chili pasta bake

One of my go-to dinners is this chili pasta bake. It's super easy to make and quite affordable at the same time. I'm not a fan of "chili" usually, but I like the comfort chili brings in the cold winter months. This is a nice tex-mex spin on traditional chili and keeps you nice and warm.

Chili Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

½ lb. shell pasta (you can use any kind really)

½ tablespoon canola oil *no one in our house likes onions so I leave this out

1 whole onion, chopped *no one in our house likes onions so I leave this out

1 dash salt

1 dash black pepper

15 ounces tomato sauce

14 ½ ounces canned diced tomatoes and green chilies

115 ounces canned kidney or black beans

1 ½ tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

3 dash cayenne pepper

¼ cups water

2 cups shredded cheese

½ cups sour cream- topping

4 tablespoons green onions-topping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°

2. Normally here you would drizzle the oil into a large sauce pan and saute the onion, but since no one in our house likes onions-we eliminate this step. 

3. Brown the ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper

4. While the beef is cooking cook your pasta according to the package for al dente, Once cooked, drain water and set aside. 

5. Once the beef is cooked add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and green chilies, beans, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and water. Give it a stir and let simmer for about 5 minutes. 

6. After 5 minutes stir in the cooked pasta. Combine

7. Pour the chili pasta mixture into a 9x13 pan. Flatten it out with a spatula nad sprinkle with cheese. Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until he edges are bubbling and the cheese has melted. 

8. Scoop into bowls and serve with desired toppings.