Macaroni and Beef with Cheese

Tonight we tried a pin that was originally pinned from Michael Ruhlman website.

It seemed pretty simple at first, but then got confusing....

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced (I only used half an onion)
1 tablespoon canola oil
salt to taste
optional seasonings: black pepper, oregano, cumin, coriander, chopped garlic, hot smoked paprika, chilli powder—whatever you’re in the mood for (I used some pepper, oregano, crushed red chili peppers and a little garlic)
one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, pureed with a blender
2 pounds lean ground beef (I used 1 3/4)
1 box macaroni (I used 4 cups - wasn't sure how much a box was)
1 cup each grated cheddar and mozzarella cheeses

Directions.

It said to sweat the onion in the oil with a 3 finger pinch of salt. I wasn't too sure what that meant so I sauteed it in the oil and salt a little and at a really high temperature. Add beef and cook. Add more salt and any of the dry spices you want. Add tomatoes and any fresh seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour.

Cook macaroni until half done and drain. Add to the beef mixture. Let the noodles absorb the tomato juices and then pour into 2 baking pans. Cover with foil and bake at 400*F for 45 minutes. Remove foil. Add cheese and Broil for a few minutes. (I let mine broil too long and it got a little burnt. Other than that, it wasn't too bad).

I definitely like the idea to puree the tomatoes because I hate canned tomatoes. It took a long time to make when you add the hour to simmer and then adding the noodles and letting that sit and then baking time and broiling time on top of that! I also liked that it made another meal. I just put foil over the second pan. Wrote on top with a sharpie "Bake 400*F 45 min. Remove Foil, add 2 cups cheese and broil." that'll make my life a little easier one night. One hint - don't leave it too long in the freezer because it has noodles and won't last very long!.