Meaty Macaroni And Cheese

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 (7 ounce) box macaroni and cheese mix, use your favorite even homemade if you prefer
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter (best with real butter, do not use a spread or tub product) or 1/4 cup margarine (best with real butter, do not use a spread or tub product)
• 1/2 lb ground beef (see note) or 1/2 lb ground chicken (see note) or 1/2 lb ground turkey (see note)
• 1/2 cup onions, chopped or 2 teaspoons onion powder, adjust to taste
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1 garlic cloves, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 prepare mac and cheese according to box directions, using salted water.
• 2 meanwhile, brown meat and drain grease.rinse meat if desired to remove even more grease.
• 3 season meat with onion and garlic- fresh and sauteed can be used instead- and add any additional seasonings that your family likes. see note - skip if using left over meat- but do reheat the leftovers.
• 4 add meat to prepared mac and cheese and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
• 5 at this point you can add extras such as additional grated cheese, great opportunity to sneak in veggies - peas, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc., use what you like or try this to entice kids to eat things they normally wouldn't.
• 6 i have even added some spinach to the meat mixing it in well so it is not as noticeable! sometimes you have to be sneaky! hehehe.
• 7 note: this is even faster when you use left over taco meat, sloppy joes, crumbled meatloaf, etc -- add what your family likes.
• 8 no this isn't the healthiest meal- but it is so much healthier for them than a greasy burger grabbed on the run, and you can make it as healthy as you choose- i have even used leftover homemade mac and cheese- no preservatives at all that way!
• 9 you can 'fancy' it up by topping it with extra cheese or breadcrumbs and popping it under the broiler for a minute just to brown.
• 10 a real time saving tip that the kids love is to put the entire mixture in a lightly sprayed casserole pan and top with biscuit dough- you can even use the ones in the can, bake per can instructions until the biscuits are done.