Mexican Macaroni and Cheese

I like to think I'm a pretty decent cook. Not a gourmet cook by any means, but a good everyday, having the fam like/love the dinner in front of them, kind of cook. And every once in a while I find or make a recipe that really hits it out of the park. The kind where they rave all through dinner and tell me how good it is. The kind where they are offering to do the dishes without my hunting them down like I'm on some kind of safari for a rare breed of animal. (But I guess a teenager doing the dishes voluntarily really is a rare breed, now that I think of it.) Anyway, here is one that had them doling out the compliments the other day. In fact, they ate it before I could grab the camera and take a picture. And it was easy, to boot.

Maybe we can cause a revolution to happen in kitchens all across North America with teenagers voluntarily doing the dishes. Now that would make headlines. "Revolution in the kitchens of blogging Mother's all across North America". Nah, probably not, but it is a nice thought! Anyway, easy recipe, raving husband and children, dishes done, that works for me!

MEXICAN MACARONI AND CHEESE

Keep it simple or fancy it up with the optional ingrediants

-1 kg (2 lbs.) lean ground beef

-2 boxes Kraft Dinner Macaroni and Cheese

-3 Tbsp. margarine or butter

-1/2 cup milk

-2 cups V8 vegatable juice

-1 package taco seasoning

Optional ingrediants:

-1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar or Montery Jack cheese

-1 fresh tomato, deseeded and chopped

-2 green onions, chopped

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet until no pink is showing. Drain off the fat well. Add the V8 juice and taco seasoning and stir to mix well. Simmer for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in boiling, salted water for 7 minutes. Drain well. Return to pot and add margarine, milk and cheese packets from box. Mix well.

Add the macaroni to the beef mix and stir. Voila! Wonderful as is!

Or the optional part:

At this point you can heat oven to 375* and lightly spray or grease a 9x13 baking dish. Add the macaroni and beef. Top with the grated cheese, chopped tomatoes and chopped onions. Bake just until the cheese is hot and bubbly. About 8 - 10 minutes.