Macaroni à la Viande
My dad is a huge fan of pasta and as a result we ate a lot of them when I was younger. I don’t eat pasta as often now because I realized that they made me sleepy and there is nothing worse than brainfog at 1 PM when you are trying to get school work done. Just like my dad, Jeff is a very big pasta fan and so on occasion we do still eat them but not nearly as often as he would like (or as I did when I lived at home). My mom, our newest blog follower (Allô maman!), is a great cook and her repertoire is filled with great pasta dishes. Of all the pasta dishes my mom prepared for us when I was a child, this meaty macaroni was one of my favorite.
The meaty macaroni was traditionally prepared with ground beef but in an effort to eat healthier I substituted it for ground chicken. Any ground meat will do but the ground beef remains my favorite as the meat flavor really comes through. I’m sure adding a little bit of worcestershire sauce in a ground turkey or ground chicken recipe would help bring the meatiness through. I will definitely try this next time I make this recipe.
This recipe comes together very quickly and is perfect for a busy week night or for a weekend lunch. This recipe is also perfect for the beginner cook as it’s extremely easy.
- 4
- 5 minutes
- 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 500 g ground chicken
- 1 medium sweet onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 can (156 mL) tomato paste
- 1 can (796 mL) diced tomatoes
- 3 cups of dried elbow macaroni
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Olive oil
- Salt + Pepper
- Cheese (optional but highly recommended)
Directions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to direction on the package. Drain and set aside
- Heat olive oil in a pan, add the ground chicken, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until it is done, set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a pan, add the onion and celery and cook until it is soft (around 3-5 minutes).
- Add tomato paste, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add diced tomatoes, basil, oregano and cooked ground chicken. Bring to a simmer and then add the drained pasta.
- Mix everything together and serve topped with some shredded cheese.
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