5 Ingredients or Less

"5 Ingredients or Less" is the theme.

This will be quick... 1 recipe and 5 links. Most of the links are highlights of recipes previously posted. This first recipe is a spruced up version of my favorite (easy and wholesome!) macaroni and cheese that we really enjoy. It doesn't have a name. I'll call it...

Italian Macaroni and Cheese.

4 cups macaroni

3 cups sharp cheddar cheese

1 and 1/2 cups milk, cream, or evaporated milk

1 can Italian style diced tomatoes (or use regular and add Italian seasoning)*

1 lb. ground beef, browned

Cook macaroni. Drain. Grease 9x13 casserole dish. Put in half the macaroni, tomatoes, and beef and top with half the cheese. Put remaining macaroni, tomatoes, and beef on top of the first layer of cheese and top with the remaining cheese. Pour the milk over the macaroni until you can see the milk. Bake until golden brown in a 350 oven about 30 minutes.

* I honestly can't remember if I use 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes or how much meat, so tailor that to your own liking. I like to mix the tomatoes and ground beef into the pasta.

Another similar recipe, but yet with a different flavor recipe is the Tomato and Spinach Pasta Toss. We like that, too. And I found sweet Italian turkey sausage with no nitrates/nitrites that worked well.

Another favorite: Pineapple-Pepperjack Chicken.

I am not a huge jello fan because of the artificial colors, but Red Hot Applesauce Jello is one that makes an easy side dish. If you like jello, and you've never tried it, you should. The applesauce makes it a unique texture!

A simple dessert that I have on the menu for this week: Key Lime Pie.

Oh, and my favorite: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars! Amazingly easy.

Hope you enjoy these recipes!

I'm looking forward to finding some more simple, 5 ingredients or less recipes at Rocks In My Dryer!