Easy Dinner Archives - Pennywise Cook

Simple & Sweet Chili Mac

In our penny-wise minds, there are few dishes that scream frugal more than macaroni and cheese. Don’t you agree? Some nights there just isn’t enough energy or even time to give to a full-on, oven-baked, gourmet dinner. And some nights you just bust out a box of the mac.

It’s ok. I promise, I do it too.

And if you aren’t one of us closet macaroni makers, then you are way ahead of the game and I need you to teach me your ways!

I’m a big fan of taking simple recipes and throwing in a little of this or a little of that to make them a little bit different. You can call me inventive if you’d like. One of my recent inventive meals was a little twist on Ragu’s Family Favorite Chili Mac. It honestly is already so yummy like it is, but a big favorite with my girls is corn sometimes in our chili so I thought why not add a little sweetness?

This entire recipe has only 5 ingredients and can be whipped up before you can say Bob’s your uncle.

It’s really easy to use Ragu Old World Style Traditional Sauce to create the base for the mac. You simply season it to create whatever flavor you going for and in this case, it’s chili mac!

Each jar of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce is made with 11 juicy tomatoes making it its richest, thickest recipe. Ragú® has the Authentic Italian taste American family’s love and a variety of great tasting, quick and easy to make family favorite recipes.

And of course if you aren’t a huge fan of corn in your chili then you can leave that out. But I really like the sweetness that it adds to the kick of the chili powder!

You can visit Ragu’s facebook for additional quick, easy and delicious recipe ideas too. And be sure to enter the Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes for a chance to win great Authentic Italian themed prizes and a grand prize trip to Venice for a family of four!

Simple & Sweet Chili Mac

Recipe Type: Main Dish, Pasta

Cuisine: American

Author: Adapted from Ragu’s Recipe

As easy as macaroni and cheese, this chili mac takes the cake!

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey or beef
1 jar (1 lb 8 oz) Ragu Old World Style Pasta Sauce
1 and 1/2 tbsp chili powder
8 oz elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained

Instructions

Cook ground meat in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned.
Stir in pasta sauce and chili powder. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes.
Stir in macaroni and can of corn and heat through.
Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream, if desired!

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ragu brought to you by Yummly. All of the opinions expressed are 100% my own.

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Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells

October 10, 2012 by amy 1 Comment

I am always on the lookout for ways to change up everyday meals. Meatloaf and pizza are good. Don’t get me wrong. But sometimes, they just get old and boring. I have a lot of fun experimenting with food. It’s kind of a hobby of mine. It’s why this blog exists!

Stuffed shells are a family favorite. There are so many variations and concoctions that you can stuff them with. My latest creation? Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells.

Sloppy Joes are so simple to whip up on a week night for dinner, but guess what? They are sloppy! (whodathunkit?) I was thinking that if we could eat them in shells, they might stay contained and actually be easy to eat.

Hey, we could get rid of that sloppy and just call them Joes! Joe Stuffed Shells……hmmm. Nah. You could possibly call them Not-So-Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells. That’s too long. I give up. We’ll stick with Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells.

These aren’t made with the canned Sloppy Joe sauce. It’s homemade and extra easy. I even got to use a green pepper from my garden in it. I’m sure that you’re wondering about the cheese sauce on top there. Well, you see, my husband likes to add cheese to just about everything. And following suit, he asked if I could drizzle some cheese sauce on top of the shells too. I did this for him. Feel free to add it if you like, but they are still just as great without the cheese sauce.

Just as I suspected, these were quite neat to eat! Much neater than a messy old Sloppy Joe Sandwich. My husband isn’t a huge fan of Sloppy Joes themselves. We came to the conclusion after this meal that it was in fact, because they are sloppy. The shells make it really easy to keep all the yummy and sweet meat inside. Which means that you’ll most likely end up eating them with your fingers.

We did and we’re not ashamed!

The best part about this meal is that it’s super affordable. With the meat of your choice (ie ground beef, ground turkey, even chicken!), a few handy sauces, and simple spices, these shells comes together in no time and don’t even require baking.

Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells

Recipe Type: Main Dish,

Author: Pennywise Cook

Believe it or not, Sloppy Joes don’t have to be sloppy when you make them in shells like this!

Ingredients

1/2 Package Jumbo Shells (you can make an entire box, but you won’t need it)
1 lb Extra lean Ground Beef
1/2 c. Onion, chopped
1/2 c. Green Onion, Chopped
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. Ketchup
1/2 c. BBQ sauce (your choice)
2 tbsp Brown Sugar (I used Splenda Brown)
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
For Cheese Sauce
2 tbsp Butter
1/4 c. Skim Milk
4 oz Cream Cheese
1 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Reduced Fat)

Instructions

Prepare noodles according to package. Drain and set aside to cool.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef with onion and green pepper. Drain and add in all other ingredients. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until warmed through.
Stuff shells with meat mixture.
For cheese sauce- melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add the skim milk. Melt in the cream cheese stirring until smooth. Add in shredded cheese until melted and smooth. Drizzle over stuffed shells.

Notes

These could even make little appetizers at a party!

Simple & Sweet Chili Mac

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Sloppy Joe Stuffed Shells

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