This dish is more a winter one than a summer one but I pulled it together at the last minute on a busy day.

I happened to have cooked ground beef on hand (cooked in the crock pot the day before) and some leftover cooked macaroni noodles in the freezer. I cooked up fresh noodles too and a few minutes before they were done added the frozen noodles to the water to heat them up.

This is a great last minute dish, assuming you have cooked ground beef on hand and all the other ingredients. My husband and I really enjoyed this!

INGREDIENTS –

4 – 6 cups (1 to 1.5 litres) macaroni noodles, cooked according to directions

1 lb (.5 kg) ground beef, sauteed with a bit of salt, pepper and powdered garlic
(I like to do this with a bit of water or red wine in a crock pot over several hours – very tender and tasty)

1 medium white or yellow onion, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 yellow pepper, diced

1 large tomato, diced

2 cups (500 ml) crushed tomatoes and juice

3 garlic, crushed

1 tsp (5 ml) powdered garlic

1 cup (25o ml) parmesan or asiago, grated

1 cup (250 ml) sharp cheddar, grated

salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS –

  1.  Saute veggies (not tomatoes) with seasonings until just about soft. Then add cooked ground beef and continue cooking together for another 5 minutes or so on medium, stirring frequently.
  2. Add tomatoes and cooked noodles and saute for another few minutes until everything is piping hot.
  3. Add cheeses. Stir through to melt.
  4. Taste and add any further seasonings needed before serving on its own or with a green salad.

Serves 4 to 6