Chili-Mac
This recipe makes quite a bit. If you serve it with a salad, you can stretch it to 10 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. prepared taco meat I make extra on taco night
- 1 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
- 1 cup chopped red bell peppers Or use yellow, orange, or green bell pepper (I usually use a combination of what I have to equal 1 cup.)
- 1 cup chopped peeled carrots
- 1 cup chopped onion I like the sweet onions
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes, in juice
- 1 2.25 oz can sliced olives or ¼ of a 14oz can of whole olives, broken up.
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 pound dried elbow macaroni
- Grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Add oil to preheated skillet on med heat. Saute the peppers, carrots, onion and garlic until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add in prepared meat, oregano, chili powder, cumin, crushed tomatoes and juices, water, and olives. Season with salt and pepper, turn the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Add the macaroni, stir and cover. Lower heat to medium and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, and most of the liquid is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes. Taste, and season again if needed. At this point, you may sprinkle cheese over the casserole then cover for another minute, until cheese is melted. But I prefer to just serve it right up and pass the shredded cheese at the table.