Because everything tastes better when there are fewer dishes to do. Always.

You already know I enjoy dishes made in one pot or pan. That potato hash skillet dish has made a few more occurrences at the dinner table since I posted the blog with the recipe.

Why one pot? Well, unless you have two stoves, there’s only 4 burners and last time I checked I only had so many pans.

Anytime a dish asks me to uses multiple pans, I read the entire thing through to see where I can repurpose pans. For instance – cooking bacon in a skillet only to brown onions in another really irritates me. Why not use a pan big enough to cook bacon and then sizzle the onions in the grease? Not only are you saving a pot, you’re getting all the lovely flavor from the bacon you just cooked.

Or those times when I’m asked to cook something on the stove and transfer it to the oven to finish. If I have an oven safe pan, I’ll use it on the stove as well. Cast iron dutch ovens are great for this.

So when I stumbled upon this lovely one-pot creamy taco mac inspiration from Elly Says Opa!, I knew I had to give it my best shot.

A few things I changed included the amount of stock (more vs less) and the type of tomatoes (10 oz Ro-Tel vs 14.5 oz, because that’s what I had in my pantry). The recipe I adapted from was also an adaptation of one that didn’t use beef stock. When reading blogs for recipes, ALWAYS look to see if the author mentions the dish being adapted. Find the recipe they adapted from and see which one you like better. It also gives you another look at how the dish was prepared.

One Pot Taco Mac

Makes 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 a white or yellow onion, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes, either 10 oz or 14.5, whatever you’ve got in your pantry
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 package of taco seasoning (or use 5 tbsp of your favorite homemade seasoning mix)
• Half a box of elbow macaroni
• 3 oz cream cheese
• Shredded cheddar for topping

Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven, 3 or 5-quart stock pot, add olive oil and heat to medium. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Take the cream cheese out of the package and measure out 3 oz. Let it sit next to the stove while you cook so it warms up.
3. Add the ground beef and brown for 5-6 minutes or until it is no longer pink. Drain grease.
4. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, taco seasoning and elbow macaroni and bring to a boil.
5. Cover and simmer on low heat for 8-10 minutes or until pasta is cooked all the way through.
6. Add the cream cheese to the pot a little at a time. Stir it in so that all of the chunks of cheese melt evenly.
7. Serve and top with shredded cheese. Voila – you’ve now figured out that this is way better than Hamburger Helper!