“Live every day like it’s Taco Tuesday!”
Stovetop Tex-Mex Mac & Cheese
This recipe enables me to enjoy my love of Tex-Mex food (i.e. the cilantro, beef, taco seasoning, etc.) along with my obsession for Italian dishes (i.e. the garlic, the pasta, the cheese, etc.). Anytime you can meld these two cultural cuisines together in one recipe, you certainly have my attention and I truly believe this recipe will have yours if you give it a try!
This is a one pot, or in this case, a one skillet dish that never has to leave the stovetop from start to finish.
As with with my Crawfish Mac & Cheese with Spinach recipe, I've chosen to use Cavatappi noodles instead of the traditional, and perhaps overused, macaroni elbows. I think the Cavatappi gives the dish a more exciting look as compared to the dull appearance of the standard macaroni elbows ... I know I will be criticized by the macaroni purists for writing this!
Ingredients
Instructions
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In a 3-quart sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat and sauté the garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning. Using a spatula to continually turn and break up the meat, cook until no longer pink. Drain any excess liquid from the pan.
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Add water, beef stock, dried shallot, pasta, salt & pepper, and the remainder of the packet of taco seasoning. Stir to combine and cover.
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Cover, then cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring two or three times to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
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Remove cover, increase heat to medium and continually stir the simmering mixture until most of the liquid is gone. This should take about 15 minutes or less depending on the evaporation rate based on your stovetop’s heat.
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Once the liquid is mostly gone, turn off the heat and add the shredded cheese (reserving ¼ cup) and the diced tomatoes. Gently stir until the cheese is melted.
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Top the mixture with the remaining cheese and, if desired, chopped green onions. Cover and wait about 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese has completely melted.
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Garnish as desired, serve and enjoy.
Serving Size 1 1/2 cups
Servings 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 348kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 17g27%
- Saturated Fat 5g25%
- Cholesterol 30mg10%
- Sodium 320mg14%
- Potassium 60mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 27g9%
- Dietary Fiber 1g4%
- Sugars 2g
- Protein 23g46%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
This is a fairly basic recipe so I can't really suggest many substitutions but there are a few add-ins you might consider. Whole kernel corn, red kidney beans, pinto beans and black beans are all possibilities but consider the added macros you'll be throwing in. The only substitution I can think of would be to replace the cut up cherry tomatoes with a drained can of no-salt Rotel Tomatoes with Chilies, only I'd suggest you use the blender to pulse the tomatoes once or twice before adding them to the recipe.
As with in many recipes using ground beef, you can substitute turkey, chicken, venison, or bison.
About the pasta ... When shopping for this pasta, don't be confused by Cavatappi's twin, Cellentani. Cavatappi is a generic name adopted by other brands that imitated Barilla's Cellentani. This particular shape was born in the 1960s at Barilla in Parma when a set of pasta dies had been mistakenly made with a spiral (instead of straight) set of lines. These produced pasta in a spiral or spring shape. Because Barilla trademarked the name Cellentani, other pasta producers had to use other names, such as Cavatappi (Italian for corkscrews). As controversial as it may sound, there is actually little to no discernible difference between the two so use whatever is on the grocery shelf!
This dish can be topped off with a number of delicious items ... my favorites are sour cream, sliced avocado, fresh Cilantro, and spicy salsa. My wife likes to add sliced jalapenos to hers but I can't handle that!
