Beefaroni Bake

Sorry, no pictures this time. I wasn't in the mood that day to deal with the camera that was full of pictures. Just imagine and I think you'll get the picture.

Actual Recipe:
(Family Dinner Cookbook by Debbie G. Harman)

1 pound ground beef
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cans tomato sauce
2 Tbsp butter
1 16-oz package elbow macaroni

Brown meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Drain fat. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Combine all ingredients, reserving 1 cup cheese, in a 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

My Changes:
I used a 16-oz package of bow tie pasta.
I used a pound of hamburger already cooked and frozen in one pound amounts from my freezer that I browned with salt, pepper and minced onions (no garlic powder).

Our Opinion:
We liked it. My kids ate it as they always eat "noodles with sauce" for dinner. It was fun to use a different kind of pasta that my kids weren't used to, variety is always nice. I only had 2 cans of tomato sauce for random cooking and I think it could have used a little bit more sauce. It could have been because I used bigger noodles than macaroni noodles, but I like sauce. In the future, I think I will just use some spaghetti sauce - just for a little bit more flavor and a little bit more sauce. It was still good this way though.

I think this way is good for when you don't have much time to make dinner and you're planning ahead. It was quick and easy. I prepped everything just after lunch time when my smaller kids were napping. Then I put it in the fridge with foil over the top. When I cooked it, I just left the foil on so that it would cook throughout a little bit more rather than just melting the cheese.

You could easily add a vegetable to this as well instead of having it on the side. Or it would be nice to serve with a salad.