Cheese-a-burger Macaroni

My kids love macaroni. They also love cheeseburgers. Put them together and you have a meal that the four foot crowd in my house, begs for at least three times a week.

The problem with cheeseburger mac is, it’s a sometimes food. Traditionally, it’s not a great meal for the ticker.

Being the freak-show that I am about food and what my family consumes (and a genetic history of notso great hearts) I set out to make this recipe a little easier to swallow.

As I walked through the grocery store, I grabbed whole grain pasta, cheddar cheese soup concentrate (in lieu of processed cheese loaf), low sodium beef broth and 93% lean ground beef.

The way you cook the noodles makes this dish unique. Each bite offers a cheesy explosion. It’s even more magnificent the second day, if it lasts that long.

You will need:

2 Cups Whole grain elbow shaped macaroni
1 can Cheddar Cheese Condensed Soup
1 lb. 93% Lean ground beef, browned
1/2 Cup Low sodium beef broth
1 Cup Water
1 Cup (or so) Shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 – 1/2 Cup Ketchup (Simply Heinz contains no High Fructose Corn Syrup)

Brown your ground beef, drain well. In a stock pot, mix soup concentrate, beef broth, ketchup and water. Whisk to combine and add the uncooked pasta and browned beef. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. When rapidly boiling, stir, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes (or until done) stirring occasionally. Add 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese. Mix well.

You can hover over a steaming plate of cheesy goodness and inhale. Like we do.

If you have the will power, cool and store in an airtight container in your fridge until the next day. It would be an excellent party dish, served in 5 ounce sized paper cups with sporks.

Yes, sporks. Classy!