I know, I know, organization is to the success of this cooking adventure, but why did I go shopping without a real plan? As my husband and I grabbed a quick lunch at Zaxby’s I scribbled some ideas down before we headed into Wal-Mart. Since it was Monday, I only needed to plan for four dinners, how hard could it be?
I got home, looked at what I bought versus what I needed for the recipe that I wanted to try, and quickly realized that I was going to have to wing it. I had ground beef and I had pasta, what to do? I went to the Kraft Food website and found a recipe for ‘One-Pan Italian Pasta’ and while it had promise, I was going to have to tweak it…trying to force my kids to eat zucchini on day one was not going to go over well. So, I made a few changes and ended up with ‘Cheesy Beef Pasta’.
'Cheesy Beef Pasta' - A dish that I had to create based on what I had available.
The “recipe” is pretty simple.
1 lb. ground beef
1 1/2 cup bow tie pasta
1 tbsp Italian Dressing
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used half “pizza blend” and half “fiesta blend”)
1 can chicken broth (I know it its a beef dish, but it all that I had available)
1 can cheddar cheese (It is in the soup aisle)
1 cup milk
I boiled the pasta using water and the chicken broth, while I browned the beef (season the beef to taste). I then combined the beef the pasta and the shredded cheese, and while it tasted okay, it was pretty dry. I then added a can of cheddar cheese and a cup of milk. I heated it all through, added a few more seasoning and it was done. It was served with sweet white corn.
The Verdict
My family gave this dish an average of three (3) stars of of five. I have to say that this rating was weighted down because my uber picky daughter gave it a one star. Overall, not bad for the first day and each day will get progressively better.
