My son is a big fan of chips and salsa, so I asked my husband to pick some up on his recent trip to Sam’s Club. He came home with 2 huge jars (though to his credit, they sell it packaged that way) of salsa. So in an effort to put a dent in our huge salsa supply, I searched online and stumbled upon this recipe for Chili Mac. I took a quick look at the recipe and realized that I had almost everything, and went ahead and gave it a whirl. People, try this! The name is totally misleading, and the meal itself is really healthy. For a meal that serves four, it only has ½ cup of cheese. Also, regular pasta can be swapped with whole wheat or even veggie pasta. It’s a healthy and delicious meal that comes together very quickly.
Also, on a totally different note, I have an invitation for you! My blogging buddy Sarah, of Flour and Spice, recently reached out to me with an idea. Sarah suggested that we team up and host a virtual Eid Party. The premise of the “party” is that those who choose to participate will post a recipe that is evocative of Eid for them, whether that be traditional or something new/innovative. So now my friends, is that I invite you to join us! If you think that you would be interested in participating, just leave me a comment saying that you would. We’ll be sending out emails later this week to everyone that we know, so be on the lookout 🙂
Chili Mac
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients:
- ½ pound small shell pasta
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup picante sauce (regular salsa can be used as well, although additional liquid might need to be added)
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup shredded cheddar or Mexican style cheese
Directions:
Cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until well browned and all liquid has evaporated. Stir in picante sauce, corn, chili powder, and tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in pasta and cheese. Cover and cook until the cheese has melted.
Mmmm, I love salsa AND pasta so will definitely give this a go! I’m going through my wordpress reader after forever and see I have lots of posts from you to put my feet up and catch up on 🙂
Sooooo good to see you again! I hope you’ve been well 🙂
Yummy my kids love pasta. Count me in for the virtual Eid ‘party’.
Awesome! I’ll be sending out an email this week iA 🙂
Such an easy recipe. Love how the pasta looks. And count me in too!
Love,
Perfect! Be on the lookout for an email by this weekend! 🙂
I am. 😉
This looks delicious! Now… what to wear to this Eid Party? 😉
How about something sparkly and over-the-top! 😉
Love this!!! I love pasta and could eat it everyday. Most people put tons of cheese in dishes like this..love how yours only has 1/2 cup. I’m sure the salsa makes it nice and spicy too! What is the difference between picante and salsa????
Would love to join in the Eid Link up! Count me in!!
So this was something new I learned- apparently picante sauce and salsa are the same thing except that picante sauce is more liquidy than salsa. So you can use regular salsa here too but you might need to add a little bit more liquid.
Will be sending out emails this Friday iA 🙂 Be on the lookout girlfranddd!
My son also is a big salsa fanatic. We always have 2 huge jars too (from Costco).
Salsa is great to cook with, instant sauce! Love this chilli mac idea.
I love you Eid party idea but I am not going to commit right just because of my health issues. IA, if I am better nearer the time, I’ll shoot you an email. I’m getting there! I just don’t want you to have to wait on me.
take care!
This was my first time cooking with salsa and I’m sure to use it more. In fact, my mom like to make her own homemade salsa and she uses her leftovers in Salan!
I’ll be sending out emails this week inshAllah, so what I’ll do is email you as well. That way, you’ll be in the loop of things, and if you do decide to join then at least that way you’ll be informed and have the instructions/deadlines at your fingertips in your inbox 🙂 Hope you feel better sista!
Okay, I have never done anything like this Eid party but I guess there is a first time for everything so sign me up!
Awesome! I’ll be emailing you by the weekend inshAllah 🙂
Clever girl 🙂 that’s what hubbies always say when they are trapped .. that’s why I hate sending mine to Costco he just grabs anything there!!! Lovely recipe Henna. I love your idea of Eid party … yet I have another idea why not holding a Ramadan Banquet too … count me in and let’s discuss the matter more.
LOL! Now that makes you the clever girl!
I love the banquet idea! The only thing is that this Ramadan is truly very packed for me. I would love to join with you and do something like that but I just think my plate is too full already. IA next Ramadan? 🙂
This looks good and sounds promising! I will try a vegetarian-version of this.
Thanks! It can easily be made without the meat, even without anything replacing it 🙂