Do you love a good juicy cheeseburger as much as I do? When I stumbled across this recipe I just knew I had to give it a try! It’s a brilliant idea actually, a deconstructed cheeseburger made with pasta and burger ingredients, and who doesn’t love some pasta? It’s a one dish meal, using simple ingredients that you will most likely have on hand and it comes together really quickly. That’s a real plus in my book when you are putting together a tasty weeknight meal in a hurry! Oh, did I mention the cheese? There’s a lot of it in this recipe, so you know it’s going to be darn good! Yum-o!
My teenager and the hubs are hungry and clamoring for something good to eat, so let’s not waste any more time! Let’s get this amazing dish going…stat!
Get out your biggest skillet and brown the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks. Once the meat is cooked through, drain off the excess fat. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
TIP: To drain off excess fat when browning ground beef, get the hot water going in the kitchen sink. Once the water is very hot, place the cooked ground beef into a colander and rinse it under the very hot running water. This will get rid of all the excess fat. Be sure to use very hot water and let the water run hot for at least another minute or two after you have rinsed the fat from the meat so that your drain doesn’t clog.
Sauté the diced onion in the same skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil if needed. Once the onion is soft and turns translucent, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Return the reserved cooked ground beef back to the pan and add the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and ketchup. Stir well to incorporate the seasonings.
Pour in the beef broth, stir together and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Once the mixture comes to a simmer, stir in the pasta.
Simmer for 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until the pasta is almost cooked through and the broth has cooked down and thickened.
While dinner is simmering away on the stove, now is the perfect time to set the table, and don’t forget to get out your cloth napkins. Need some inspiration for setting a lovely table, even on a weeknight when you are pressed for time? Read about how easy it is to do here and here. It’s so worth it to make a weeknight meal a little more special, maybe it will keep my teenager at the table for a few more minutes and coax him into sharing a few words with us. Miracles can happen!
Ok, sorry…time to stop daydreaming and get back to the business of making this delicious meal.
Once the pasta is cooked al dente, reduce heat to low and pour in the milk and then add the grated cheese.
Stir the mixture until the cheese has completely melted.
Serve garnished with some sliced green onions if desired.
Round out the meal with a crisp green salad and rolls with butter.
Cheeseburger Pasta
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 cans of beef broth, with enough water added to measure 4 cups of liquid
- 16 oz. box shell pasta
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup milk
- Sliced green onion, for garnish
In a large pan over medium heat, brown ground beef, drain off excess fat. Set aside and keep warm.
Sauté the diced onion.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Return meat to the pan and add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup stirring well to incorporate the seasonings.
Pour in the beef broth and bring to a simmer.
Add the pasta and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through and the broth has cooked down.
Reduce heat to low and pour in the milk and add the cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted.
Serve garnished with some sliced green onions.
Let me know if you give this recipe a try. It became a family favorite the first time I prepared it for my family and I am betting it will become a family favorite at your house too! If you change it up and make it even better be sure to tell me about it let me know what you did in the comments section below.
Now go and enjoy some quality time around the table with your family!