Baked Macaroni

Baked Macaroni

Main Ingredients:

250 g (Uncooked) Elbow Macaroni

Meat Sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp Butter

250 g Ground Beef

1/2 small Yellow Onion, diced

1/4 cup Red/Green Bell Pepper, diced

2/3 cup (Canned) Tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup Tomato Paste

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/2 Beef Bouillon Cube

1/2 cup Filtered Water

1/2 tbsp White Sugar

a dash of Salt and Black Pepper

Mornay Sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp Butter

1 1/2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Low-fat Milk

a dash of Salt and Black Pepper

15 g Parmesan Cheese, grated

30 g Cheddar Cheese, grated
dried Parseley *for garnish

Instructions:

Prepare the elbow macaroni.

Cook the elbow macaroni according to package instructions, but cut the cooking time to obtain a not-so-well done macaroni; rinse in cold running water, drain in a colander, and set aside.

Prepare the meat sauce.

In a heated cooking pot, melt-in the butter.

Then add-in  the ground beef and cook for 5 minutes or until a little brown.

Add-in the onions, green bell pepper, and tomatoes; stir and simmer for 3 minutes or softened.

Add-in the tomato paste then stir, add-in the paprika, stir again and cook for a minute.

Then add-in the beef bouillon and pour-in water; stir well. Let simmer for 15 minutes over low medium heat.

Add-in the sugar. Mix well.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat, and set aside.

Prepare the Mornay Sauce.

In a medium sauce pan, melt-in the butter over medium heat.

Add-in the flour, and stir constantly for a minute (Be vary careful not to burn the flour!).

Slowly pour-in the milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil.

Season with salt and pepper, then simmer for 3 minutes over low medium heat.

Add-in the grated cheddar and parmesan, whisking until melted. Turn off heat, and set aside.

In a 6x8 glass baking dish, combine the cooked macaroni and prepared meat sauce. Toss until the meat sauce is well distributed.

Arrange well, and pour the mornay sauce over it.
Sprinkle dried parsley on top.

Pre-heat oven to 175ºC and bake for about 15~20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and place on a wire rack to cool down a little.

Serve hot or warm. Happy Cooking!!