Description
This taco mac and cheese is pure comfort food with flavorful beef, tender shell pasta and a luscious, cheesy white sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 dash Olive Oil
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 whole Onion, Diced Small
- 2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 1 Tablespoon Beer
- 1 whole Lime, Juiced
- 6 Tablespoons Butter
- 6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
- 3 cups Milk
- 1 pound Medium Pasta Shells
- 8 ounces, weight Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
Preparation
Get a large pot of water on the stove to boil for the pasta. Salt liberally.
While it comes to a boil, get out a large skillet with deep sides and heat the oil in it over medium high heat. Add beef, onion, taco seasoning, salt, tomato paste, beer and lime juice. Stir while you brown the beef and break it up. Let it all simmer together to let the liquid cook off and get it to develop flavor for about 6–8 minutes.
Remove to a plate and add the butter to the pan. Let it start to melt and then whisk the flour in. Let the flour and butter cook together and thicken for a couple of minutes until it is a thick paste. Slowly pour in the milk while you keep whisking until it is a smooth white sauce. Let it simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes, whisking it often.
While sauce cooks, water should be boiling. Cook pasta until tender for about 8 minutes, then drain.
When sauce is done, whisk in cheese until it is a smooth cheese sauce. Then stir beef back in and the pasta, tossing it all together thoroughly. Serve it immediately and enjoy! It also makes fantastic leftovers.
