Layered Mac 'n Cheese With Ground Beef

You can use penne or rotini pasta in place of the elbow macaroni if you would like. Also, use Swiss cheese and a dash of ground nutmeg in place of the cheddar cheese to bring a whole new flavor to this dish. This recipe is from Pillsbury.
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Serves:
- Units:
6
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ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 dash cayenne
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1⁄2 cups milk
- 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup soft breadcrumbs, about 2 slices bread
directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.
- Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package.
- Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook beef and garlic, 1/2 t of the salt and 1/4 t pepper over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain, if desired.
- In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Stir in flour, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until bubbly.
- Stir in milk, cook 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly.
- Stir remaining 1/2 t salt, the nutmeg and cayenne.
- Remove from heat; stir in cheese.
- Fold in macaroni.
- Spoon 1/3 of the macaroni mixture (about 1 1/3 cups) into casserole; top with half of the beef (about 1 1/2 cups).
- Layer with another 1/3 of the macaroni mixture, remaining beef and remaining macaroni mixture.
- Top with bread crumbs.
- Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown.
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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY
@CookingONTheSide
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@CookingONTheSide
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"You can use penne or rotini pasta in place of the elbow macaroni if you would like. Also, use Swiss cheese and a dash of ground nutmeg in place of the cheddar cheese to bring a whole new flavor to this dish. This recipe is from Pillsbury."
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Yum! I used colby-jack in place of the cheddar because we all like that more. This was like a cheeseburger casserole, very good. I think it needs some chopped onion with the meat. I use french's onions on top instead of the bread crumbs. It was perfect for my picky kids who love this stuff. DH and I would have spiced it up a bit more for ourselves. Still a very tasty dish that was even better the next day. You have a new star in the making here. Made and Reviewed for Gimme 5 tag - Thanks!Reply
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This was very good and a nice change from the usual hamburger casseroles that have tomato based sauces. For the most part, I made exactly as posted but found the cheese sauce was too thin so added another 1 Tbsp of flour. The other change I made was to change the bread crumbs to crushed potato chips since the kids prefer that. This is wonderful comfort food and I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch. Thx Lainey6605.Reply
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WIth the adjustments that you adviced this recipe turned out fantastic. I completely omitted the broth, upped the butter and flour to 3T, then used 2 cups of skim milk and 1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2 for added thickness since all I have in the house is skim. I did totally eliminate the nutmeg and this was personal preference. Thanks Lainey, this is great comfort food for cold winter nights. Made for PRMR~Reply
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