New and Improved Nacho Macaroni and Cheese

total time:: 30 min

Makes 6 - 8 servings

there’s already a recipe for Nacho Mac and Cheese on here but it looked pretty bland so we spiced it up and the resulting dish was the best Mac and Cheese that I’ve ever had.

ingredients

2 cups small elbow macaroni
3/4lb ground beef
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 large white onion
1/2 jalapeno
3/4 c thick and chunky salsa verde(medium heat)
1/3 c finely chopped cilantro
4 c (packed) coarsely gratedsharp ceddar cheese
4 teaspoons all purpose flour
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c corn tortilla chips

directions

1
preheat oven to 425 F.
2
Chop the red pepper, onion, and jalapeno.
3
Cook beef in a skillet over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped pepper and onion mixture, stir and continue to cook stirring occainsionally until beef is cooked through.
4
meanwhile cook macaroni in a large pot of boiling (salted) water until it is VERY al dente (about 6-7 min). Drain.
5
Combine the salsa and cilantro in a small bowl. stir.
6
toss 3 cups of cheese and flour in a med bowl to coat.
7
bring milk and cream to simmer in a large saucepan over med-high heat(stir often to prevent a thick skin from forming on the milk). Add cheese mixture. Wisk until sauce is smooth, about 1 minute. Mix in Macaroni (add salt and pepper to taste..macaroni eats up pepper so be sure to add enough), and ground beef mixture. stir.
8
Pour a layer of macaroni into a large pyrex baking dish(don’t worry the mixture will still be pretty soupy) and add dollups of salsa mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar. Pour the remaining macaroni mixture into the pan. Cover with corn chips and cheese to taste.
9
bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.