Nacho Style Mac and Cheese

It’s football season and that means a few things in my house. Typically lazy Sundays and great comfort food. The question always arises and they all know it’s coming, ‘what do you guys want for the game?’. Typically the kids don’t really care, nor do they fully partake in the appetizers, or chili, or other comforting food. So this past game day, I decided to make one of our favorites, queso. Queso means cheese, so let’s get that out of the way.

Queso in my house means Velveeta cheese, a bit of cooked ground beef, and a can of Rotel. When all of these are combined, it is nothing short of addictive awesomeness. As my wife and I devoured the queso, we had to remove it from our table as again, it was becoming way too addictive. I looked at the bowl of queso everytime I opened the refrigerator, and I did not want it to go to waste. Instead, I decided to make a Nacho style mac and cheese recipe, and whoa, was it ever great.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of Fussilini pasta, cooked al dente
• 1 cup crumbled tortilla chips
• For the Queso:
• 32 oz Velveeta cheese
• 1/2 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
• 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1/4 cup of red onion, diced
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp butter

Make the queso by adding the Velveeta, ground beef, and Rotel into  a medium-sized, microwaveable safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and cook in the microwave for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a large casserole dish.

Place the cooked pasta inside a large mixing bowl. Add the queso, and stir to incorporate all of the cheese.

Pour into your casserole dish and top with the tortilla chips.

Place in the preheated oven, uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, garnish with some red and green onion and dig in.

This is not only a great way to use up your leftovers, including the tortilla chips that your kids decide not to finish, but it is truly a great new take on a classic mac and cheese. Hope you enjoy.