If two things are awesome and you put them together, it equals maximum awesomeness. Macaroni and cheese…….pizza. Glory! Put them together and it must equal wedded bliss. And it was, oh my it was! I should start pairing more things together. If I like both things, then it should work out, right? Peanut butter and banana, cereal and yogurt, ham and cheese, green beans and ketchup. Ok, something just came to mind that cancelled out that previous thought. Two things you like separately DO NOT always work out together. Once I tried to make Shrimp Pot Pie. Let me just tell you now, that was not my brightest moment in the kitchen. I still have nightmares about that dish. Now that I’ve sufficiently gagged you, let’s make an easy ground beef recipe that proves two awesome things CAN go together and be even more awesome – Mac and Cheese Pizza!

We’ll need ground beef, shredded cheese, a box of macaroni and cheese (your choice of flavor and brand, but I’m a Kraft girl), pepperoni, pizza sauce, mushrooms, eggs, and onion. For this pizza, you’ll only need ½ pound of hamburger. You can double this recipe and make two pizzas or keep the remainder for another recipe. When my mom has a tad of hamburger left, she goes ahead and cooks it. Then she freezes it for use on top of pizzas or to dump in her vegetable soup. I like leaving mine in the fridge to use within the next two days.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Fix your macaroni and cheese according to the package directions. I always leave the butter out of mine, because I don’t think it needs it. Yes, I just said leave the butter out. Are you shocked? I prefer to leave my butter for those instances in which I can actually TASTE it. Here it’s all about the cheese baby. But if leaving butter out of a recipe is against your religion, go ahead and add it. I’m not here to judge you. When it’s done, add two beaten eggs and give it a good stir.

Spray your pizza pan with cooking spray and dump the mac and cheese on there. Spread it out evenly. Refrain from picking up pieces and popping them in your mouth. Or don’t….it’s ok to pop a few pieces. No one will miss them. Just make sure your family isn’t watching. They’ll want a cut too – you’ll run out of crust! Put your “crust” in the oven and bake about 10 minutes.

While your crust is in the oven, chop up about half a large onion and throw it in the skillet with your beef. Brown it to your desired doneness. I like mine crispy sometimes…..but I realize I’m weird because I like burned toast and pizza crust. It’s a good idea to drain your meat a little bit unless you like greasy pizza. Again, I’m not here to judge you.

Add your pizza sauce to the meat mixture and stir. I realize I’m making your house smell delicious all the time, but I refuse to apologize for that. I’m here to bring household peace to the world – one smelly dinner at a time.

When the 10 minutes are up, pull out the pizza pan and spread the meat sauce over the top. I feel like Papa John!

We like mushrooms, so I piled them on next. If you don’t like them, you can leave them off. This isn’t an exact science. Use the toppings you like. Annie didn’t like the mushrooms, so I picked hers off. For that matter, she doesn’t like mac and cheese (yes, she’s weird too) so she basically ate the meat sauce. I’m still working on creating her palate. Pray for me.

I added a layer of pepperonis. You may have seen from the picture that I use turkey pepperoni. Yes, I admit it. The secret is out!  I hate, HATE greasy pizza. Eww, eww, eww. I think regular pepperonis are too greasy, but I find that turkey pepperonis are not. Yay for that discovery! All of a sudden I’m having a craving for CiCi’s Pizza.

Now, pile your desired cheese on top. This is Colby, but you can use cheddar……or mozzarella……or goat cheese. Remember, I’m not here to judge you. Pop it back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

Will you look at this beautifulness? Look what you created! It’s gorgeous and it tastes delicious. Your children will love it, your husband will kiss you, and the dog will beg for a piece. How easy was it to create household peace? You’re welcome.

I was asked to do some recipes for ground beef that were easy and quick. So, I’m taking this week and dedicating it to ground beef. Beef! It’s what’s for dinner! Where’s the beef? This is sort of a Stacy original. I used a recipe from Taste of Home as a base, and went from there. I didn’t have all the ingredients that it called for, so I improvised……I didn’t follow the recipe. Don’t shoot me or turn me in to Martha Stewart. If you shoot me, you may end up in prison WITH Martha Stewart. You can do so many things with ground beef. I grew up on a cattle farm, so we’ve always had beef in abundance. I’ve never had to buy it at the store, but I hear it’s pretty cheap as far as meat is concerned. So, let’s make a cheap meal shall we?

You’ll need ground beef, sour cream, green pepper, mushrooms, shredded cheese, tomato soup, canned tomatoes, and rotini pasta. If you don’t have rotini, use what you have…..macaroni, penne, bowtie. Pasta is so much fun! Plus, it makes great art. Oh yeah, and oregano. I’m a little scatterbrained sometimes so I left it out of the picture. I sometimes feel like I’m out of the picture, so it’s fitting. Because my canned tomatoes were “No Salt Added” I had to add salt later. So, what is the use of getting them that way if I’m going to add salt anyway? Hmmmm, good question. I’m full of good questions…..and my husband says I’m full of something else too. It. Whatever “it” is.

In a big ole skillet you need to brown your meat. Also cook the green peppers and mushrooms with it. It will help them get nice and done. I don’t like crispy veggies in my spaghetti. That’s just wrong. If you use a plastic stirring spoon make sure you don’t leave it on the side of the skillet too long, or it will get soft and bend into a funny shape, making it hard to fit in the drawer. Not that I’ve done that or anything…..I just hear it happens to some people.

While you’re browning your meat, go ahead and cook your pasta. I always add salt to my water, about 1 teaspoon, because I think it makes the pasta taste better. Can you tell I am not afraid of salt? Still not sure why I bought those no salt tomatoes……and no, I do not have high blood pressure.

When your meat is browned, you’ll want to drain it. I grab a colander and stick it in the sink. I dump my meat in and then use the sprayer with really hot water to rinse.  I don’t always rinse my meat, but when I used tomato sauced things I do. I don’t like seeing that greasy layer on the top of my red sauce. Eww. When it’s rinsed, dump it back into your skillet and set it back on the stove.

To your meaty skillet, add your tomato soup, diced tomatoes, salt to taste, and oregano. Stir it up really good and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer about 5 minutes to get nice and hot and let the flavors blend together. It’s going to pop red tomato juice all over your stove, but don’t sweat it…..a messy kitchen means a yummy meal. Or it means Mama’s been too busy to clean.

Now, stir in your sour cream. Make sure you mix it up nice and good. It will turn a pale red color. Nice! Let it warm up a tad. It’s smelling pretty delicious right now. Don’t try some, it’s hot and it will burn your tongue so that you don’t enjoy your dessert after dinner.

Your pasta should be done by now, so just drain it using the same colander that you used for your meat. I’m not here to give you extra dishes to wash…….unless someone else is washing them and then by all means use a different colander! Make it look like you really worked hard for this meal. Smear red sauce on your arms and face.

Grab a pretty plate and dish out your pasta. I love my daisy plates!

Pour your meat sauce on top of the pasta. Ohhhhh baby!

Now, top it with your desired cheese. I think this was Colby because that’s what I had in the fridge. Parmesan would be ok too. Maybe even blue cheese if you like to live on the edge and like stinky breath.

There you have it! You’ve been working less than 30 minutes on this meal. Don’t you feel proud? And hungry? Go eat dinner. Make someone else wash the dishes.