There has definitely been a spike in people eating comfort food in the last month. Well, no one knows comfort food better than John Rivers from 4 Rivers and we were lucky enough to have him share one of his favorite recipes! If you're cooking at home a little more now and need something new and easy to make, John says you and your family will love this!
MAC & BEEF CHEESY BAKE
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time 35 minutes
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef (80% lean, 20% fat)
1 white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups beef broth
2 cups water
6 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
2 cups mushrooms, canned or fresh, chopped
1 can, 16oz, diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of tomato paste
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 cups of dry corkscrew pasta, Cavatappi
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In an oven-safe pan, set stove top to medium-high and brown ground beef, onion, and garlic
3. Once meat has browned, remove excess fat with a spoon or colander
4. Add to the pan tomato paste, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire, beef broth, water, 1/2 of the chopped basil leaves, mushrooms, chili powder, sugar, salt and pepper, stirring everything together until well mixed
5. Bring to a boil, add pasta and then reduce heat to a steady rolling boil until pasta is cooked, approx. 10-12 minutes.
6. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, add more if desired
7. Place pan in the oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted
8. Remove from oven, stir everything together, top with remaining chopped basil, and serve