Beef, Cheese, and Noodle Bake

I’m BAACCCKKK! To make a very annoying and lengthy story short: I have been taking classes rather than blogging for the past couple of months. Without going on an angry rant, I can just say that I have reached the last column of my school district’s pay scale (even though I already earned those units years ago, but again, we will end it there)!

I am back in action and ready to document my cooking adventures. I started with something very simple, Cooking Light’s Beef, Cheese and Noodle Bake from the January 2006 issue. I actually prepared this meal the night before and just popped it in the oven last night to finish the baking portion of the directions. For something so simple, we were extremely surprised and delighted with our end results.

Beef, Cheese, and Noodle Bake
Adapted from Cooking Light, January 2006

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package small elbow macaroni
Cooking spray
1 cup prechopped onion
1 cup preshredded carrot
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 pound lean ground sirloin (I used ground turkey)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I omitted the nutmeg)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) 2% reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided


Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and carrot, and sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add ground beef; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.

Add pasta to beef mixture in pan, stirring to combine.

Place milk, flour, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add 1 cup cheese, stirring until smooth.

Pour cheese mixture over pasta mixture; stir.

Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield
8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 283(24% from fat); FAT 7.7g (sat 4.2g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 22.3g; CHOLESTEROL 46mg; CALCIUM 209mg; SODIUM 622mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 3.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.1g

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and carrot, and sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.

Add ground beef; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.

Add tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.

Add pasta to beef mixture in pan, stirring to combine.

Place milk, flour, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Add 1 cup cheese, stirring until smooth.

Pour cheese mixture over pasta mixture; stir.

Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Top evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

As you can see from the picture above, Terry couldn’t wait to dive into this casserole. I Used ground turkey instead of beef and I omitted the nutmeg. The original instructions seemed to add an extra step so I changed those as well and am excited about the finished product. This dish was surprisingly flavorful. I did not have very high hopes because it just seemed too simple. Cooking Light’s Beef, Cheese and Noodle Bake is not quite dinner party food, but it is hearty and great for a weeknight family dinner. The leftovers reheated wonderfully for lunch today and I think the flavor actually improved a bit overnight. I have a feeling this one is going to sneak its way into our monthly rotation.

-Heather