I was born in the 80’s to loving parents who both worked full time. Dinner was often what we(kids) would eat and took minimal prep, especially on work nights. As we got a little older, dinner we could manage ourselves was a plus. Enter boxed dinner kits, you know the kind that requires you only add ground meat and water? We LOVED it. Considering it required a pound of hamburger meat and some water, it was an easy dinner on a busy night. We ate a lot of it. As I got older and information about preservatives, food dyes, and added salts became more prevalent, boxed dinner kits were banned in my house in an effort to live and eat healthier. But we still loved them, and nothing else compared. Fast forward to my early 30’sand I found myself with a two-year-old who wanted to eat a homemade lasagna, two meals a day. (I do make a killer lasagna, but it was getting ridiculous) I was dreaming of something easier. Those boxed dinner kits came to mind, and I bought a box despite everything I know from the countless Children’s Nutrition courses I have taken, everything I have read, and my own standards for feeding my small child. I try hard (not always successfully) to at the very least buy GMO free foods, organic when its reasonable, and I make a strong attempt at no added dyes. Well what do you know, my picky eater lasagna lover, gorged himself on the boxed dinner kit meal. (of course!) So, I decided I needed to create my own one pan version, to save us all from multiple steps, the long ingredient list, cook time, and worst of all…. all the clean-up. Here’s what I came up with:
*Please note, I’m not really the measuring type, more of a “eh that looks about right” kind of cook, so if you try this out, do what works for your family. I will also mention that I’ve tried pork and chicken sausage in place of the ground meat, and it was not a fan favorite around here.
1 box Barilla pipette pasta (it’s the perfect size/ shape for little mouths)
1 lb. ground hamburger
1 box beef stock
Milk (about 1 cup, but it seems to always be different)
I small can tomato paste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese * see note below
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Diced onion
2 cloves garlic minced
Garlic powder
Start by dicing up your onion and garlic and cooking to translucent with olive oil in your biggest sauté pan. (it needs to be big)
Add in the ground meat and cook all the way through
I drain any excess fat by turning off the heat, balling up a bunch of paper towels and soaking up the fat, holding the paper towels with tongs.
Turn the heat back on and add the dry pasta, tomato paste, and beef stock. Combine everything then add your seasonings. I do not measure and just give a liberal sprinkle of everything. I let it cook down a little before I add the milk in. I do this because it never seems to need the same amount of liquid, and I feel I can gauge it better after it has cooked a bit.
Once the pasta is cooked the way you like it, turn off the heat and add in the shredded cheddar cheese. Cool and serve.
Shredded Cheese*
Packaged pre-shredded cheese is coated by the manufactured with corn starch, so as not to stick together in packaging. This coating can create a gritty texture, which is why recipes for things like macaroni and cheese say to grate your own. I use the bagged pre-shredded cheese, and while I can tell the difference, my kids certainly can’t.
Have you tried this recipe? Like it? Tell us about it in the comments:
