Spaghetti Macaroni

Looking for an easy, hot, kid-friendly dinner at the end of a long day? That’s the perfect description for what my 2 year old has dubbed ‘Spaghetti Macaroni’.

Spaghetti Macaroni is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Spaghetti sauce + macaroni noodles + cheese and sour cream = a delicious feast the whole family can enjoy. This recipe, like many of my others, was born of necessity one night when all I had in the pantry to make for dinner was spaghetti sauce and the only noodles I had were macaroni. I proceeded with those ingredients, and in a stroke of brilliance decided to add some sour cream to the cooked noodles to give the whole dish a boost. Because creamier is always betterer.

It turned out so well that I make it all the time now, and it has the added benefit of being something my 2 year old can easily manage. She wasn’t a fan of spaghetti up to this point, not because she didn’t like it, but because the long, slippery traditional spaghetti noodle caused endless frustration for her toddler self. But now we can all enjoy spaghetti with nary a meltdown, including you because the recipe is down yonder.

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Spaghetti Macaroni

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

40 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/4 tsp Italian herb mix
• 2 cups macaroni noodles
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Instructions

1. Brown ground beef and garlic in a medium to large skillet. In the meantime, prepare a separate pot of boiling water for the macaroni. When the beef is cooked and browned, add crushed tomatoes and Italian seasoning and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer let sauce thicken while you add the macaroni to the boiling water. Cook pasta until tender and drain. Toss sour cream and salt with the macaroni, then add the spaghetti sauce to the macaroni pot and stir until well combined. Sprinkle mozzarella over top and put a lid on the pot. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt, then serve immediately.