Southwestern Casserole

I had been on a lil freezers pleasers hiatus. But don't worry, now I'm back! This Southwestern Casserole is really good. I added a lot of chili powder to make it spicy.


I like to use whole wheat pasta usually, but I went with elbow mac because it was on sale. I cut down the amount of ground beef the recipe called for and supplemented another can of red kidney beans instead. Mmmmmm Fiber!


Also, I had green onions in the fridge that I needed to use, so I chopped up a lot of them. As of recently I had never really cooked with green onions before (truth be told I didn't even know what they were). But now I use them a lot. 


FYI: Next time I would use less tomato paste.


Ingredients:

• 7-8 oz of elbow macaroni
• 1.5 pounds of extra lean ground beef
• 1 cup diced onion
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
• 2 cans of red kidney beans
• 1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
• 1 tsp of cumin
• chili powder
• hot sauce
• jalapeno peppers, diced
• 2 cups of monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to box instructions
2. Meanwhile in a large saucepan cook beef, onions, and garlic until cooked through
3. Add tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, and seasonings
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.
5. Add drained macaroni to beef mixture
6. Add to two casserole dishes
7. Top with jalapeno and cheese
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees, covered, for 30 minutes.
9. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes.

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