The Bean & Seed

As mentioned in my prior post, “Turning Cravings into Kitchen Staples”, I’d like to follow up with another easy recipe that uses Hunt’s Basil, Garlic & Oregano Diced Tomatoes as its central flavor. The goal of this beef & macaroni recipe is to be quick, easy, low in sodium, and to replace the microwavable meals that inspired it with a healthier and more hearty alternative. You’ll find this to be a juicy and tangy treat!

Prep Time of 25 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground beef. I’m using 90% lean for health considerations and I find that the amount of grease blends well with the juice from the tomatoes.
• 8 ounces of Organic Elbow Macaroni – I’m specifying organic as I think you’ll find it to be higher in fiber and protein; this will add to the heartiness of the dish.
• 2 cans, or 29 ounces, of Hunt’s Basil, Garlic & Oregano Diced Tomatoes. You could use any diced tomatoes you want, but I’m recommending these because they come seasoned and limit the number of ingredients you’ll need for the recipe. I’ve tried similar store brand options if you’ve got another you’d like to try. It is important that the tomatoes you use are seasoned, however, as this easy recipe does not include additional seasoning outside of pepper.
• 2 teaspoons of Parmesan-Romano cheese per serving.
• Any amount of pepper you’d like. You can skip pepper altogether if you’d prefer.

Step by Step

Using the elbow macaroni instructions, begin by preparing the macaroni. I prefer the macaroni al dente for this dish.

Once you’ve added the macaroni to your boiling water, you’ll want to add your ground beef to a large skillet, season it with pepper, and begin chopping up and browning it at just above medium heat. The goal is to have the beef browned by the time the macaroni is finished cooking. Make sure you use a large enough skillet to hold the entire list of ingredients.

Once the macaroni is finished cooking, set it aside to drain.

Turn the burner for your beef down to medium. It is at this point that you’ll want to add the diced tomatoes to your browned beef. The beef will no longer brown once you add the tomatoes, so you’ll want to make sure it is as done as you’d like before adding the tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes into the beef.

You’ll find that the tomato juice comes to a boil quickly. Once this happens, turn off the stove, remove from burner, and add the drained macaroni to the skillet. Stir the beef, tomatoes, and macaroni together until everything is coated in juice and evenly distributed.

Add Parmesan-Romano cheese to each dish you serve as a topping. To help with presentation, I don’t stir it in.

Nutritional Information

Based on 4 servings with Parmesan-Romano cheese.

• Calories: 486
• Fat: 14 g
• Saturated Fat: 6 g
• Cholesterol: 80 mg
• Sodium: 660 mg
• Carbohydrates: 54 g
• Fiber: 6 g
• Sugar: 8 g
• Protein: 33 g
• Calcium: 113 mg
• Iron: 5 mg
• Potassium: 478 mg

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Thanks for reading, Matt

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