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I doubled this meal and then froze it in 2 parts: Few dinner portions without cheese. Another few portions with cheese.
After seeing the pasta box on the counter, my oldest asked, “Are we having macaroni for dinner?”
I replied, “Yeah, but this is Taco Macaroni.”
To which he responded, “Yum. Tac-aroni!”
Clever, huh?
Not sure how to pronounce this…Listen below.
Little stinker…trying to tell you we were having spinach!
I made this Taco Mac recipe from Stolen Moments Cooking “as is”…meaning no modifications, other than no cheese for the boys! Great meal Kate!!!
*Note: Recipe below is for a single meal. I doubled the below recipe to have enough to freeze.
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni Use rice pasta for a gluten-free meal!
1 1/2 c. beef stock or broth
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 c. frozen corn
1 c. shredded cheese
2 cups frozen greens beans
Directions
1. Brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Stir in seasonings.
2. Add noodles, stock, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender, about 15 – 20 minutes.
3. Stir in corn until heated through. Top with cheese and serve.
4. Cook green beans as indicated by package instructions.
5. Serve Tac-aroni with Green Beans.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Erin, thanks so much! I’m glad you guys liked it.
That video is precious. I think I’m going to start calling it Tac-aroni from now on. It’s perfect. And what a little cutie.
[Reply]
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:28 pm
@Kate @ Stolen Moments,
I was quite impressed with his creativity on that one! And we’ll be calling it that now for sure!
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This looks awesome!
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Will try this weekend! Sounds wonderful! We like quinoa elbows over rice pasta elbows for these kinds of dishes . . . it’s closer in consistency to wheat pasta, and it’s flavor is mild enough not to compete with whatever you add to it.
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I have a similar recipe that I have been preparing for years.
Chili Noodle
For every 2 cups of dry noodles ( I use elbow) you use:
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (plain or flavored)
1 15 oz. can of chili (vegetarian, turkey or whatever you have on hand)
Boil the noodles- drain. Place in skillet with the tomatoes and chili. Stir. Simmer 10 – 15 minutes. That’s it!
You can add cheese on top the last few minutes of cooking. I serve with sour cream and corn chips.
[Reply]
I’m sad you don’t have a cost breakdown on this one. I’m trying really hard to wean my family from Hamburger Helper because I just hate feeding my family it. But it’s so convenient and inexpensive, which is hard to beat right now. I love trying homemade versions like this, and will be adding this one to my list to try.
[Reply]
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
@Shelly,
After doubling the recipe, it probably made 4 times what a HH would make. Everything was on sale…my best guess would be it was $6 for the doubled version, with the meat on sale, using coupons for the tomato sauce/diced tomatoes and getting frozen corn on sale as well!
[Reply]
I have this on the stove right now! I’ll be darned if I didn’t forget to pick up a bag of fire roasted corn when I was at Trader Joe’s. I thought that might give it another little kick. Next time!
[Reply]
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
@Melanie @ Mel, A Dramatic Mommy,
That would be a great addition Mel!
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Just made this recipe tonight, it was outstanding! I made it earlier in the day because I was going to be out for most of the afternoon. I put the dinner in a casserole dish and when we were ready to eat, put the cheese on top and baked for 30 minutes….it came out as a casserole! We were very pleased….thank you!
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