Recipes for Mac and Cheese and Ground Beef

One-Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni!  Two succulent condolement foods rolled upwards into i pot of flossy, cheesy, meaty yumminess!  You may know information technology as Cheeseburger Macaroni, Hamburger Helper, or hamburger mac and cheese… any you phone call it, this bootleg version is over the height succulent!

Showtime off tin we talk nigh the Macaroni and Cheese role of this recipe – like real talk??

Practise y'all ever wonder why some mac and cheese recipes have amazing season but they have this gritty texture?

Me too!!  So I went to piece of work – adamant to create the creamiest and cheesiest mac and cheese ever!  Sans any grittiness!!

I'one thousand here to suspension it down for yous!!

Allow me to reveal the mysteries of mac and cheese, and share the scientific discipline behind making it the correct mode!

How to make the creamiest mac and cheese:

American Cheese works all-time for macaroni and cheese!

It all starts with good ole' American cheese.  Yeah, mind-blowing right!?  American Cheese is the hugger-mugger ingredient!  My friends over at America's Examination Kitchen taught me this piffling trick.  And now it's the only fashion I make it.

I will be honest: American cheese is not my favorite for near other purposes…  In fact I think I only purchase it when I'm making macaroni and cheese.

While my feelings for it aren't overly fond, there'southward no denying it has its identify…  and information technology's right here in the most delicious 1-Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni recipe!

Yeah – American cheese will ensure you terminate upwardly with a silky, polish cheese sauce.  Here'due south why… information technology'southward all about the additives.  American cheese is full of stabilizers, and it is those stabilizers that volition prevent unpleasant graininess from ruining your cheese sauce.

Oh and I should mention: I don't recommend using the sliced American cheese – that's a different kind of cheese!  You'll demand to get to the deli at your grocery store and enquire for an 8-ounce piece of American cheese.  They are used to slicing it thinly for sandwiches, etc., but at that place'due south no need to have them piece information technology, since you'll exist grating it yourself.  They unremarkably cut mine into two thick hunks.

And so there you lot have it: American cheese is the cardinal factor for creaminess… only not really for flavor.  So I similar to add together other stronger flavored cheeses to incorporate more flavor.  Here are few cheese that would be succulent in mac and cheese… Cheddar, Parmesan, Havarti, Gouda, smoked Gouda, Monterey Jack, Gruyere and Fontina.

Don't utilise pre-shredded cheese:

Every bit I mentioned you'll exist shredding the cheese instead of using pre-shredded bagged cheese.  This is considering most store-bought shredded cheese has an anti-caking cellulose agent added to proceed it from sticking together in the bag.  And when melted, that agent tin can sometimes crusade the sauce to be grainy.

Keep the temp lower!

Another way to create the smoothest texture for your cheeseburger macaroni is to turn the temperature downward to low before calculation your cheeses.   If you add cheese to super-hot liquid, the proteins tin ossify, turning it lumpy or stringy… and the fat will split up creating a greasy mess.

Although different cheeses take college temperature tolerances, to play it safe just add cheese at the cease of the cooking procedure and continue the temp low.  You want it to just barely attain its melting point – but non go much beyond information technology.

Another tip is to non over-stir.  Over-stirring also encourages the proteins to dodder and could create a stringy or lumpy texture.

How to reheat mac and cheese:

And my last trick on making smooth and creamy homemade macaroni and cheese is as follows:  If you actually accept whatsoever leftovers and want to ensure creaminess when you're reheating them… reserve i-two cups of the pasta water and save it.  When you are fix to reheat, bring a cup of pasta water to a eddy in a large pot, then reduce the estrus to low , and add the mac and cheese.

Every bit it melts, gently stir.  You tin add more pasta water, a few tablespoons at a fourth dimension, until the sauce has to loosened plenty without diluting the rich flavor.

There you have it… all my best tricks and tips for amazingly ooey gooey mac and cheese without any grit!

Which brings united states of america to the other component of our Cheeseburger Macaroni… the hearty meat element aka the burger.

How To Make Cheeseburger Macaroni:

1. Every bit the title suggests this is a i pot meal, and information technology starts with cooking the meat.  Add together some olive oil, the basis beef, chopped onion, and seasonings and saute until the meat is fully cooked and the onions are translucent.

2. Mix in the tomato paste and saute for a few minutes, so transfer to a basin and fix bated.  Then go to work on the mac and cheese.

3. Cook pasta in a medium pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 2 minutes less than package instructions. Drain, and reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water .

4. Return the empty pot to the stove over medium heat and add butter. When butter melts and foams, add flour and whisk until darkened slightly, i to 2 minutes. Add mustard powder and whisk to combine.

5. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, then reduce rut to medium and cook, stirring consistently to prevent the flour from burning or overcooking, for about three – iv minutes.

1. 6. Adjacent, reduce the rut to low and add together in the cheese in 3 batches, starting with the American cheese.  Whisk to fully combine, then follow with the cheddar and Parmesan (whisk to fully combine afterward adding each cheese).  Season the cheese sauce with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/ii teaspoon pepper.

7. Then fold the meat mixture into the cheese sauce.

8. And finally fold the pasta noodles into the mac and cheese, and you lot've got the about delicious and hearty meal ever!

Y'all can ever customize the recipe and sneak in some veggies.  Some steamed broccoli or cauliflower, or some peas and carrots would be a nice addition.

And of course you can always bandy out the pasta for other varieties similar shells, penne, or rigatoni.  Whatever you choose, ane matter's for certain, it will exist absolutely delicious!

Just be ready, this is gonna exist i those meals when the kiddos and teenagers inquire for seconds and thirds.

You might consider making a double batch – merely sayin'!!!

Cook Time 45 minutes

Full Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

For The Meat Mixture:

• ane tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1½ pounds lean ground sirloin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic pulverisation
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ane teaspoon chili pulverization (or hot chili powder if y'all like it spicier)
• 3 tablespoons love apple paste

For The Mac And Cheese:

• 1 pound curt pasta, such every bit elbow macaroni
• 3 cups whole milk, warmed
• three tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder
• 8 ounces finely chopped American cheese (ii cups) *See Note
• 12 ounces grated extra sharp cheddar cheese (iii cups)
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan (1 loving cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Add olive oil, chopped onion, ground beef, and seasonings to a large pot and saute until the meat is fully cooked and the onions are translucent. Thoroughly mix in tomato paste, saute for 2 minutes, then transfer the meat mixture to a bowl and set up aside.
2. Use the same pot to cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, about 2 minutes less than package instructions. While pasta is cooking, warm the milk in a separate pot.
3. Drain pasta once cooked, ***reserving at to the lowest degree ane cup of the pasta h2o.***
4. Render the empty pot to the stove over medium oestrus and add together butter. When butter melts and foams, add flour and whisk until darkened slightly, i to 2 minutes. Add mustard pulverisation and whisk to combine.
5. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring consistently to prevent the flour from burning or overcooking, for about 3 – 4 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to depression and add cheese in 3 batches, starting with American cheese. Whisk to fully combine, then follow with cheddar and Parmesan (whisk to fully combine afterward adding each cheese). Season with ane teaspoon salt and i/ii teaspoon pepper.
7. Fold the meat mixture into the cheese sauce, then fold in the pasta, and serve.

Notes

Do not swap out some other cheese for American Cheese:

• American Cheese is the cardinal ingredient that will ensure yous finish up with a silky, smooth cheese sauce. Information technology's because American cheese is total of stabilizers, and it is those stabilizers that will prevent unpleasant graininess from ruining your cheese sauce.
  
• I do not recommend using the sliced American cheese – that's a unlike kind of cheese! Yous'll need to get to the cafeteria at your grocery shop and ask for an 8-ounce slice of American cheese. They are used to slicing information technology thinly for sandwiches, etc., but at that place'due south no need to have them slice it, since you lot'll exist grating it yourself. Enquire them to cut it in 1-2 thick pieces.

How to go on mac and cheese from beingness grainy or stringy:

• Mitt shredding blocks of cheese (instead of using bags of pre-shredded cheese) works better in this recipe because cake cheese typically melts more easily and helps prevent graininess.

• Cheese tin can too become grainy if you lot have the heat too high. It's best to plough downwards the heat and melt information technology slowly, because overheating the cheese volition make information technology lumpy and stringy. Also, utilise top-quality well-anile cheeses that volition melt more than smoothly.

How to reheat mac and cheese:

As mac and cheese cools, the sauce tightens and loses some of its creaminess. Just if you don't serve it right away, no worries -- just place the pot over a depression heat, and stir in reserved pasta water, a few tablespoons at a fourth dimension to loosen the sauce without diluting the rich flavor.

How to store mac and cheese leftovers:

Make certain information technology'due south cooled completely before storing it in the fridge. Shop mac and cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, or freeze in an airtight container upward to 2 months.

Diet Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

8 Ounces
Corporeality Per Serving Calories 450 Total Fat 28g Saturated Fat 15g Trans Fatty 1g Unsaturated Fat 10g Cholesterol 111mg Sodium 976mg Carbohydrates 17g Fiber 1g Sugar 6g Protein 32g

This nutrition card uses an guess provided by an online nutrition estimator. This estimate is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice!

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Source: https://tasteandsee.com/one-pot-cheeseburger-macaroni/