When you can’t decide on what to make for dinner…Taco Chili Mac is the answer! It’s taco meat with deep chili flavors and cheesy pasta for a fast weeknight meal. I like to use my cast iron for this meal and it only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. It’s a fast, easy and delicious meal when you need something to fill up your crew! Now, I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!
Taco Chili Mac
TACO CHILI MAC
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 white onion, diced
3 gloves roasted garlic
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
Dash of salt and pepper
1/2 pkg elbow noodles
8 oz beef broth (I use Better Than Bullion)
8 oz water
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (medium heat)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
Green onions
Cilantro
1 8oz block of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
Cook onions, garlic and beef until meat is done; drain and set back in heat.
Stir in cumin and chili powder.
Add tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, water, beef stock and salt & pepper; bring to boil.
Add noodles and cook for 10 minutes; stirring occasionally.
Once noodles are cooked to al denté; add cheese to cover top. Place lid on top for a couple of minutes until cheese is melted.
Scoop out into bowl and top with diced tomatoes, green onion and cilantro.
If you are like me and the work week is very hectic, you are probably looking for something fast, tasty and healthy to feed your family. This recipe is all of those things and more! It’s packed full of veggies, meat and noodles which makes it a great meal to add to my meal rotation. If you find yourself with leftovers you’ll be in for a treat as this dish reheats nicely. It’s definitely a meal that can be on the table in about 30 minutes and everyone is bound to leave the table satisfied. Now, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Sloppy Joe Mac & Cheese
SLOPPY JOE MAC AND CHEESE
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups milk
1 cup veggie stock (I like Better Than Bullion Veggie Base)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 (8 oz) package Cellentani pasta
4 oz extra sharp white cheddar, shredded
4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
4 oz mozzarella, shredded
Salt and pepper
Parsley
Directions:
Cook beef, onions, pepper and garlic in large pot until beef is browned; drain beef and return to heat.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, stock, milk, mustard, soy, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Stir in pasta and cover pot to allow to simmer for 13 to 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. In a small bowl mix all three cheese together to make a cheese blend; set aside.
Stir in 1 cup of cheese until melted. Sprinkle remaining cheese as you serve so it just melts on top. Add salt and pepper to taste and a dash of parsley prior to serving.
This recipe is tasty, easy and packed with incredible flavor! It just takes a little prep with few ingredients to make this colorful and delicious dish. I really enjoy making this recipe because it’s so easy, in fact, I mostly make this dish through the week…you can also prep ahead of time to!
I have used all green peppers in the past, but I think this dish is stunning with red, yellow, green and even orange peppers. The different colored peppers not only add a beautiful presentation, but you can get so many different flavor profiles from the variety bell peppers. These peppers are the vessel for an amazing filling of meat, sauce and gooey cheese….how could that be bad?!
Ingredients for Taco Stuffed Peppers.
I know I always say that the key to any good recipe becoming a great one is about the quality of your ingredients. I recently discovered the Marketside American Wagyu Beef Patties from Walmart. These beef patties are great and seem to sell out at our local Walmart as fast as they can stock them. They come in 3 1/3 lb packages and that just happens to be the perfect size for this recipe. My family LOVES Cabot Cheese and when I’m cooking any recipe that requires cheese, I always buy a block to shred myself. Most pre-shredded cheeses come with a coating of potato starch. The potato starch is gritty and leaves an oily texture to the pre-shredded cheese which I don’t want in my meal. The Frontera taco sauce adds such a powerful and robust flavor that ties the dish together beautifully.
Taco Stuffed Peppers
This dish is a great make ahead especially if you are making it over the weekend. I typically cook the meat and get the peppers filled then place them in the baking dish. I then Put them in the fridge until I’m ready to bake them. Most of the time I just whip this recipe up and bake them immediately, but you could prep them all the way through prior to baking to save some time. Now, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Taco Stuffed Peppers
TACO STUFFED PEPPERS
Ingredients:
5 to 6 large bell peppers of any color
3 1/3 to 1 lb ground beef
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 package Frontera Taco Skillet Sauce
1 (8 oz) block of Colby cheese, shredded
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Carefully cut the tops off each pepper; remove seeds from pepper and tops. Reserve the tops of each pepper for topping later.
Add olive oil to a sauté pan and turn pan to medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until they start to turn translucent. Add ground beef; cook until browned. Add garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.
Add sauce to beef mixture and allow to cook for 3 minutes; remove from heat.
Add cheese to each pepper bottom, add meat filling to about half way, add more cheese, top with meat and finally top with a little more cheese. do this with each pepper.
Top each pepper with its matching top.
Add peppers to a baking dish. (If you are prepping this meal to bake later; cover with plastic cling wrap and place in fridge until ready to bake.)
Bake peppers for 55 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
When I was a kid I didn’t really like the typical Sloppy Joe from a can. My dad, who was the family cook, always made me something else when Sloppy Joes were on the menu. I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to bring back a “classic”, but make it how I would like it.
The key to a successful Sloppy Joe is patience! Really take your time and let the ingredients stew in a nice Dutch oven to reduce and soak up all the liquid will make all the difference in the world. I feel like with a recipe like this you can make as custom as you’d like. I’m not a fan of soggy bread, so I reduce mine down for a few hours and I also like to toast up my bread a touch to keep it from getting too soggy. As always try to invest in good ingredients for the best results. I hope you enjoy my take on this classic recipe!
Sloppy Joe
SloppyJoe
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 lb ground beef
1 sweet onion, chopped
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg’s with the mother)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup pickles, chopped
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
6 hamburger buns, lightly toasted
Directions:
Cook turkey and beef with onion in a Dutch oven until browned; drain well.
Stir in tomato sauce, broth, ketchup, vinegar, salt, sugar and pickles until well combined with meat mixture.
Cook on med-high heat until fully simmering, reduce heat to low and cook until sauce has been mostly absorbed into the meat. (I cooked mine for about 2 1/2 hours on low.)
Serve on toasted buns with a handful of cheese on each sandwich and enjoy!
A Slice Of My Life 