Well, I’m sure I’m not the first to have put these ingredients together. But it was yummy, so here you go:
1 lb ground beef
2 cans “ro-tel” or equivalent. (I.e. stewed diced tomatos and green chilis)
noodles–I used macaroni
Grated parmesan.
some garlic.
some onion.
cumin
I just browned the meat in a skillet with the onions and garlic. In my case, all I had available were dehydrated “onion flakes” but I think ideally you should have bite-size slices of onion cooked until they’re completely melt-in-mouth soft. (Similar to the consistency of the tomatos and chilis in your “rotel or equivalent” ingredient.) Then I drained the rotel and poured the tomatos and chilies into the skillet with the beef, and heated that up for a couple of minutes. Somewhere during this process, I had added maybe half a teaspoon of cumin into the mix. (That’s a gross estimate: I just sprinkled it on for a a few seconds. I don’t know how much it added up to.)
Meanwhile, I had boiled up the noodles and I next mixed them in. (How much? I didn’t measure. I estimate in the end the mixture was half beef, half noodles.) I heated that for a minute, then sprinkled copious amounts of grated parmesan over the top of the mixture in the skillet. I didn’t mix in the cheese, just spread it over the top.
Oh man, this was good. I served it on a plate, with a nicely sized glop of my homemade salsa* sitting next to it on the plate, and with a handful of chips also on the plate. Noodles and chips together, you say? It worked better than you might think.
Mighty tasty.
Suggestions for improvement welcome, however. I I’d had some fresh cilantro on hand, I would have torn it up and sprinkled some out over the mixture as well.
-Kris
*My homemade salsa is very basic: appropriate amounts (I’ve never measured it) of tomato, cilantro, onion, jalapeno, salt and garlic go in a blender. Ideally, refrigerate overnight before serving.