you'd like to share, link-up!
The essential ingredients here are 1lb pasta, 2 cans of tomato, 1 onion, 2 c cheese, 1/4 c ketchup, 1/4 c mustard, and 1 lb ground meat.
Meat--I usually use ground turkey
onion--I use fresh white or yellow onions, but minced onion flakes would be fine
tomato--I use 2 cans of diced tomatoes, but you could use fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce, another type of canned tomato, or pasta sauce.
cheese--I use shredded mozzarella. You could use any kind you like. Mixing in some cottage cheese would be good, too.
pasta--I've used rotini, penne, and macaroni. It doesn't make a difference!
Other ingredients that make it yummy:
parsley, red wine, garlic, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, frozen (or fresh) spinach, basil, oregano, chipotle, and mushrooms
I suppose if you are a person who likes pickles, they would be good. Personally, I can't stand pickles, so I never use them, but if you like it with a cheeseburger, you'll like it in this casserole.
*special note about spinach--Frozen spinach can be added to all kinds of things! Almost any time I'm browning turkey or hamburger, I add a handful of it. It's healthy, and no one minds!*
Add a jalapeno to make it spicy. If you like A1, that would be good.
Here's an ingredient picture for my visual learners! |
- Brown the meat with onion and minced garlic. Add parsley, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano during this process.
- Add the frozen spinach
- Add ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, wine, and tomato
- Add 2 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of water (or any combination)
- when the mixture boils pour in pasta and cook according to directions on the box
- Stir every few minutes so it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan
- Stir in cheese, or add it after it's served to make the pan easier to clean.
Honestly, I don't measure ketchup or mustard, I use about this much. |
This is to give you an idea of the consistency it should have with the pasta added. |
My kids like to see the cheese, otherwise they think they're being cheated. |
Click on the picture to access a printable copy in Google Docs.
For other great teacher-friendly recipes read my posts about frittata and baked oatmeal.
If you found this post to be interesting or fun, I'd love for you to connect with me!
I love baking but usually cooking a meal has to come first! Thanks for this! My kids will enjoy it and I'm sure it'll be easy to make. :)
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