Game Day Chili-Mac Skillet

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...One of my favorite blogs is For the Love of Cooking. It's one of those sites that never fails to please. The photos are great, the recipes delicious and the writer an absolute charmer. Recently Pam featured a recipe for Italian Goulash that took me back to a casserole that made regular appearances on our table when the children were at home. I also serve it - then and now - for game day get-togethers with good friends. It's not meant to impress and it's best to think of it as grub at its finest. This is what happens when you combine chili with mac n' cheese. The dish takes ten minutes to prepare, twenty-five minutes to cook and uses just one pan. You can alter heat and spices to taste. You can also control the amount and type of cheese you use. Here's the base recipe. I hope you'll make this one your own.

Game Day Chili-Mac Skillet...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (14.5-oz.) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (15.25-oz.) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked
1/4 cup water
1 (4-oz.) can diced green chili peppers, drained
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup (4-oz.) shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
Optional garnish: chopped cilantro or parsley

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add ground meat, onions and garlic salt; cook until meat is brown and onions are tender. Pour off accumulated drippings.
2) Add beans, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, macaroni, water, green chili peppers, cumin, chili powder to meat mixture. Bring contents of skillet to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pan and simmer, stirring frequently, until macaroni is tender, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle top with cheese. Cover pan and heat until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if using. Yield: 6 servings.