Easy Ground Beef #2 – Mac and Cheese Pizza

***UPDATE – See this post about our new eating habits. (7/10/11)

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.