Mexican Mac ‘n Cheese

We love all things Mexican… So it just stands to reason why

I would try to put a Mexican spin on my Mac ‘n Cheese recipe…. delicious and easy…

a complete meal the family will love.

Mac ‘n Cheese … a family staple everywhere in homes across

America…. but in the years since I was a kid… things have changed… and in my

opinion, for the better… there are so many varieties of Mac ‘n Cheese… it no

longer has the “boring kid food reputation…. it has become a chic meal.. on menus

in some of the hippest restaurants.

Here are some tips…

TIPS

You can assemble it ahead of time.. store it in the fridge..

and pop it in when you get home… If you do that.. I recommend you put it in a cold oven and

set the temperature on 300.. when the oven reaches 300… kick the temp up to 350…

and set your timer for 30 minutes… this way the increased temp won’t shock your

baking dish and crack it.

Plan out your menus… next time you’re making Tacos… make a

double batch of the meat… then store it in an airtight container or Zip Loc

freezer bag… freeze it.. one less ingredient to make when you make this

casserole.

I make my own Taco Seasoning.. it’s easy.. and I can control

the ingredients… I keep it in a little glass jar… here is the recipe for my

Taco Seasoning.

I always have canned tomatoes on hand.. I’ve mentioned that

before in other posts… one brand I like is Rotel… they make really good canned

tomatoes with chilies … if you can’t find them.. any other brand will be

fine. The Rotel cans come in a slightly

smaller size than other brands.. like Hunts or Del Monte.. that’s okay if you

use the other brands .. a little more of the tomatoes is fine.

While I’m on the subject of quantities of ingredients…

quantities are for the most part adjustable.. add or leave out things you want

or leave out what you don’t like…

The base casserole.. is macaroni… Taco meat… canned tomatoes

with chilies… cheese sauce… the other ingredients just add to the flavors…

sliced black olives… chopped green onion, chopped green, red and yellow peppers…

extra shredded Mexican blend cheese on top…pick and choose from what you have on hand

and what you like… it’s really that simple.

The cheese sauce in this recipe is a little thicker than a “stand-alone”

cheese sauce to make up for the added moisture of the canned tomatoes… even

though you drain the tomatoes.. there is still a lot of added moisture… so I

would recommend you follow my instructions for the sauce.

I warm my milk in the microwave before adding it to the

butter and flour… I think it blends better when making the sauce.

constantly so it melts quickly and the bottom of the ban does burn the sauce. When sauce is smooth and thick, set it aside.

In a large bowl or pot… combine the cooked pasta and the

drained canned tomatoes. Add the cooked

Taco meat.. making sure it’s broken up into small pieces (you do not have to

crumble it). Add the diced peppers,

chopped green onion and sliced olives.

Mix well.

Add the cooked cheese sauce and mix it well.

Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish. I didn’t grease it.. it really isn’t

necessary.

Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup shredded cheese over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly and the

cheese has melted on the top.