How to make Simple Baked Beef and Pasta Casserole
Ingredients
1 package penne pasta
Water, as needed
2 pounds ground beef
½ tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or chili powder)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cook the pasta following the directions on the package and drain it.
Meanwhile you can cook the meat in the oil in a skillet until cooked through.
Drain off any excess fat.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Turn the heat down on the stove and mix in the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper or chili powder, cream cheese, and half the shredded cheddar.
Combine the pasta with the beef mixture.
Pour this into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
Sprinkle the remaining cheddar on top.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Serve hot.
Notes
Omit the cayenne or chili powder if you don’t want this spicy, or increase it if you’re a
spice-lover!
You can lower the fat content if you want by using extra-lean ground beef and reduced fat cream cheese and cheddar.