Chili Mac
Looking for a quick and easy meal that satisfies your cravings? Look no further than Chili Mac! A perfect blend of leftover chili and macaroni, this dish will have your taste buds singing.
I’ve been trying to minimize our LOs. Please…PLEASE tell me you know what LOs are. No?? Oy. Left Overs = LOs. I know I’ve talked about my hating to throw our perfect good food. Well, more often than not, the left overs that I didn’t take for lunch are just tossed in the trash. There’s usually not enough of all of them to make a whole meal off them, like my mother does. She’s has LO Smorgasbord. There’s not usually enough for us to do that.
Consequently, I’ve been trying to either make just enough for dinner and my lunch, or freezing the larger amounts of left overs that would indeed make a second meal. That’s the story with the Game Day Chili. I knew it would be a large pot and we’d make at least two meals off it. AND it would make a perfect Saturday, quick fix dinner. Except that didn’t happen. Sometimes the best laid plans..
S has been trying to eat healthier, and well, the food they serve at work (yes he gets a free, hot, lunch that doesn’t involve left overs) is lacking in the “healthy” department. So, Tuesday, which is usually our salad days, wasn’t a salad day. That’s what he had for lunch. I have a sneaking suspicion that we won’t be having many salad days right now. I may switch it to soup. A nice broth soup would be both filling and healthy.
Anyway.
Tuesday, no salad. Tuesday was Wednesday’s meal and so on and so forth. So, we get to Thursday and have to have Saturday’s meal Thursday. Friday is take-a-break-from-the-kitchen night. And trust me when I say some days I HONESTLY look forward to it. Work just KILLS me lately.
Anyway.
This is the perfect meal to make with left over chili. It’s cheap, simple, and tasty! You can dress it up any way you like. Add new spices, new toppings, change the pasta size and shape. The possibilities are…well…you know.
For those of you JUST joining me, I am getting married this week. I’m not sure if we’re taking laptops with us or not. I don’t even know if the place we’re staying has free wifi. I didn’t even look. If it doesn’t, then you’ll just have to wait to hear from me Sunday or Monday of next week. I WILL be taking as many pics of our adventures on top of the mountain as possible, including the food we eat while we’re there. It’s not going to be spectacular or different, but it will be food, and I’m sure it will be yummy!
So, I’ll just leave you with this chili mac recipe and maybe one more if I can bang it out today or tomorrow, but we’ll see.
Chili Mac
Looking for a quick and easy meal that satisfies your cravings? Look no further than Chili Mac! A perfect blend of leftover chili and macaroni, this dish will have your taste buds singing.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (93/7)
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 28 ounces kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 14 ounces canned tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 1 cup low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Brown meat.
- Add onion and saute 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions begin to soften.
- Stir in the canned tomatoes and beans. Add the tomato juice, chili powder, ground cumin, oregano, and cayenne powder. Stir until combined.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer at least 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
- Combine pasta with 4 cups of chili and stir well to combine.
- Top with onions, and cheese and serve.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 388Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 54mgSodium 304mgCarbohydrates 39gFiber 9gSugar 4gProtein 31g
Oh my yum! I made some chili earlier last week. I cut the recipe in half though so I didn't have any left over after myself, the boyfriend, & my mom had some. I hope you've had a great Monday!
Thanks, Leslie. I've been thinking of cutting recipes, but we bought a shrink wrapper for meat and I've just been freezing left overs in the vacuum sealer. LOVE THAT THING!