One Pot Chili Mac

Last week, I wanted to make something quick, that I had all the ingredients for, and that I knew my kids would gobble up. I searched Melanie's site My Kitchen Cafe and found a one pot dish that was basically chili and macaroni, two things my boys love, so I tried it. Her recipe actually spruces up the traditional chili mac, but I stuck to straight chili mac, no frills. You can click on the link below for her recipe if you want to spruce it up. The recipe calls for ground coriander. I wasn't sure if I had that, but low and behold, my trusty spice rack had coriander, it just wasn't ground. It looks like little balls. I put them in a Ziploc and pounded the heck out of them until they were little flakes, and used that. It worked perfectly. This is a perfect week night meal for anyone, even the working mom and dad. It's ready in 30 minutes and only uses one pot! Two great things!

Skillet Chili Mac
adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground turkey/beef
1/2-1 onion, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander (can substitute ground cumin for a smokier flavor)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
8 ounces (2 cups) elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat, you can find it cheap at Walmart.)
2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar.)

Directions:
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, onion, chili powder, coriander or cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook the ground beef until it is no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat or grease. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce, water, and macaroni. Cover and cook, stirring often and keeping the heat at a steady simmer, until the macaroni is tender, about 12-15 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Cover and let sit off the heat until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.