Homemade Cheesy Chili Mac was one of my favorite things growing up! Whether it was planned and made from scratch, or made from the last of the prized pot of chili to stretch it out and turned into a “new dish”, or even back in 1971 when the easy “Helper” first came out, (which actually wasn’t too bad back then), it was a childhood, and teenage years, fave!

On any given weeknight, the heavenly aromas of chili bubbling away with noodles and cheese could be smelled wafting through one house or another on every small town, midwestern block. It was tummy-warming, cheesy, spicy, and full of wonderful chili and old-fashioned elbow macaroni noodles! What kid growing up didn’t love that?!

The “Helpers” were convenient for my mom, and every other single mom, and it wasn’t long before they became quite a weekly thing. We didn’t mind, though. Most were actually pretty good. But over time, they, along with most companies, slowly cut back on quality and taste, until they were no longer desired. By the time I was on my own, I would’ve rather eaten the box.

Food made homemade is always better anyways.

(Note: I didn’t add the cheese on top for photo purposes so that you could see everything better. I added it to our individual servings instead. But do top it, either way. The extra cheese is delicious! Don’t forget a spoon of sour cream on top, too!)

And for the most part, especially in this case, it takes almost the same amount of time. It does take a little “effort” (if you can even call it that), to get the spices out of the cabinet instead of dumping a sodium-laden, chemical-factory, flavorless packet of powder into the pan, though. But when you start adding too many “convenience items”, not enough spices to even tell what you were going for in the first place, and can-a-can-a-can stuff, you might as well just buy the mix to begin with, right? So please don’t look at my recipe and say, “Oh, that’s too many ingredients!” Please, take the extra 5 -10 minutes to make it so that it actually tastes like chili. I mean, that’s the whole point, right?

Think about it this way. Remember when we were kids, and we used to sleep over at a friend’s house on the weekends? And some moms were really good cooks, and some…well…thought that adding a dash of chili powder to a mega-sized can of tomato sauce and a couple of cans of tomato soup, a can of beans (undrained with the salty-slime added into the pot), and a pound of greasy, fatty hamburger equaled “chili”? Orange. With grease floating on top. Ugh. Don’t be “that mom”.

This truly is VERY easy, tastes wonderful, and has the right consistency, too. FLAVORFUL. Not runny, watery and bland. Not thick and gloppy-pasty, either. And you are in control of what goes in there. I’ve heard so many people say, “They don’t have time to cook”. No one works 24/7. Make time. Cut back on precious time lost forever watching, commenting, liking, sharing, and posting videos and memes of cute puppies.

And let’s get back to remembering what’s truly important.
Wholesome, great tasting food for starters.
Even if it’s “just” comfort food.

Enjoy!!

Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Best Cheesy Chili Mac

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Tbl. butter
• 1 lb. quality lean ground beef, cooked and well broken up
• 1 cup chopped onion, about one medium
• 1 small to medium pepper* (any color or variety), cleaned out and diced 1/2 inch
• 3/4 cup V8 Spicy Hot Tomato/Vegetable Juice
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can Hunt's Diced Tomatoes with Roasted Garlic
• 1 (15 oz.) can Hunt's tomato sauce
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 4 Tbl. quality chili powder,[i] divided[/i]
• 2 1/2 Tbl. cumin, [i]divided[/i]
• 1 tsp. sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning such as Slap Ya Mama
• 1/2 tsp. smoked salt, can sub regular salt (*see note)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 tsp. dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. regular table salt (can add a little more later to taste)
• 8 oz. (half of a 1 lb. box) quality macaroni such as Barilla Elbows (2 cups)
• 1 cup rinsed and drained red kidney beans
• 2 (8 oz.) bags quality shredded cheddar or blended cheeses such as Sargento's Off the Block Extra Sharp Cheddar or 4-Cheese Mexican, divided

Optional Garnishes:

• finely chopped fresh parsley, sour cream, snipped green onion and hot sauce

Instructions

In large frying pan, melt butter and add ground beef, onion, and bell pepper. Break up meat and sauté until there's a little fat on the pan, then sprinkle evenly with 1 Tbl. of the chili powder and the 1/2 Tbl. cumin. Brown over medium heat, chopping up beef well as you go along. Add rest of ingredients, including the reserved 3 Tbl. chili powder and 2 Tbl. cumin, but NOT the cheese, and stir in well. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring as needed so bottom doesn't scorch (about every 3 minutes), until pasta is tender and sauce is thickened, about 8 - 9 minutes for al dente.

Turn heat down and add 1 1/2 bags cheese. Stir gently until cheese has melted. Remove from heat. Top with last of cheese, cover, and let rest 5 minutes so cheese on top melts.

Serve garnished with a little parsley, sour cream, snipped green onion and hot sauce if desired.

Notes

*There's no need to drain the meat after cooking if using extra lean ground beef.
**Bell, banana, cubanelle, jalapeño, or your own favorite pepper, all work well.
***If you don't have smoked salt, just use all regular salt and you can even add a ¼ tsp. liquid smoke in addition if you happen to have that instead.