Recipe of the Week!...Chili Mac

I have no idea where I got this recipe or who gave it me..but it's become one of our favorite meals to make when it's cold outside. I've been making this for Mr. Allan for years now. It's simple, easy, you can alter it a million different ways and it falls into our healthy comfort food category. We call it Chili Mac...it might be a little similar to an American Chop Suey recipe..whatever you call it, it's good.

This is a great recipe to sneak vegetables into. Tonight I only had some peppers and onions on hand. I've added mushrooms, diced zucchini and squash to it as well..pretty much any veggie you have in the fridge that you can dice up and throw in goes!

Why do we call it Chili Mac...because of the two star spices...

Saute the veggies and add in about a pound of lean ground beef or turkey. Tonight we had some ground beef from our Meat CSA that went into the pot. I've used ground chicken and turkey and both work well in this recipe.

Then I throw in a can of Crushed Tomatoes or Tomato Sauce...I forgot which one the original recipe called for but I interchange them all the time...mostly only because I goto the grocery store telling myself to get crushed tomatoes and then inevitably grab the wrong can and buy tomato sauce..I'm good like that! Also in the mix..some whole wheat elbow pasta. If you have someone in the house that doesn't eat whole wheat pasta..this is a great way to sneak it in..guarantee they won't notice.

My favorite thing about this recipe...I basically saute veggies, brown meat and then throw everything else in the pot...15 minutes later, it's done. No standing over a stove, constantly stirring etc.

I top it with a little bit of cheddar and dinner is served!

Chili Mac

1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup whole wheat elbows
1/4 cup water
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp diced green chilies

Dice onion and peppers. Saute in a dutch oven or large stock pot/pan with a tsp or so of olive oil or non stick cooking spray. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain off excess fat. Add in spices and crushed tomatoes. Then add pasta, water and chilies/jalapenos. Cook for about 15 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.

Top with low fat shredded cheddar. (also great with a dollop of sour cream and some scallions as well!). If you don't like jalapenos or green chilies (I have a jar in the fridge of green chilies that are always on hand to throw in stuff)...you can omit them..it takes a little jazz away from the recipe but doesn't make or break it!

Enjoy!