Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese Skillet
Simple boxed mac & cheese turns into a meal that is pure comfort. Full of flavor with chicken burger crumbles, shredded cheddar, and colorful vegetables.
Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
1 box of mac and cheese
1 lb ground chicken*
1 bell pepper, chopped**
1 onion, diced
4 oz mushroom, finely diced
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp mustard
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt + pinch
Pepper to taste
½ cup milk
½ cup shredded cheddar
*Lean ground beef or ground turkey will also work. Texture does change with ground turkey.
**Use any color sweet bell. Will work best with yellow, red or orange.
Directions:
- Heat skillet and add ground meat. Break apart meat in skillet and season with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Bring pot of water to boil, and cook macaroni while vegetables and meat are cooking. Once meat is cooked, stir in mustard and ketchup. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
- Heat oil in skillet. Add onions, pepper and pinch of salt. Cook vegetables until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Return ground beef to pan.
- In the pot with the cooked macaroni, add the cheese pack and coat pasta with the cheese packet. Combine macaroni in the skillet with meat and vegetables. Add milk and stir. Once the sauce is evenly mixed, stir in shredded cheddar. Remove from heat and let it set for a few minutes before serving. Serves 5-6.
Earlier this month, I decided to focus on budget friendly recipes for the next few postings. With these I’ll include the final cost for the meal, with the exception of items that are more likely to be on hand such as salt, pepper, oil etc.
Once upon a time there was a mom who forgot to take meat from the freezer, and the only thing she had on hand that she knew could be unthawed quickly was a pack of ground chicken. She only had to figure out what could be pulled together quickly, knowing spaghetti and tacos were not options. Another spin of her Lazy Susan and that’s when it caught her eye, a box of macaroni and cheese. An idea was born, and other than her vegetable adverse child, the family loved it.
So let’s talk ingredients. I know, at first glance you’ll see ketchup and mustard and cringe. Hold on; let me explain. With this recipe I really wanted cheeseburger flavors to stand out in this recipe and for it to be as budget friendly as possible while packing in flavor. Ketchup and mustard are fairly common condiments, and used in similar recipes. Ketchup on top of meatloaf is bomb and mustard brings something extra to macaroni and cheese. It worked.
Next, the meat. Why ground chicken? Easy. When it comes to lean ground meat, I usually find ground chicken is one of the least expensive options. I have tested this recipe with 85/15 ground beef and ground turkey. They all work, though it had a different texture when I used turkey. The lean meat and vegetables make it a very satisfying and comforting dish while making the servings stretch.
So last, the boxed mac and cheese. There’s a couple reasons for this. 1) As delicious as homemade macaroni and cheese is, the box stuff comes together a quicker and easier. The packet of powder even works in place of roux, giving the cheese a base to thoroughly melt and mix into. 2) Boxed macaroni and cheese is inexpensive, a frequent flyer in sales ads and a common item in our pantry. Served with a steamed vegetables or a simple salad, it provided about 6 servings. Pictured are honey rainbow carrots and the last of our tomatoes from the garden.
Cost breakdown: $9.64 (excluding milk, oil, salt, pepper, ketchup and mustard)
