Chili Macaroni and Cheese

Here's a simple one-pot dish you can throw together after a long day at work. It's a take on "American goulash" or "American chop suey", that staple of many homes that combines ground beef, tomato sauce and pasta. Here, we're kicking it up a notch and making a combination of beef chili and mac and cheese, two great dishes that everyone loves...especially kids! You can put this together in about thirty minutes, and it gives enough chili mac and cheese to feed your whole family.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (16 ounces) ounces uncooked macaroni pasta
  • 1 pound (16 ounces) cheese for melting (whole cheese or shredded cheese)
  • Use equal amounts of pasta and cheese – if you're making a pound of pasta, use a pound of cheese.
  • 1 pound (16 ounces) ground beef
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 medium sized onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 15-ounce can tomato purée
  • 1 15-ounce can pinto beans
  • 30 ounces water (fill the empty tomato can twice)
Place a cast iron dutch oven or stock pot onto the stovetop, and heat at medium for about ten minutes. While the pot is heating up, chop one onion, and grate one pound of cheddar cheese. Rather than a whole pound of cheddar, you can use combinations of your favorite melting cheeses, such as muenster, pepper jack, and whatever you prefer. Shredded cheese will also work fine. Shredded cheese does contain additives to keep the cheese from clumping, and some sites claim shredded cheese contains "chemicals" or other nonsense, but there's nothing hazardous in shredded cheese. Whole cheese is usually better quality than shredded, and this in itself is a good reason to use whole cheese.
If you're using fatty ground beef (75% to 80% lean), you shouldn't have to add additional oil to the pan. Add ground beef to the hot pot, and cook until it is browned. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chopped onions. Continue stir frying the ground beef for about five minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Mix in the chili ingredients: cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and tomato purée. (Save the empty tomato purée can, because we'll be using it in a few minutes.) Add macaroni pasta and stir it all around.
Mix in the chili ingredients: cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and tomato purée. Mix everything together, until it's all hot and bubbling. Add 1 can of pinto beans, including the liquid in the can, and stir it all around.
Add macaroni pasta and stir it all around. Now you can fill the empty can from the tomato purée twice, and pour both cans of water into the pot. Stir it all around, and cover the pot. Keep the stovetop heat on medium, and let the covered pot simmer for twenty minutes.
After twenty minutes, uncover the pot and taste-test the pasta to ensure it is cooked and al dente. You may have to cover it and wait another couple of minutes for the macaroni to be proper cooked.
When the pasta is ready, turn the stovetop heat down to its lowest setting. Add your grated or shredded cheese to the pot, and stir everything together until the cheese is melted and the entire pot of chili is swimming in cheese sauce.
Serve hot!

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