Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 ounces) uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1–1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1.5 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5–2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
- 1 (4 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook the noodles according to the package. While the noodles are cooking, add the ground beef, diced onion and minced garlic to a large skillet over medium-high heat
- Brown the ground beef until it’s crumbled and no longer pink. While it’s browning, add all of the remaining ingredients except for the cheese and black olives to a large 6 quart casserole dish
- Once the ground beef is browned, drain the excess grease and add the beef and onion mixture to the casserole dish
- Drain the noodles and add those to the casserole dish as well. Use two spoons to stir everything together and mix well until the sauce, spices and noodles are evenly combined
- Flatten into one even layer in the casserole dish and top with cheese and black olives
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly
Notes
- To make gluten-free, simply opt for gluten-free noodles and cook according to the package
- You can make this into two casseroles (one for the freezer) if you’d like by dividing the ingredients equally into two 2- or 4-quart casserole dishes and baking together in the oven
- The whole casserole can be frozen. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator first and then bake on 400, covered, for 35 minutes