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Friday, April 06, 2007

Ruth's Presto Pasta Night No. 6

The very sweet Ruth, of Once Upon a Feast holds a little round up each Friday with the theme of pasta.. one of my favorite subjects! Thanks Ruth! =)

I actually made this dish a couple weeks ago with every intention of getting it to Ruth back then.. and somehow I lost track somewhere and so the pictures sat on my Flickr account and the post was never written.. until now.

Quite possibly one of the easiest and quickest pasta dishes I've ever made. My tummy was grumblin for mac & cheese that night - but the Mr. whined that he wanted something more substantial. Go figger. And so with a quick check into my many freezers and many pantries *blush* I decided to add some ground round and a lil salsa.. give basic mac & cheese a Mexican kick if you will.

Mexi-Mac & Cheese

Truly this one isn't rocket science in the least. Take your favorite mac & cheese recipe, brown some ground with a lil onion and a lil garlic, toss in your favorite salsa and you've got yourself dinner - in less than 30 minutes! Take THAT Rachael Ray! :P

This quick dish was quite tasty - and there are practically a ZILLION ways you could change it up to make it your own. I think the addition of some corn kernels would have been nice, as well as some sliced black olives. He added jalapeno slices to his PLUS a few dashes of his favorite hot sauce. Instead of using cheddar cheese on top, Manchego probably would have been divine. Now that I'm thinking about it.. instead of the ground round, maybe use some Serrano ham, cut into strips - THAT sounds really good! I should probably remember that next time, eh? =) Or hey, keep it vegetarian and use black beans in lieu of the meat? The Italians use beans and pasta together for a variety of tasty dishes (bless their carb loving hearts).. why not in a Mexican type dish?

Mexi-Mac & Cheese

The only thing I regret about this dish is that I had no fresh cilantro in the house that night. The zing cilantro lends would have been just the perfect touch.

If you don't have a favorite mac & cheese recipe, here's the one that I used - it's pretty basic and the cheese can be changed out for whichever kind you like, but try to use cheese that melts well - you don't want grainy cheese sauce.

2 TBS. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. grated Fontina cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the flour and milk until it comes to a boil. Continue cooking a minute longer. Add cheeses and remove from heat, stirring until cheese has melted.

Mexi-Mac & Cheese

After I browned the meat, garlic and onions I added 1/2 a bottle of salsa, and combined it well. Then I poured the cheese sauce over the beef mixture and stirred until it was just combined. I combined this with my pasta which was cooked al dente and threw it all (not literally) into a greased 9" x 13" glass baking dish. Sprinkled a 4 cheese Mexican blend on top and baked for 20 minutes in a 350ยบ F. oven.

This dish is complimented perfectly with a garden salad dressed simply in olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

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Comments on "Ruth's Presto Pasta Night No. 6"

 

Blogger Helene said ... (4/06/2007 9:02 AM) : 

Is it bad that I want this now and it is only 9am....? Cheese, meat, pasta...I am a cheap date!

 

Blogger Cheryl said ... (4/06/2007 9:07 AM) : 

It may be easy to make, but it sure looks soooo good.

I'm with Helene, you make me want this at 9am.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4/06/2007 9:38 AM) : 

I love this food, it's very good. Your mix the pasta, cheese.. It's very tantalising. Congratulations
good week

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4/06/2007 10:41 AM) : 

You could take Rachel Ray any day. ANY DAY!!! Love the pictures of the pasta!

 

Blogger MyKitchenInHalfCups said ... (4/06/2007 12:06 PM) : 

Just what I love about Mexican! So easy to fit it with just so many dishes! This is a perfect adaptation. I was thinking black beans because they are a favorite of mine and then there it was.
Men and their meat...why.
I think I'd go with Ivonne, you could take RR ANY DAY... I would so love to see that one!

 

Blogger Callipygia said ... (4/06/2007 3:03 PM) : 

Cheesy cheesy goodness.That last picture is worth a a thousand words!

 

Blogger Anuhea said ... (4/06/2007 5:40 PM) : 

Wow....I am salivating. That looks incredible!

 

Blogger Helene said ... (4/06/2007 11:51 PM) : 

You know...this is my second time here today and I am lusting after that last picture as much as Daniel Craig on my big screen tv (not big enough...) right now...can you say hormonal?!!

 

Blogger Gattina Cheung said ... (4/07/2007 6:23 AM) : 

Really a lovely twist!

 

Blogger Rosa's Yummy Yums said ... (4/07/2007 8:16 PM) : 

That pasta dish looks awesome! I love this kind of yummy food...

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4/07/2007 10:47 PM) : 

That looks like serious comfort food! Delicious.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4/08/2007 1:12 AM) : 

This is fantabulous - and gotta love a quick hearty meal that is this simple and tasty!

 

Blogger Anh said ... (4/08/2007 8:46 PM) : 

This is so yummy! Give me Fontina cheese and I am already in! :)

 

Blogger Kirsten said ... (4/11/2007 2:13 AM) : 

That looks soooo good and comforting and yummy. Hmmmm

Thanks for posting!

 

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