Beef Mac

I had a really tough time thinking of what to call this dish. The pictures don't do the taste of it justice.

If your trying to eat healthy and you're keeping up with your New Year's resolutions then keep reading. If you're trying to sneak vegetables into your picky eaters, keeping reading.

This dish is healthy, packed full of flavor, easy, and economical. So let's make some Beef Mac!

Put the metal blade on your food processor and turn it on. Drop in through the feed tube, 3 cloves of peeled garlic and process until minced, then add 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces, 1 8 to 10 ounce package of sliced baby bella mushrooms ( you can use button mushrooms if that's what you have on hand) and process until finely chopped. Turn off machine and add 1 large onion cut up and pulse until roughly chopped.

Brown 1 lb. of extra lean ground beef in a large high-sided skillet or large pot over medium-high heat. Break up the meat while it is browning. Once the meat is completely browned stir in the chopped vegetables, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, about 5 minutes. At this point the baby bellas will turn brown and blend in with the browned ground meat. To your kids it will look like one big pot of ground beef. I was questioned about the orange pieces and told them it was a red bell pepper....ain't I a stinker?

Stir in 2 cups of water, 1 1/2 cups beef broth, 1/2 box (8 ounces) elbow macaroni and 2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. You can't even imagine how good this smells!

Whisk 2 tablespoons of flour with 1/4 cup beef broth in a small bowl until smooth; stir into the hamburger mixture.

Stir in 1/2 cup low fat sour cream. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened.

Serve garnished with chives or parsley.


Now you can got get a couple of scoops of Dulce de Leche ice cream! I'll show how to make this completely decadent ice cream Friday!